Dover Castle Access

Access information for the site is listed below. For more information, or if you have particular access needs, please contact us before you visit. Please note that some facilities may require booking in advance.

Security Checks

We’re committed to ensuring that your visits with us are safe. Due to the current national threat levels, we may carry out additional security checks. This could include running bag searches and carrying out body scans with a hand-held detector. 

Please note, we’ll need you to agree to this process in order to visit the site. Thank you for your co-operation

 

Mobility / Older Visitors
Accessible Toilets
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Adult Changing Area
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Handrails
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Easy-use Cutlery
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Assistance Dogs Welcome
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Wheelchair Loan
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Mobility Scooter Loan
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Site Folders
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Dog Bowl and Toileting
Dog bowls are provided outside the Naafi Restaurant, the Visitor Admission Building, the Tunnels shop, and the Great Tower Café
Wheelchair Access
Wheelchair access is available within the grounds; Arthur's Hall; Stone Hut; Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment and Queen’s Regiment Museum; WWI Gun Emplacement. Great Tower has access to ground floor only. Access to church is by arrangement only. Note that Pharos has access over gravel path. Both the Operation Dynamo experience and the Underground Hospital are accessible by mobility scooter. We have our own scooters that are slightly smaller to fit through the tunnels, that visitors can use for the duration of the tours. Please note that the emergency exit route for the Underground Hospital may require visitors to climb over 150 steps. The Operation Dynamo experience is a good alternative for those who are unable to do so. The Spur Casemates where you can find the Dover Castle Under Siege exhibition and the Georgian barracks exhibition are step free. The Spur view is also step free and is accessible for wheelchair and mobility scooter users. Due to the historic nature of the Spur Tunnels, they can only be reached by using a narrow spiral staircase. There are 18 steps to the first part of the tunnel and 26 steps up towards the end of the tunnel. There are handrails on the staircases. There is a virtual tour that can be viewed in the Spur Casemates. Please note the tunnels include stairs, enclosed spaces, steep slopes and uneven ground Please contact us by email to book a wheelchair or mobility scooter: Dover.Castle@English-Heritage.org.uk
Entrance / Set Down
A range of set down points are available around the site.
Disabled Parking
Blue Badge Holders' car park (near to Great Tower) pay at Canon's Gate pay box. On event days, you will be directed to park at other locations on site, no parking near Great Tower.
OnSite Transport
We have a wheelchair-accessible free-to-use mobility bus available.
Stairs
Great Tower: upper floors up steep flights of narrow steps.
Lift Access
Only in the Secret Tunnels. There is no lift access in the Medieval part of the castle.
Seating And Restpoints
There are several benches and places to rest dotted around the site.
Pathways Surface And Gradients
Extensive grounds mainly accessible on tarmac paths, however, there are some very steep slopes. Gravel, tarmac and cobble some steep and sloped.
Blind / Visually Impaired
Accessible Toilets
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Handrails
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Assistance Dogs Welcome
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Braille Guides
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Braille Signage
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Torches
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Sensory Experiences
No
Dog Bowl and Toileting
Dog bowls are provided outside the Naafi Restaurant, the Visitor Admission Building, the Tunnels shop, and the Great Tower Café
Handling Objects
Objects in Great Tower can be handled.
Audio Tours
No
Site Tours
There are several guided tours available to the Underground Hospital and Operation Dynamo. Please consult staff on arrival about suitability, especially at peak times, as numbers limited. Virtual tour of Great Tower in Arthur's Hall.
Areas Of Low Lighting
Some darkened areas in the Great Tower, and also in the tunnels.
Large Print
No
Deaf / Hard of Hearing
Assistance Dogs Welcome
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Vibrating Fire Alarms
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Tour Transcripts
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Film Subtitles
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BSL Tours
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Audio Installation Transcripts
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Dog Bowl and Toileting
Dog bowls are provided outside the Naafi Restaurant, the Visitor Admission Building, the Tunnels shop, and the Great Tower Café
Induction Loops
Available within the Admissions Building.
Learning Difficulties
Accessible Toilets
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Adult Changing Area
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Easy-use Cutlery
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Sensory Experiences
No
Handling Objects
Objects in Great Tower can be handled.
Basic Language Audio Tours
No
Easy Read Material
No
Large Print Material
No
Culinary / Dietary
Easy-use Cutlery
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Bottle / Food Warming
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High Chairs
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Special Diets
A range of gluten and dairy free foods are available.
Health And Safety
Deep Water
No
Trip Hazard
Some historic surfaces are uneven, stone staircases may not always have steps of even height.
Sheer Drop
Sheer drops can all be safely avoided by keeping in public areas and not crossing railings or barriers.
Slip Hazard
Grassed banks slippery when wet. Care should be taken in wet weather on any steep pathways around the site.
Steep Slope
Yes - the site has some steep slopes and undulating grass elsewhere across the site. Secret Wartime Tunnels: very steep slope (partial handrail) at beginning and to exit tour. Steep slopes and uneven ground with handrails in the Spur Tunnels.
Steep Stairs
Great Tower: upper floors up steep spiral flights of steps. Access to WWI Fire Command Post up steep steps. Steep stairs on exit from Underground Hospital, but with option to use alternative lift.
Beware Of Traffic
Yes - site accessibility vehicle.
Uneven Ground
Yes