Access Guide

About the Museum

The Black Country Living Museum is one of the UK’s leading open air museums. Attracting over 300,000 visitors each year to an astonishing 26 acre site just two miles from the town centre of Dudley, it captures and admires the achievements and culture of the region’s past and the extraordinary impact this had on the wider world.  With its thriving village spanning 150 years of history from c1770 to the 1920s, canal, tram way, school, public park and fairground, alongside the energy of an industrial landscape of mining, steam power, heavy metalwork and lime kilns, the Museum offers a visitor experience that few others can match.  We also have one of the best fish and chips shops for miles around!

Making the Most of Your Visit

The Museum has recreated the conditions of the 19th and 20th centuries, using original buildings from across the Black Country. Access is available to the majority of buildings although many require the use of temporary ramps which are readily available. Please ask any of our staff to help you use portable ramps if you need assistance.

Our staff will help you to get the most from your visit so please ask them if you have any special requirements or need additional support. The Museum Site Manager is available to be contacted at any time during your visit, tel: 07788 666 161.

The Museum is able to offer Guides trained in British Sign Language (BSL) to assist groups of 10 or more visitors with a hearing impairment.

This service is subject to availability and needs to be booked in advance with our booking office Tel: 0121 520 8054 or Email: bookings@bclm.co.uk . Our booking office is open Monday to Friday 10:00am to 4.00pm.

Large print site guides are available from the Admissions Desk

Assistance Dogs

Assistance dogs are welcome throughout the site. Water bowls are available at the Canalside Café and Bottle and Glass Inn.

Accessible Toilets

There are adapted accessible toilets in the following locations, as indicated on the site map

  • Next to the Café Bar in the entrance building
  • Adjacent to Hall of Fame in the entrance building
  • Next to Canalside Café
  • In the Workers’ Institute
  • The rear of the Bottle and Glass Inn - this toilet requires access with a RADAR key, available on request in the pub.

Transport

The tramway runs from the depot outside the Entrance Building to the School which is close to the Museum village. Being original, the tram is not designed for wheelchair users but can carry visitors who can access steps but may be difficult for those with mobility impairments.

An adapted vehicle, “DORIS”, is available to transport disabled visitors between the entrance buildings and the village. DORIS has tail lift to enable wheelchair users and visitors with mobility impairments to use the vehicle. Signs with information about this service are located near the tram stops. If you require this service please contact the tram driver, any member of staff or the Museum Site Manager Tel: 07788 666 161.

Refreshments

Café Bar - there is level access into this area from the main entrance serving a selection of drinks and light snacks.

Canalside Café – Access to this café is via a long concrete path, opposite the school. The path has a camber to the left hand ‘canal side’. At present caution is needed when using this path.

The café offers a wide range of food, from Black Country delicacies, to snacks and hot and cold meals.

Hobbs Fish and Chip Shop
Fish and chips, cooked traditionally in beef dripping, can be purchased daily from 12 noon until 3.00pm.The shop is on the Old Birmingham Road and is accessed from a pavement with a dropped kerb nearby. There are limited facilities to eat inside the shop.

The Bottle and Glass Inn
Serves, from 11.00am to 3.00pm (12noon till 3.00pm on Sunday), a selection of traditional drinks including Black Country Real Ale. This pub has two steps at the entrance.

Access is achieved by using the available portable ramps which are kept outside the Hardware Shop, please ask a member of staff for assistance. An outdoor seating area is located in the pub yard where, weather permitting, drinks can be consumed.

Full Access Survey Details

For our detailed Access Guide on how to get the most from your visit please click on the link: Access Guide to download as PDF file (105Kb)

Dudley Tunnel and Canal Trip

Access is via a tow path, gradient 1 in 8, between Sidebotham’s Trap Shop and the Carter’s Yard, with a wide tarred middle section suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs. The Canal Tunnel ticket office is accessible.

There is an additional charge for this Canal Trip. A narrow boat is fitted with a lift for wheelchair access and has capacity for two wheelchairs. It is advisable to book in advance by contacting Dudley Canal Trust on 0121 557 4018 or Email: enquiries@dudleycanaltrust.org.uk especially if you intend bringing a group of two or more wheelchair users.

Enjoy Your Visit

Information Sheets

To help you make the most of your visit you can download one of the following exhibit information sheets. These are especially useful for customers who may have a hearing impairment.

Production of these information sheets was enabled by the Museums and Libraries Conurbation Grant Scheme, funded through Renaissance West Midlands and supported by Wolverhampton County Council

Using our web site

We've tried to build this web site in such a way that no-one is excluded from its use.

if you need to enlarge the text, you will be able to do this using your browser, but as every browser is different it is difficult to give meaningful instructions for how to do that.

Usually there will be a setting in your main menu to increase text size, either under view or preferences or options.

If you need help adapting your browser to view this site, we would refer you to the BBC's web site which has an excellent and very comprehensive guide, covering most computers and Internet browser software:

www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/

If you are having difficulty using this site and you cannot find the information you need, please contact us at info@bclm.co.uk and we will try to put things right.

 
 
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