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RAF Museum

Overview

The Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, located in Cosford in Shropshire, is a free museum dedicated to the history of aviation and the Royal Air Force in particular. The museum is part of the Royal Air Force Museum, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and also a registered charity.

Contact details

Lysander Avenue Cosford Shifnal Shropshire West Midlands TF11 8UP United Kingdom

https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/midlands/plan-your-day/accessibility/

midlands@rafmuseum.org

01902 376200

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Access guidance

• A limited number of manual wheelchairs and motor scooters (weather permitting) are available for loan on site at no charge. These are available on a first come first served basis at the Admissions Desk on arrival in the Visitor Centre. Seating is available inside and outside to allow for periods of rest. Order food and beverages at your table, no need to queue and the order will be brought to your table. Available at the Airfield Kitchen, Visitor Centre. The 'Ground Crew' are there to help and assist if additional support is needed.
• Disabled car park bays are available in car park 1. If you need more space there are coach bays available or please ask a member of the 'Ground Crew' and they will find advise. There are wide aisles in the hangars ensuring access for pushchairs and wheelchairs is very easy. The narrowest doorway is 750mm between Test Flight and War in the Air. The National Cold War Exhibition is on two levels and there are lifts at each end of the building. We recommend using the main lift for wheelchairs because it is easier to get in and out without turning. Walkways inside hangars are all hard surfaces with automatic doors at main entrance and exit points. There are thresholds at some doorways, no more than 10mm. Outside pathways are tarmac and paving with some thresholds up to 20mm. Wheelchair access into the 4D theatre and Virtual Reality Zone available. The majority of seating inside are wheelchair friendly, with central supports or wide space between table legs or overhanging table top. Seating outside the Visitor Centre has paving to gain access and to move around the tables. Other outdoor picnic tables have extended overhang on the table top to allow for easier access for wheelchairs.
• The Museum is located on a 23 acre site with four large hangars and a Visitor Centre. Along the visitor routes inside and outside there are benches to provide an opportunity to rest. The visitor route is set out so you can shorten your route without missing out or simply pick out what you want to see that day and come back another to view another part. There is no fixed visitor route, it is your choice where you want to go and see. A limited number of manual wheelchairs and motor scooters (weather permitting) are available for loan on site at no charge. These are available on a first come first served basis at the Admissions Desk on arrival in the Visitor Centre. If you find that you have walked enough and you have someone to get the car nearer to you, there are available routes around the site to get the car near to the exit or entrance door to each hangar. Please ask a member of the 'Ground Crew' and they will explain the best route to take. Alternatively if you are visiting the Museum alone, that's not a problem, we'll bring a wheelchair or mobility scooter to you and assist, subject to them being available. Please give the 'Ground Crew' extra time on busy days to support this request.
• Toilets including disabled toilets and baby change facilities are available in the Visitor Centre, Test Flight, National Cold War Exhibition and Hangar 1. Basically in every main building throughout the site. Our Visitor Centre now also houses a Changing Places Toilet. Features that this Changing Places Toilet offers include: • Ceiling track hoist for full room coverage • Adult size height adjustable changing table • Shower • Peninsular WC • Height adjustable wash basin • Privacy Screen • Emergency alarm system • Grab rails and drop-down support rails • Hand drying equipment • Large waste bin and sanitary/medical waste disposal bin • Large paper/couch roll and dispenser All ladies toilets offer free sanitary wear just in case it is needed.
• Assistance Dogs are welcome. We also provide access for support animals that have their support certificate, please check before arrival. A water bowl is available outside the main entrance to the Visitor Centre. We ask that all animals are kept on leads throughout the site and poo is cleaned up and disposed of appropriately. There are grassed areas with some tree shade. Please note the car parks are in exposed unshaded areas and we do not recommend animals are left in vehicles.
• Entrance to the Museum is free for everyone. Carers go free at Flight Zone experiences.
• There are exhibition barriers throughout the site to ensure the safety of visitors and the national collection. They are cord based lines that contrast with the floor colour and allow for a level of flex for you to feel their presence. If you wish to go beyond the barrier to touch an artefact please ask one of the 'Ground Crew' who will be able to escort you across the barrier if safe to do so. There are some restricted areas beyond the barrier for safety reasons however, where we can we will provide access. Exhibitions have sensory items and small scale models to allow you to imagine the overall shape of an aircraft. Textures of different aircraft coverings are on display, along with the Wellington internal structure piece that can be touched. Large print exhibition guides are available to download prior to visiting. There are interactive stations that have audio features to explain the RAF stories. Please not that not all of the exhibition interpretation is as up to date and as accessible as we would like it to be, we are working on this. There have been fantastic improvements made, we just need funding and time to continue this work. Any questions about the exhibition, artefacts and RAF Stories the 'Ground Crew' and 'Support Crew' have a wealth of knowledge to tap into, and if they don't know the answer they'll find out from a colleague. If you want to have your own guided tour this can be arranged, charges apply. Please contact the Museum to arrange this in advance.
• Hearing loops are at every main till point. Exhibition interpretation is visual in written format and in some case on video clips. All the audio stations will have subtitles on the screen. At present we are unable to provide sign language interpreters.
• Travelling by road The Midlands site is next door to RAF Cosford, centrally located with good motorway access from the M6 southbound (Junction 12) via the A5, one mile from junction 3 on the M54 for northbound travellers. The Museum is only thirty minutes from the centre of Birmingham and ten minutes from Telford. By Rail The Midlands site is next door to RAF Cosford, located on the Birmingham to Shrewsbury line (via Wolverhampton) then ½ mile walk. There is no footpath alongside the road. Cosford train station is not fully accessible with no lift available.