ACCESS I B I L I T Y

RZSSEDINBURGHZOOACCESSSTATEMENT

INTRODUCTION:EdinburghZooislocated3mileswestofEdinburgh’scitycentreandissetover82acresofparklandonthesideofCorstorphineHill.ItisadjacenttotheHolidayInnHotelonCorstorphineRoad.WeareamemberoftheVisitorAttractionQualityAssuranceSchemeandcurrentlyholda4*VisitScotlandAward.EdinburghZooseekstoprovideequalopportunitiesforallvisitorsandweareworkinghardtoensurethatourvisitorfacilitiesareaccessibletoeveryone.

TheZooissituatedonthesideofCorstorphineHillandsomeareasoftheparkonasteepincline.ThemajorityofthepathsaroundtheZoocanbeaccessedbywheelchair.Duetothehillynatureofourlocation,someroutesinvolvestepsorsteepslopeswhichareunsuitableforwheelchairusers.Acopyofouraccessibilitymapisavailableattheadmissionsdeskinthemainentranceorcanbe

downloadedfromourwebsite–edinburghzoo.org.uk.ItisalsoavailableonourAppwhichisfreeandcanbedownloadedontheGooglePlayStoreforAndroidortheAppStoreforApple

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devices.Thenameoftheappis"EdinburghZoo"anditisprovidedbytheRoyalZoologicalSocietyofScotland.Forwheelchairusersorvisitorswithmobilitydifficulties,weofferadedicatedandfreemobilityvehicleservicetoalloweasieraccesstocertainareasoftheZoo.Thevehicleisavailableeverydayoftheyearfromopeningtoclosingtimes.Ifyouwishtorequesttheuseofthevehicle,pleasespeaktoamemberofstaffonarrivaltomakearrangements.Alimitednumberofmanualwheelchairsareavailableforfreehirefromthemainentrance.A£10.00depositisrequired,whichisfullyrefundableonreturnofthewheelchairtopointofcollection.Theseareavailableonafirstcomefirstservedbasis.Fullytrainedandaccreditedassistancedogs,whoareassistingavisitor,arepermittedtoentertheZoo.Pleasebringrelevantproofofaccreditationasthismaybeaskedforonarrival.Ifyouwishtobringanassistancedogintothepark,pleaseinformamemberofouradmissionsteamwhenyouarrive.

• Allregisteredassistancedogsmustbeup-to-datewithallinoculations• Dogsmustbekeptonaleadatalltimesandunderstrictcontrol• Dogsmustnotbeallowedtodefecateanywhereinthezoogroundsandanyincidents

shouldbeclearedawaybytheirownersUnfortunately,weareunabletoallowassistancedogsintoanyindoororwalkthroughexhibits,orcertainoutdoorareas.Furtherinformationisavailableonarrivalorbycontactingusonthenumberbelow.Ifthebehaviourofouranimalsisaffectedbythepresenceofyourdog,pleasemoveawayfromthearea.Weapologiseforanyinconveniencethismaycause,however,thisistoensurethesafetyofouranimals,visitorsandyourdog.Welookforwardtowelcomingyou.Ifyouhaveanyqueriesorrequireanyassistance,pleasephone01313140326oremailinfo@rzss.org.ukPRE-ARRIVALThenearestmainrailwaystationisHaymarket,whichisapproximately2.5milesfromtheZoo.LothianBusesoperateservices12,26,31andAirlink100whichfrequentlyserveHaymarketstationandEdinburghZoowithajourneytimeofapproximately15minutes.LothianBusesservice31alsoservesWaverleytrainstation,whichisalsolocatedinEdinburgh’scitycentre.Taxisareavailableatbothstations.

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Thereisataxirankavailableonthemainroad,outsidethemainentrance.Ifanaccessibletaxiisnotavailablepleasecontactamemberofreceptionstaffwhowillbehappytotelephonealocalserviceonyourbehalf.

