Accessibility at RHS Garden Rosemoor

RHS Garden Rosemoor is signposted at Great Torrington and is situated one mile south on the A3124 road which heads towards Exeter. Exit the M5 Southbound at junction 27, and join the A361 link road signposted Barnstaple/Bideford. At Barnstaple join A39 signposted Bideford (Atlantic Highway), keep heading towards Bideford on the A39 until you reach a roundabout signposted to Great Torrington (B3232). Take this road and follow it into Great Torrington. Car parking is free.
 
For Sat Nav users the address is: RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Devon, EX38 8PH.

The closest station is Barnstaple (12 miles). A taxi rank is available at the station entrance if you require an accessible taxi please approach a member of staff. For times and tickets see the National Rail Enquiries website. Visitors who produce their train ticket on the day of their visit will gain entry to the garden at a discounted rate.

You can catch bus 5B which runs from Barnstaple and Bideford through to Exeter and back. To get up-to-date bus information call Traveline on 0870 608 2608. For more information and current timetables visit the Stagecoach website. Visitors who produce their bus ticket on the day of their visit will gain entry to the garden at a discounted rate.

The bus stop on the far side of the road provides egress onto a grass verge. This has been ramped to give better access onto the road but maybe wet or slippery and may prove challenging for wheelchair users. The near side bus stop provides access onto the level tarmac with a mild slope leading down to the main entrance 60m away. Both bus stops are provided with benches but there are no covered shelters.

When you travel to Rosemoor by taxi, there is a designated drop off zone at the main entrance from which the Visitor Centre is accessible via steps or ramp.

The Visitor Centre, Garden Centre, Rosemoor Kitchen Garden Restaurant, Lecture/Exhibition Hall, Reading Room, The Garden Room and Peter Buckley Learning Centre and Teaching Gardens and buildings are all accessible. However, please note some areas of the garden such as the Woodland Walks do have limited accessibility. Wheelchair and mobility scooter hire is available, hires may require reservations in advance of your visit. Please see further details in our ‘At a glance: when you arrive’ section.

All guide, assistance or service dogs, including assistance dogs in training are welcome at the garden.

Please note: Please do not leave pets in our car parks as there is no shaded parking available – see more information about animal welfare.

Dog day care is available from K9 Focus, located approximately 12 minutes from RHS Garden Rosemoor. Visit the K9 Focus website for further information (please note: you are leaving the RHS website and will be governed by the privacy policy and terms and conditions of K9 Focus). 

Unfortunately, attendants cannot be provided, but entry is provided for up to two carers free of charge accompanying visitors whose disability necessitates their support.

There is designated parking 40m–60m from garden entrance, including 26 accessible parking bays and three family bays. Blue badges are not required.

There is a designated drop-off point available at the main entrance, please note this is not covered and no advance booking is available.

Visitors are welcome to bring their own personal mobility vehicles to help them get around.

There are eight manual wheelchairs available at the garden entrance for ‘on-the-day’ use or advance booking. To make a booking or find out more please email rosemooradmin@rhs.org.uk with the date of your visit, arrival time and surname or call 01805 626810.

Four powered mobility vehicles scooters (Tramper’s) are available for guests, free of charge, subject to membership to the Countryside Mobility South West Scheme.

• Countryside Mobility Single Use – £3
• Countryside Mobility Temporary Membership – £5 (valid for two weeks)
• Countryside Mobility Yearly Membership – £15

Membership to the scheme will be completed at Rosemoor as part of your training, which will take up to 15 minutes. Pre-booking is essential (arrival slots are available for AM or PM sessions daily) – book online here or to find out more email rosemooradmin@rhs.org.uk with the user's name, address, telephone number and preferred date and booking slot.

There is no land train type vehicle at Rosemoor.

Accessible unisex WCs are available in the garden entrance, The Garden Room, picnic kiosk in the car park, and at Rosemoor House.

Hearing loops are installed in the garden entrance, Lecture Hall and Peter Buckley Learning Centre.

Larger print maps are available. Please ask our staff at reception.

