WWT Slimbridge Accessibility Case Study

Find out how WWT Slimbridge, an award-winning accessible visitor attraction has improved accessible facilities, including a changing-places toilet, prioritised staff training and support, created extensive pre-visit information and more.

1. How would you describe your business to visitors who may not be aware of you? / Tell us briefly about your business and the services you offer. 

Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is a conservation charity working to protect and restore wetlands, which are vital habitats for wildlife and ecosystems. WWT and WWT Slimbridge was founded in 1946 by Sir Peter Scott, a renowned artist and naturalist.  WWT operates a network of ten wetland sites across the UK, including WWT Slimbridge, providing educational programmes and opportunities for public engagement with nature.

WWT Slimbridge is an award-winning accessible visitor attraction set in 800 acres of wetlands, on the banks on the River Severn. The attraction offers an amazing variety of experiences for families, nature lovers and birdwatchers alike, these include:

• Getting up close to a large variety of endangered and exotic species from all over the world in their Living Collection. This includes five species of flamingo, a pair of Asian short-clawed otters, and some of the rarest geese in the world.
• A nature reserve and a wide range of bird hides, with some of the best birdwatching sites in the UK.
• Hands on activities like hand feeding the birds and pond dipping.
• Play areas including Welly Boot Land – a large outdoor water playground for families, Riverlife adventure play and Wild Play.
• Toad Hall, where you can meet a collection of frogs, toads, newts and axolotls from around the world. This area also includes a small soft play.
• A seasonal 1km long Canoe Safari trail.
• A seasonal 4x4 Wild Safari which explores the wider the reserve.
• Scott House Museum and daily tours of Sir Peter Scott’s home.
• Restaurant, Gift Shop, kiosks and picnic areas.
• Changing Places Toilet.
• Waterscapes Aviary and Living Wetland Theatre where you can experience bird demonstrations, talks and science shows.
• Accommodation in Bewick’s Lodge or Warblers Meadow shepherd’s huts.

2. What changes have you made at WWT Slimbridge to make it more accessible and inclusive? 

Facilities:

• Opened a fully equipped Changing Place Toilet on site: https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/slimbridge/news/slimbridge-opens-new-changing-places-toilet
• Redeveloped our Welly Boot Land play area, the changes included brand new play equipment, along with improved levelled surfacing. There is also improved accessibility with levelled surfaces and play equipment. The water play areas are wetland themed, offering learning through play and exploration: https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/slimbridge/news/slimbridge-opens-revamped-welly-boot-land
• Opened our new Warblers' Meadow glamping site which includes 5 boutique shepherd's huts. One of the huts, Reed Warbler, has a wheelchair-friendly ramp and step-free access. This hut also has a wide doorway for easier entry. While some limited walking is needed inside the hut, it provides a welcoming and comfortable retreat for those with reduced mobility. The paths around the huts are completely wheelchair friendly throughout, with hard surfaces: https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/slimbridge/accommodation/warblers-meadow
• Opened a new hide the Estuary Tower, complete with a lift.
• Opened our Summer Walkway, a wheelchair-friendly path down to the banks of the Severn Estuary.
• Manual wheelchairs and mobility scooters are available to hire.

Pre-visit information:

• Created an Accessibility Guide for our website and a dedicated accessibility page: https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/slimbridge/plan-your-visit/accessibility
• Filmed and created an Accessibility video for our website and marketing.
• Created a pre-visit guide with widget software for schools which has been added to the Slimbridge Learning zone, there is also a version for our nature connection programme, Generation Wild, too.
• Created a Social Story on our website, we also share this with schools both as a PDF and an editable PowerPoint presentation.
• We have started to create translation cards in several languages for pupils who have English as an additional language.
• We also launched free SEND backpacks for visitors and headphones for adults and children in June 2024. The bags and headphones are free to hire while onsite, collected easily from our admissions desk. We include an invite to give feedback on the bags so we can improve them further.
• Added alt-text to imagery on social media and our website.
• Include accessibility information in our social media plan and a dedicated Accessibility Highlights on Instagram.

To improve the disability and accessibility awareness within our team we have ran various training courses including:

• Dementia Awareness training.
• Several of the HQ and Slimbridge Centre team attended a ‘Sensing Nature Walk’ at Westonbirt Arboretum.
• Staff attended an Accessibility and Inclusive tourism toolkit webinar.
• Attended training called Words are Not Enough – Engaging children with neurodiversity, through the senses.
• WWT recently ran an ‘Introduction to neurodiversity: welcoming neurodivergent visitors’ training course with The Neurodiverse Museum. For anyone unable to attend the online training course, a recording was shared to all staff afterwards.

