Access during Gaia

Thursday 17 October - Saturday 2 November

During Gaia’s residence at the Cathedral will be operating a one-way system. Entrance will be via the South Churchyard (opposite Borough Market) and exit via the Millennium Courtyard (on the north side of the Cathedral, a 5 minute journey to London Bridge station via Tooley Street). The route is step-free and suitable for wheelchair users. Please ask a member of staff should you require any assistance.

Tickets

We recommend buying tickets in advance (via Southwark Cathedral Eventbrite) to guarantee entry for the day and time you wish to visit the Cathedral and Gaia. A limited amount of tickets will be available on the door.

If you have access requirements, please contact cathedralaccess@southwark.anglican.org with any queries.

Queues

There will be 2 queues for this event, one for pre-bookings, and one for on-the-day tickets. We anticipate this being a highly popular event so we recommend buying tickets in advance to ensure you are admitted to the Cathedral in good time, otherwise you may have to wait for capacity to become available inside.

Should you have to queue, please note that this will be outside in the South Churchyard.

Stewards (identifiable in hi-vis jackets) will be positioned at various points around the site to manage this.

Toilets

There are limited toilet facilities available at the Cathedral and Café.

There are two toilets in the Cathedral precinct suitable for people with disabilities, one of which meets the current regulations (2.48m x 1.4m). One is at the West end of Lancelot's Link on the ground floor. The other is in the basement level of the Millennium Building and can be accessed by a lift. Both toilets need a radar key which can be obtained from the stewards.

Wheelchair Access

There is a step-free access route to visit Gaia. We are sorry that at present there are no self-opening doors.

If you are attending a talk, there is a passenger lift up to the meeting rooms and down to the basement (see ‘Lifts’) in the Millennium Building.

Access to the Nave is via the west end of Lancelot’s Link, where there is a platform lift (see ‘Lifts’). There are ramps to the North and South Transepts from the Nave. Access to the High Altar, Choir and Retrochoir is available via the Parish Door.

Please ask a member of staff should you require any assistance.

Lifts

The lift specifications are as follows:

Gaia Relaxed Viewing Sessions on Tuesday mornings between 10am – 11am are designed to offer a more accessible, quieter viewing experience.

During these times, the permitted number of visitors will be reduced, the soundtrack accompanying Gaia will be played at a lower volume, and visitors will be asked, where possible, to keep noise levels low.

Assistance Dogs

Assistance dogs are welcome at all times in the Cathedral and other areas. Water can be made available for them.

Induction Loops

An induction loop for people who are hard of hearing is in operation both in the Cathedral (Nave) and Library areas.

Baby Facilities

There will be a buggy park available in the South Transept. Buggies are left at owner’s own risk. Baby change facilities are available in the Lancelot’s Link.

Bags

Please note we do not have any cloakroom facilities to store personal belongings. Visitors are welcome to bring bags with them, but we strongly recommend that they are no larger than 30cm x 30cm x 15cm. Security notice - your bag will be searched when you arrive. Please do not bring any sharp objects as they will be confiscated.

We hope you enjoy your visit to ‘Gaia’ as part of Southwark Cathedral’s Climate Justice Fortnight!

If you have any further questions regarding accessibility that are not covered here please email cathedralaccess@southwark.anglican.org