As a royal residence for over 40 years, The Royal Yacht Britannia sailed over 1,000,000 nautical miles on 968 state visits with the Royal Family.
Today, berthed in the historic Port of Leith, Edinburgh, visitors can discover what life was like during royal service on board HM Queen Elizabeth II's former floating palace.
As with all visitor attractions in our Quality Assurance Scheme, the theme of inclusivity is scored as part of their grading assessment under the core experience section. The Royal Yacht Britannia has achieved full marks in this section, with a significant effort being made to make everyone feel welcome. They offer:
Priding themselves on their dedication to inclusive tourism, their marketing director Casey Rust shares why inclusivity is at the heart of their offering.
"As a five-star, award-winning attraction (Best UK attraction – Which Magazine readers), our ethos is to provide a great day out that is value for time, as well as money. All our visitors should have the same, consistent experience.
We are on a journey and are always learning and adding to the visitor experience. For example, when we redeveloped our website our primary focus was to build it based on the user experience and every effort was made to make it as inclusive as possible.
We recognise the need to provide comprehensive pre-arrival information so that all of our guests know exactly what to expect in advance.
Check out our dedicated accessibility page, which covers what we offer, and we are happy to discuss any specific needs and offer extra assistance where we can.
We also provide the option to download our access statement which details in full information on accessibility at Britannia, from arriving at Ocean Terminal to the facilities on board."
"Showcasing that we are inclusive sends a positive message to visitors and enhances the customer experience. In turn, we find that it helps contribute to positive feedback from visitors.
It is a journey, so my top tip would be to start small with some quick wins and build from there.”
Britannia welcomes guide dogs, hearing dogs and other recognised assistance dogs. ID Badge must be shown.
The tour is highly accessible for wheelchair users with lifts and ramps throughout. In order to enjoy the whole tour, wheelchairs should be no wider than 670mm.
There is free parking in Ocean Terminal. The nearest dedicated parking for wheelchair users to the visitor centre is in the blue car park on level E. When entering Ocean Terminal's car park lift, select level E for the visitor centre.
The Royal Deck Tea Room is only accessible to wheelchairs no wider than 670mm, as it can only be accessed via the original on board lift.
Each of Britannia's decks is accessed via a shore-side lift tower and stairwell. All seats without ropes are there for you to use and enjoy your audio tour. Wheelchairs can be hired free of charge from the visitor centre. Just ask a member of staff on arrival.
Buggies are welcomed on board Britannia. All but the widest double buggies will have full access to the Britannia tour (max width 670mm). There are baby changing facilities in the visitor centre and on board. There are also dedicated parent and child parking bays on level E of the blue car park at Ocean Terminal.
They have an audio handset tour in English for those who are visually impaired. It has additional explanations on the layout of the royal yacht. This audio tour can be requested at the handset desk before you step on board Britannia.
The yacht also has the tour script available in English braille. Guide dogs are welcomed on board.
They have tablets available with the Britannia tour in British and American Sign Language. They also have a printed version of our English language tour. Please request this at the handset desk before you step on board Britannia. The audio handsets have adjustable volume control, so you may wish to also take the handset tour. The yacht also welcome hearing dogs.
They have an audio handset tour in "basic English" for visitors with learning disabilities. Visitors whose first language is not English may also find this tour useful.
Britannia’s staff are dementia-friendly trained and offer regular seating along the tour route. They are also featured on the BrightCare Edinburgh map.