Busesfromthecitycentrestoponthewestboundcarriageway,acrossfromtheZoo.Nexttothebusstopisapedestriancrossingwhichleadsdirectlytothemainentrance.Eastbound,thenearestbusstopisonthesamesideoftheroadastheZoo,justpastthemainentrance.WhenaccessingtheZoofromthisbusstopyouwillneedtocrosstheentranceroadtoourcarpark.Thekerbisloweredonthisroad,butpleasetakecarewhencrossing.Busesrunapproximatelyevery10-15minutestoand

fromthecitycentre,7daysaweekandAllLothianBusesarenowlow-floorandfullyaccessibleforwheelchairsandfoldablebuggies.Thestreetsinthesurroundingareaarepavedandinrelativelygoodcondition.PRE-ARRIVALOurcarparkislocatedjustoffCorstorphineRoad,betweenthemainentranceandtheHolidayInnhotelandismannedbyacarparkingattendant.IfyouareusingSatelliteNavigation,pleaseusepostcode:EH126TSThereare500chargeableparkingspacesavailableandpaymentistakenonarrival.Inaddition,thereare10freeparkingspacesavailableforBlueBadgeholders.

Nodogsorotheranimalsareallowedtobeleftinvehiclesorotherwiseunattended.Duringthepeakseason,itiscommonforourcarparktobecomefull.Ifthisisthecase,ourcarparkattendantswilldotheirbesttoadviseonlocalparking.Earlyarrivalisrecommendedtoavoiddisappointment.

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Thecarparkistarmacandisonaslope.Themainentranceisapproximately100mdownhillfromtheBlueBadgeparkingspaces.Itisaccessibleviaapavedpathnexttotheentranceofthecarpark.MAINENTRANCE,RECEPTIONANDTICKETINGAREA:Beforeenteringtheadmissionsarea,itmaybenecessarytoqueuedependingonhowbusyitis.Therewillbetwoqueueswithpre-bookedticketsontheleftandonthedayticketsqueuingtotherighthandside.Themainentranceisaccessiblevialargeglassautomaticslidingdoorswithdimensions221cmx206cm.Thefloorofthisareaislevelthroughoutwithnostepsandseatingisavailablealongsidetheinformationdesk.Thereisalowcounterareadeskforwheelchairusersandmanualwheelchairsareavailableforfreehirefromthemainentrance.A£10.00depositisrequired,whichisfullyrefundableonreturnofthewheelchairtopointofcollection.Theseareavailableonafirstcomefirstservedbasis.WehavesmallnumberoflockersavailableforhireeachdayonafirstcomefirstservebasisinourMainEntrance.Therearetwotypesoflockersavailable;ourredlockersaresuitableforsmallbagsandpersonalitems,andourgreylockerscanstoresmalltomediumsizedpiecesofluggage.Thedimensionsareasfollows;Locker Height(cm) Width(cm) Depth(cm)Red 41 41 45Grey 80 45 40Tousetheselockersthereisanon-refundablechargeof£2foraredlockerand£4foragreylocker.Ifyouwouldliketousethisservicepleasespeaktoamemberofstaffattheadmissionsareaandtheywillassistyou.

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Visitorswithdisabilities,orthosewhorequirespecialassistance,areofferedfreeadmissionforoneaccompanyingcarerwhentheypaythefulladult/childprice.Pleasebringrelevantproofofentitlementsuchasabluebadge,‘plusone’travelcardorletterfromDisabilityLivingAllowanceasthiswillbeaskedforonarrival.Whenpurchasingtickets,theadmissionsstaffwillbeabletoletyouknowofanyspecificinformationregardingtheday’sevents.Anaccessibilitymaphighlightingaccessibleroutesthroughouttheparkisavailablefromtheticketdesksandallofthestaffwillbehappytohelpwithanyenquiries.Forwheelchairusersorvisitorswithmobilitydifficulties,weofferadedicatedandfreemobilityvehicleservicetoalloweasieraccesstocertainareasoftheZoo.Thevehicleisavailableeverydayoftheyearfromopeningtoclosingtimes.Ifyouwishtorequesttheuseofthevehicle,pleasespeaktoamemberofstaffonarrival.