We have also adapted events including:

• Running a relaxed performance of our Bing show over Easter 2024.
• In October 2024 we ran SENS sessions during our Halloween Light Trail which took part during twilight when it was lighter. We reduced the sound levels of the music and sound effects, and the actors took a more relaxed approach. These sessions were very popular, and we will be running these again during any future light trail events.

Marketing:

• Developed our image library so we have broader images that will appeal to a more diverse audience and showcase more of our accessible experiences and facilities.
• Advertise with Tourism for All and Disability Review Magazine to reach new audiences.
• Worked with a freelance reporter who is visually impaired for a piece on our Birdsong Workshops and accessibility across WWT sites.

Generation Wild

Launched our Generation Wild project, engaging children from under-represented communities to connect with nature. Since launching the project 6,000+ pupils in Gloucestershire have taken part in over 12,000 nature activities at Slimbridge: https://generationwild.wwt.org.uk/

Awards

We enter annual award schemes with categories focusing around accessible and inclusive tourism including the Bristol, Bath & Somerset awards which leads through to the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.

Transport

Worked with Gloucestershire County Council to promote the new Robin bus service which now provides public transport direct to WWT Slimbridge: https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/transport/the-robin/where-can-i-travel/berkeley-vale/

3. What motivated you to make these changes? 

To fulfil WWT founder, Sir Peter Scott’s, vision of connecting everyone with nature – we want everyone to be able to access our blue and green spaces.

WWT Slimbridge has always been a fairly wheelchair friendly attraction with mostly step-free access to our exhibits and wide level pathways around the grounds and so we have always focused our efforts on visitors with physical accessibility needs. Since building on our accessibility offer over the years, we have made sure to include more sensory accessibility and making our attraction inclusive for all.  

The award schemes we have entered have also motivated us to make improvements each year, as they provide valuable feedback on what areas we can develop. Being awarded Bronze for Accessible and Inclusive Tourism in the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence was a huge motivator, and although demonstrated how much work we have done – it also highlighted areas we could work on further.

4. Since you began improving accessibility, what benefits have you noticed (e.g. on customer satisfaction, bookings, staff morale)? 

We continue to hire out mobility scooters and manual wheelchairs for visitors and just from April 2024 to April 2025, we hired out 658 scooters to visitors and 222 manual wheelchairs, providing these customers with an enjoyable and accessible visit to our site.

Over the years we've marketed our business through Tourism for All. TFA work to improve accessibility in the tourism, travel and leisure industry. We've gained good exposure and visibility for people with accessibility needs as over the last year our listing has been viewed 8K+ times and received 10K+ impressions.

We've seen an increase in customer satisfaction from people with accessibility requirements within our Google and TripAdvisor reviews, particularly over the last year. Here's some examples:

Chrissy P – 5 April 2024

We had a pushchair and had no problems with getting to most areas.

Gaynor Hulford - May 2024

Lovely day out watching an assortment of birds and wild fowl going about their daily routine.
 What made it even better was the ability to hire a manual wheelchair for the day, so we were able to take our Mother around the site with ease.

Terri Ann Woodward – May 2024

Great place to go. Have been on Bank Holiday and on a weekday both times easy to get in and around. All flat and tarmac paths so if you have a pram or wheelchair it's very accessible.

Bev Shaw – May 2024

Lovely, well kept and flat, seating spread around a lovely day out for young and old alike

Phil V – May 2024

Easy to get around, and lifts in both observation towers excellent for my disabled partner.

Kate B –  May 2024

All ages and abilities are welcome. Very accessible and there are great staff for those who need assistance.

Richard S – May 2024

Excellent few hours out. I cycled up from Bristol along National Cycle Route 41. WWT Slimbridge is set in very beautiful countryside just off the cycle route. Bike and car parking was ample and the centre was very accessible and easy to get around for those with wheelchairs or prams.

David Ranger – June 2024

We went with two grandparents, two parents and two under two. The highchairs in the restaurant were handy as was the microwave for heating baby food.

Shayne Lewis – June 2024

Straightforward to get to. Large parking area. All areas largely level. Disability buggies available to hire. Pleasant and efficient staff.

