Accessibility

General Information

Summerhall is committed to improving access to the building, exhibitions and events. We welcome D/deaf and disabled customers and aim to make your visit as enjoyable and stress-free as possible.

If you have any questions or feedback about access, please contact us via email at: Boxoffice@summerhall.co.uk, or via phone at: 0131 560 1580.

Where possible, reasonable adjustments have been made to the venue to give the best access for customers with disabilities or access requirements. However, Summerhall is a B-listed building and over one hundred years old, therefore not all of our venue spaces are fully accessible. We continue to upgrade our facilities and welcome any suggestions and advice.

The venue includes accessible toilets on the Ground Floor, First Floor, on the Techcube Ground Floor and in the Royal Dick Bar (information below).

All dogs, including guide dogs and hearing dogs, are always welcome at Summerhall. Dogs must always be kept on a lead.

In an emergency, please approach any member of Summerhall staff, who can provide first aid or call for a First Aider if required.

Entering the building

The main entrance to Summerhall has 9 stone steps with no railing. Step-free access is via the side entrance on Summerhall Square. 

As you enter through the side entrance, The Royal Dick bar is situated to your right (with a ramp at the rear of the bar). There is a ramp directly ahead of you across the courtyard – this leads to the Main Building, including the Box Office, exhibitions and Café.

Travelling to and from Summerhall

Taxis & Cars

On most days outside of the Edinburgh Festival period, taxis and other vehicles can drop passengers off directly in the courtyard (using the vehicle gate on Summerhall Square and announcing their arrival using the intercom system), however there is no onsite public parking within Summerhall. On days that the courtyard is closed to vehicle access (e.g. during the Festival period), taxis and other vehicles can drop passengers off directly outside the accessible entrance by the vehicle gate on Summerhall Square.

Blue badge holders can park on single yellow lines on Summerall Square.

Buses

South Clerk Street, just behind Summerhall, is served by the following buses: 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 29, 30, 31, 33, 37, 47, 49, N3, N30, N31, N37.

Train

The nearest train station is Edinburgh Waverley on the east side of Princes Street. It takes approximately 20-30 minutes to walk, 10-20 minutes on a bus or 5-15 minutes in a car to reach Summerhall.

Booking Support

Summerhall offers an additional ticket, free of charge, to anyone that requires personal assistance to attend a show in the venue. Please let the Box Office know at time of booking (either via email, telephone or in person) and we will be happy to arrange this for you.

Please inform the Box Office at the time of booking (either via email, telephone or in person) if you, or anyone in your party, are a wheelchair user and we will assist you with any requirements.

It is advisable that you arrive at least 15 minutes before your performance start time, and to book ahead and let us know you are coming. Access bookings can be made via telephone or in person. Our Box Office has a T Loop Induction microphone for those customers with hearing devices. Access bookings by telephone can be made by calling 0131 560 1580 and selecting ‘Option 1 for Box Office’.

If you would like more information about the accessibility of particular shows, or if you wish to arrange a familiarisation tour of the venue, please do not hesitate to contact us on:

Venue Accessibility

Below is a list of our venue/event spaces and the floor on which they are located. There is lift access to some of the First Floor and Basement spaces. Further information about individual shows can be obtained from the Box Office, as some venue spaces that ordinarily are wheelchair accessible may not be for certain shows.

Main Hall Lift:
  • Lift door: 92cm
  • Lift space: 124cmx188cm
Ground Floor Venues and Galleries:
  • Anatomy Lecture Theatre (wheelchair position on stage, dependent on event. No seating position available on-stage for personal assistant. 4-10 steps to seating. Hearing loop installed)
  • Box Office (Hearing loop installed)
  • Demonstration Room (wheelchair position on stage, dependent on event. No seating position available on-stage for personal assistant. Hearing loop installed.)
  • The Old Generator (uneven floor surface with loose rubble)
  • Library Gallery
  • Press Office
  • Old Lab (hearing loop installed)
  • Roundabout
  • Sciennes Gallery #1
  • Sciennes Gallery #2
  • Sciennes Gallery #3 (2 steps down)
  • Summerhall Distillery / Pickering’s Gin
  • TechCube Zero (access via Main Summerhall building, no access via TechCube entrance)
  • MF Coffee (no lowered counter)
  • The Royal Dick (ramped access via a second entrance around back. No lowered counter)
  • Sciennes Gallery
  • War Memorial Library
First Floor Venues and Spaces:
  • Cairns Lecture Theatre (27 steps up to the space, a further 8 steps into the space, a further 7 steps down to the stage. Lift access available dependent on event)
  • Corner Gallery (Main Hall lift)
  • Demarco European Art Foundation – (Main Hall lift)
  • Main Hall – (Main Hall lift)
  • Meadows Galleries (Main Hall lift)
  • Lower Church Gallery (7 steps down from North Courtyard, then 22 steps up)
  • Laboratory Gallery (Main Hall lift)
  • Locked In: The Distillery Escape (Teconic block lift, Locked In escape game sometimes accessible, please contact them directly for more information)
  • The Dissection Room (No raised platform, 27 steps up. Lift access available)
  • Upper Church (27 steps up from the lower church entrance – 5 steps down (this entrance is rarely open, please contact Summerhall for further information), then 51 steps up from the rear car park entrance)
Basement Venues and Spaces:
  • Basement Gallery (Main Hall lift)
  • Lower Library Gallery (Main Hall lift)
  • The RUTS (Main Hall lift)
  • The Machine Shop (Main Hall lift)
  • Cinema / Red Lecture Theatre (14 steps down to the space, a further 10 steps through the seating and onto the stage. Lift access available dependent on event. Hearing loop installed)
Toilet Locations:

Ground floor

  • Reception – One all-gender toilet (1 step up)
  • Sciennes Gallery corridor – all-gender toilets, 4 cubicles (level access)
  • Cafe Corridor – Three all-gender toilets, 1 adapted with baby change facilities (level access)
  • Anatomy Lobby – One all-gender toilet (level access)
  • Techcube – One all-gender toilet (level access via lift)
  • Old Lab – One all-gender toilet (level access, closed in Festival period)

1st Floor

  • Main Hall (Galleries-side) – Two all-gender toilets (lift to 1st floor, 2 steps up)
  • Main Hall (Demarco wing-side) – One all-gender toilet (lift to 1st floor, level access)
  • Dissection Room – Two toilets, 1 all-gender with urinals and 1 cubicle, 1 all-gender with 3 cubicles (27 steps up)
  • Cairns Lecture Theatre – One all-gender toilet (27 steps up)

The Royal Dick Bar

  • One all-gender toilet, 1 cubicle & urinals (1 step down)
  • One all-gender toilet, 3 cubicles – 1 large (1 step down)
  • One all-gender toilet, adapted (level access)
 

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