Lauriston Castle’s Visual Guide - Making History Accessible
Edge Group Scotland’s Transitions Programme group outside Lauriston Castle
We’ve been working on some projects with the team and Museums & Galleries Edinburgh for a couple of months now and it has been awesome! Our Transitions Team visited the vast majority of the Museums & Galleries Edinburgh’s venues in recent weeks with one, in particular, being the focus of their attention, Lauriston Castle.
We LOVE visiting Lauriston Castle. It has so much to offer, inside and out. The team had such a wonderful time during their visit and guided tour, they wanted to give back and help out others by creating a visual guide. A dedicated visual and written guide designed to help others with additional needs enjoy their visit to the historic venue that is, Lauriston Castle as much as possible.
Accessible History
This fitted nicely with Museums & Galleries Edinburgh’s mission to make their venues user-friendly for all visitors, neurodivergent or otherwise. This is no mean feat when dealing with historical venues that all come with their own restrictions, whether this is access to the buildings or their internal configuration. The creation of a visual guide is just one of the many things in place to help visitors enjoy their experience of Lauriston Castle.
The Visual Guide
The Lauriston Castle Visual Guide is a go-to source of information for anyone visiting who is neurodivergent or has additional support needs (ASN).
The front cover of the Lauriston Castle Visual Guide
From planning your visit, knowing what to expect when you arrive, the things you will see and hear, as well as what to expect from the guided tour of the castle and highlight key facts that will help you enjoy the grounds and woodland trails.
The Transitions Programme team was inspired by their visit and one of our attendees created some artwork in watercolour and ink. We were so impressed by this piece of art that it takes pride of place on the front cover of the guide.
Original artwork in watercolour and ink, by Erin
Using the Guide
The guide can be viewed online using your phone, tablet or computer
The guide can be printed out in colour or black and white, depending on your preference
There are email addresses and website links throughout the guide
If viewing the guide online using a device with internet access, you can click on the links throughout the guide;
If you are using any device with internet access and tap on an email address, it will open your email and generate a blank email for you to write your message and send it to the team at Lauriston
If you are using any device with internet access and tap on a web link, you will be taken to the website
Your Visit to Lauriston Castle
We hope the guide is useful for all visitors and our Transitions Team are looking forward to driving the creation of visual guides for more of Museums & Galleries Edinburgh’s venues. You can view the guide before your visit and/or have it handy during your visit (you can download it onto your phone) to the castle, whether you are joining a guided tour, taking part in a workshop or just visiting the grounds.
Museums and Galleries Edinburgh also provide sensory backpacks for neurodivergent visitors of all ages, their families and carers or anyone who might find their visit overwhelming. The backpacks can be used for the duration of your visit to Lauriston Castle, you just need to reserve one in advance by contacting the team at Lauriston Castle. These are ideal if you are worried about the hustle and bustle that comes with a busy visitor attraction in Edinburgh. The items included can help reduce anxiety and help you make the most of your visit.
Combine the Visual Guide with one of their sensory backpacks and you are one step closer to an epic adventure at Lauriston Castle.
We are thrilled to have been involved in this project and hope anyone visiting the castle and grounds finds it helpful. We hope it makes history more accessible for visitors to the city and that they have the BEST time visiting this amazing historic venue.
Useful Links
Lauriston Castle’s website: https://www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/venue/lauriston-castle
Lauriston Castle’s Visual Guide: Download the Lauriston Castle Visual Guide Here