David Eeley – October 2024

Interesting opportunity to be close to the wildlife. Good accessibility to all areas. Good to see lots of family groups.

Kenny Wright – December 2024

Slimbridge is very accommodating of families and children. The building is clean and presentable with wheelchair and pushchair access everywhere.

Sharon Stubbings – January 2025

The wetland is flat, so suitable for wheelchairs and those with mobility problems and while the site is extensive there is access for all.

Ayyub Chowdhury – April 2025

Slimbridge is such an inclusive place, which is something that really stood out to me. Whether you're young, old, a serious birdwatcher, or just someone looking for a fun day out, there's something for everyone. The staff were really friendly and helpful, and everything from the accessible pathways to the well-placed seating areas made it feel like a place designed for everyone to enjoy.

Trip Advisor Reviews

Jephson - Nov 2024

A lot of thought has gone into the design of this centre and it’s a great place to take the whole spectrum of ages and physical abilities. We went on the optional visit around Peter Scott’s house, just two of us, and it was fascinating. It’s all on the ground floor so accessibility not a problem.

174Kayleighh – August 2024

Everything is wheelchair accessible except for the bird hides. There are plenty of disabled toilets. They rent out electric scooters for a fee if you book in advance or you can hire a manual wheelchair for free.

Honeysrascal – April 2024

The site was very accessible and we saw many people with young children in buggies and people using wheelchairs. There was also plenty of seating, much of it with views worth lingering over.

LouiseM316 – April 2024

Carers can get in for free, so this makes it a lot easier for me as I am carer for an Autistic Adult and if he gets overwhelmed at a place we may leave early. Parking is free, with lots of spaces for blue badges holders.

5. What were some challenges, if any, that you encountered when implementing accessibility measures? 

Staff time and resources, relying on funding as we are a charity. WWT Slimbridge is such a large and vast site, so we must focus our efforts an area at a time. We unfortunately can’t update everything all at once and because it’s a historic site too some areas are a lot more costly and trickier to update.

6. What advice would you give to other businesses thinking about making changes to their accessibility? 

Think about quick wins like updating your website or creating an accessibility highlight on your social media page, these changes don’t cost money and will make such a big difference to people with accessibility needs looking for a day out.

Bringing people together is a good place to start, so starting a quarterly group catch on areas of improvement. There will be people in your organisation that are keen to be involved and it’s amazing what you can achieve when you work as a group.

Not only is making your business more accessible and inclusive the right thing to do, but it’s also in your favour financially – with the purple pound (combined spending power of disabled people and their families in the UK, estimated to be around £274 billion annually). A wide range of people benefit from the process of improving accessibility – families benefit because they can access nature together, so it’s not only the individual themselves.

We’ve learnt not to let fear of ‘getting it wrong’ stand in the way of positive change – people are grateful we are moving in the right direction, that we are trying to make improvements and are happy to help and support.

7. Did you use any particular resources, tools or partners (e.g. audit services, training providers)? Which would you recommend for a business just getting started? 

We advertise online with Tourism for All: https://www.tourismforall.co.uk/things-to-do/wwt-slimbridge-wetland-centre-p4085241 and they have also provided us with free training.

We are included in the Access to Nature programme with Barnwood Trust: https://www.barnwoodtrust.org/what-we-do/our-change-work/access-to-nature/

VisitEngland have a great accessible and inclusive toolkit with a range of resources to get started: https://www.visitbritain.org/business-advice/make-your-business-accessible-and-inclusive/visitengland-accessible-and-inclusive

We completed access audits recently as part our Slimbridge 75 project.

8.Are you planning any further changes to your accessibility? New products, expansion etc.  

During Pride Month this June we’re hosting our first ever 'Pride in Nature' event. The day will showcase to our LGBTQIA+ community, including staff, volunteers, visitors, members, and donors, that nature is for everyone. And that Slimbridge is a safe space where diversity is celebrated and people feel welcomed, valued, and respected. The event will include queer ecology walks, a family rainbow nature trail, drag queen story time and crafts.

In May 2025 we launched our Estuary Shoreline Landscape which will not only help biodiversity but also provide an expansion of our facilities. The landscape has accessible pathways throughout and will also provide a learning space for Slimbridge Learning team to deliver their 'Wellies and Wellbeing' sessions in the future.

9. Can you share one example from a customer that demonstrated the measures you had implemented had made a difference? 

See review examples in question 4.

Find out more about WWT Slimbridge Accessibility here.