• There are 22 accessible parking bays available from between 50m and 125m from the admissions desk
• A drop off zone is available at the garden entrance, there are no curbs
• Hard-standing paths are provided from both car parks to the entrance
• The main car park which includes the accessible parking in entirely tarmacked
• The overflow car park is surfaced in gravel. There are hard-standing bays to the event car park exterior with a large grassy interior providing additional parking in peak times
• The main car park is lit by an elevated lamp
• The admissions desk is permanently staffed
• Doors are manual but generally propped open during opening hours
• All doors/entrance gates have a minimum opening width of 80cm

• The admissions desk is on the ground floor of a single storey-building
• There are steps down from the car park but smooth access paths are also provided
• The Visitor Centre, Garden Centre and Rosemoor Kitchen Garden Restaurant are all on one level
• Seating is available both inside and immediately outside of the Visitor Centre
• The flooring is made of quarry tiles
• Lighting is provided by a variety of wall and ceiling-mounted LED and fluorescent lights which are undergoing a piecemeal conversion to LED

Maps of the garden can be found below:

• Downloadable PDF: Rosemoor garden map (612kB pdf)
• Online interactive: Rosemoor interactive garden map
• The grounds are a mixture of formal and informal gardens spread over 65 acres, all of which are accessible by hard-standing tarmac or bonded pea-gravel path
• There are four picnic areas available at the overflow car park, Peter Buckley Learning Centre, Brash play area and Copse play area
• There are a number of steps on site but all are avoidable with ramps or alternative routes provided
• Path width varies greatly across the site but all are accessible by wheelchair
• There are approximately 80 wooden benches spread across the site which are of varying height with some offering armrests
• Woodland paths are accessible by ‘Tramper’ mobility vehicle and have hard-core based footpaths which are not suitable for wheelchair users

• Located in the Visitor Centre on the ground floor
• The Reading Room is fully accessible and is 30m from the nearest accessible WC

• Rosemoor House is made up of three holiday apartments, the Wisteria Tea Room and accessible WCs

• A ground floor apartment which sleeps two people
• Doors are all manual swing doors, the narrowest of which is 66cm and could present issues to wheelchair and mobility scooter users
• The apartment itself is all on one level but does have a single step out of the bedroom onto a private veranda
• The bathroom is fully accessible and has a walk-in shower unit

• Camellia (sleeps two) and Azalea (sleeps four) are on the first floor and are accessed by a staircase
• Both apartments also have steps between rooms
• The  bathrooms are accessible with walk-in showers
• Doorways are fitted with manual swing doors with the narrowest being 69cm in Camellia and 71cm in Azalea

• A single accessible WC is located at Rosemoor House and is accessed via a pea-shingle path with a mild incline
• The final path is accessible but quite narrow so we ask that mobility vehicles are left at the end of the main path leaving a 10m walk

• The Wisteria Tea Room is on the ground floor and is fully accessible by wheelchair
• Due to space limitation in the Tea Room, we ask that mobility vehicles are left outside
• The nearest accessible WCs are located in the same building approximately 20m from the tea room

• Catering facilities are on the ground floor
• The door openings are at least 89cm with manual swing doors
• The restaurant is fully accessible by wheelchair
• Tables offer a floor-to-underneath clear height of 66cm
• Flooring is non-slip laminate
• Lighting is provided by a variety of wall and ceiling-mounted LED and fluorescent lights which are undergoing a piecemeal conversion to LED
• The restaurant is table service
• Menus are provided by a blackboard with each item labelled in situ
• Staff are also available to identify or describe our food including detailed allergen information
• The nearest WC is in the visitor centre, approximately 20m from the restaurant till points

• The Garden Centre is all on the ground floor
• The smallest door opening is 85cm with manual swing doors or electric slide doors
• The entire Garden Centre is accessible by wheelchair
• The counter is not low but is accessible to all and staff are on hand to assist if required
• Displays are modular shelves with islands dotted through the Garden Centre and various wall shelving units
• There is no background music or hearing loop
• Staff are permanently on hand to provide any assistance required
• There is not a WC in the Garden Centre
• The Visitor Centre WCs are 20m from the Garden Centre entrance

• WCs are available at the overflow car park, in the Visitor Centre and at Rosemoor House
• All locations have an accessible unisex WC available
• Accessible WCs are all lockable and are fitted with an emergency alert facility – red alarm cord
• All accessible WCs are on the ground floor with no issues to access
• Doors to accessible WCs have a minimum width of 86cm
• Kiosk WC has a 110cm wide space to the left-hand side as well as an adjustable grab rail – the seat is 46cm from floor level
• Visitor Centre WC has a 110cm wide space to the left-hand side as well as an adjustable grab rail – the seat is 42cm from floor level
• Rosemoor House WC has a 110cm wide space to the left-hand side as well as an adjustable grab rail – the seat is 42cm from floor level
• Emergency alarms are monitored by an alarm receiving centre and have an audible alarm
• Dedicated fire marshals with pre-allocated zones sweep their area for visitors during emergency alarms
• Lighting is sensor-operated and is provided by wall-mounted LED and fluorescent lights which are undergoing a piecemeal conversion to LED
• Flooring is either quarry tile or non-slip laminate
• Taps in accessible WCs are large lever mixers
• Other WCs have IR sensor taps
• Hand driers are a mixture of traditional hot air driers and forced air driers