Describer escorted visits

An escorted description service is available on set days to take blind or partially sighted visitors around Hampton Court Palace.

A room describer andsome visitors walk up The King's Staircase

Available dates

Join one of our expert room describer volunteers to find out which bits of the building can be touched and to get a sense of the scale of the rooms.

There is no additional charge - this is included in normal admission tickets.  It is available on the ninth day of each month, between 10.30pm and 3.30pm (ideally for two hours at a time so that everyone can have a rest and get some refreshment) and places are allocated on a first come first served basis:

Tuesday 9 February
Tuesday 9 March
Friday 9 April
Sunday 9 May
Wednesday 9 June
Friday 9 July
Monday 9 August
Thursday 9 September
Saturday 9 October
Tuesday 9 November
Thursday 9 December 2010

Places must be booked in advance to ensure availability. 

Other dates can be available by pre-arrangement well in advance.

How to book

To book a volunteer describer escort please telephone 0844 482 7777 or email hamptoncourt@hrp.org.uk stating the time that you would like to meet the escort.

Please also leave contact details so that we may contact you to confirm your place and to make appropriate arrangements for meeting your escort.

Additional information

Visitors who only want an escort for a short time will still find plenty to do at Hampton Court Palace.  Our audio tours are available in versions for partially sighted visitors - please speak to the staff at the distribution desk in the Information Centre if you wish to use them.  Braille and large print versions of the text in 'Young Henry VIII's Story' are in the Young Henry VIII exhibition.  And there are many things to touch and smell in the Tudor Kitchens.

Our costumed interpreters are also willing to let visitors feel their costumes when they are wandering around the courtyards - although be careful to ask permission first, especially of King Henry VIII!

For more information about access at Hampton Court Palace click here.

If you are interested in finding out more about our volunteering opportunities click here.

Downloadable Resources

Some files are provided in PDF format - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these files.

  1. Click here to download Acrobat Reader
  2. Alternatively, Adobe offers a service for converting PDFs into HTML or plain text. Access this service here

    Access at Hampton Court Palace
    Access at Hampton Court Palace
    (Adobe PDF, 829KB)