TheMobilityvehicleisfullyaccessibleforwheelchairswitharampandwinchforloadingwheelchairs.Alongsidethewheelchairspacethereare3spacesforpassengers.Thevehicleisavailabletodropyouoffatspecificareasoftheparkbutpleasebeawarethatitisaserviceforallvisitorsandtheremaybeawaitingtimeduringpeakperiods.Themaximumdimensionsforwheelchairstoaccessthevehicleare;

Height 1380mmLength 1643mmWidth 820mmWeight 225kg

Thedoorstoexitreceptionhavedimensions221cmx206cm.WhenexitingthereceptionenteringtheZootherearestepstoaccessthemainbodyoftheparkhoweverthereisasignpostedaccessibleroutetotheleftofthestairs.Thisroutealsotakesyoutothepick-upanddropoffpointforthemobilityvehicle.

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ATTRACTIONSetover82acresofslopingparkland,RZSSEdinburghZooishometoover1,000rareandendangeredanimals.Therearemanyenclosures,walkthroughsandpathwaysonthesiteandmostoftheseareaccessibleviawheelchair,pleaseseetheaccessibilitymapformoreinformationregardingaccessibleroutes.Theparkisonasteepgradientandtherearesomeareasthataregravelpathsorgrassyareasthatmaypresentdifficultiesforthosewithmobilityissues.Therearebenchessituatedaroundtheparktostopandrestoradmiretheview.Thereareinterpretationboardsaroundthesiteattheanimalenclosures,thesecontainfactualinformationalongsideillustrations.Theyareinprominentpositionsaroundtheparkbutifyoushouldneedanyfurtherinformationpleaseaskamemberofstaff.ThereareseveralplayareasaroundtheZoo,designedtoallowchildrentohavefuninasafeenvironment.Pleaseensurethatchildrenaresupervisedatalltimes.Wealsohaveadailytalksprogrammeonofferwhichrunsduringthepeakvisitinghoursandtakesinavarietyofouranimals,thisincludesanimalfeedsandakeepertalkgivingmoreinformationabouttheanimals.Mostofthesetalkstakeplacewithahandheldspeakersystembutifyouhaveanydifficultiesorconcernsaboutaccessibilitypleasespeaktoamemberofstaff.

PUBLICTOILETS

We have toilet facilities in multiple locations in the park, please see the Park Map for routes on accessing these. We have accessible toilets at Park Reception, Budongo Trail, The Magic Forest, Member’s gate and Grasslands Restaurant. They are all fitted with ramps or level entry, support railings and low level sinks, below is a table of the dimensions of each of the above facilities.

LocationSingle

toilet/blockDoorwidth

(cm)Cubicledoorwidth(cm)

CubicleSize(cm)

MagicForest Single 82 N/A 295x200Budongo Single 90 N/A 210x150

Members'Gate(F) Block 86 88 175x150Members'Gate(M) Block 86 92 190x150

Grasslands(F) Block 84 82 270x175Grasslands(M) Block 87 85 180x175Reception Single 88 N/A 350x175

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CATERING

TheZoohasthreeindoorcateringoutletsandseveralkiosksofferingawiderangeofhotandcoldfood,snacksanddrinks.LookoutforourspecialkiosksdottedaroundtheZoo.Allofourkiosksareopensubjecttoweatherconditionsandvisitornumbers.PenguinsCafé,GrasslandsRestaurantandJungleFoodCourtareallfullyaccessibleandallofthefoodservedismarkedwiththeingredients.Ifyouhaveanyconcernsorquestionsregardingspecialdietaryrequirements,thenpleaseseeacateringassistantwhowillbemorethanhappytohelp.SHOP&EXITToexitthepark,youwillgothroughourgiftshop.Itisaccessibleviathesameroutethatyoutooktoenterthepark.Thedoorstoentertheshophaveclearanceof221cmx206cm.Itisallbasedononelevelandhaslargespacesbetweenfixturesforaccessviawheelchairorpushchair.Mostofthestockisaround90cmfromthefloorandshouldyouneedanyassistanceastaffmemberisalwaysonhandwhowouldbehappytoassist.