Everyone Welcome · Family Days Out Across Northern Ireland
Accessible Days Out in Northern Ireland
Places where the access is real, not a line on a website — free beach wheelchairs on five beaches, all-terrain chairs to borrow, Changing Places toilets with hoists, quiet rooms and step-free trails.
The hard part of planning a day out is never the day itself — it is finding out in advance whether it will actually work. These are places in Northern Ireland where the access is real, with the specific facilities named so you can judge for yourself.
Ring ahead every time, even for places on this list. Hoists break, lifts go out of service, all-terrain chairs get booked, and a Changing Places can be closed for repair for weeks without the website changing. Everything here was checked against the venue, the council, the National Trust or the Mae Murray Foundation, but a phone call the day before is the only thing that actually guarantees it.
Learn the phrase "Changing Places". It is not the same as an accessible toilet. A Changing Places has a height-adjustable adult changing bench, a ceiling hoist and space for two carers — the difference between a full day out and having to go home. Northern Ireland has close to a hundred of them, and the official Changing Places "Find a Toilet" map will show you the nearest.
Beach equipment is free, but you have to sign up first. The Mae Murray Foundation runs the inclusive beach scheme on five NI beaches. Membership costs nothing, but you register in advance, watch a short induction video, and book the equipment at least 72 hours ahead. Do the sign-up now, in advance of needing it, rather than the week you want to go.
Carers often go free. Many NI attractions admit an essential carer at no charge — W5 does, and it also offers priority queuing. It is rarely advertised prominently. Ask when you book, and bring whatever evidence the venue asks for.
"Accessible" and "suitable" are not the same word. A path can be step-free and still be too steep, too long or too soft for a particular chair. Where we know the surface and the gradient we have said so. Where we do not, we have said that too.
Ask about quiet times, not just quiet sessions. Even venues with no formal autism-friendly session will usually tell you honestly which hour of which day is emptiest. That single question often does more than a special event.
The best thing of its kind in Northern Ireland, and it costs nothing. Five beaches run an inclusive scheme with the Mae Murray Foundation: Benone Strand and Portstewart Strand in Co Londonderry, Portrush East Strand in Co Antrim, and Cranfield and Groomsport in Co Down. Between them they offer beach wheelchairs, all-terrain wheelchairs, beach walkers and crutches, small floating chairs for getting into the water, and wheelchair matting laid over the sand. Each site has accessible parking, accessible toilets and adult-sized changing facilities with a hoist — Cranfield has a full Changing Places. Membership is free; you register, watch a short induction video (plus a water safety video if you want a floating chair), and book at least 72 hours ahead. Benone runs its full equipment offer in July and August; Groomsport typically staffs Fridays and Sundays through the summer.
A full dayFree — equipment and membershipRegister free, then book 72 hours ahead
Bushmills, Co Antrim · year-round · National Trust
The one everybody wants to do, and it is more manageable than its reputation suggests. The National Trust runs an electric shuttle buggy down the hill from the visitor centre to the stones for anyone with mobility needs, and there are all-terrain wheelchairs and scooters to borrow. The visitor centre has accessible toilets and a Changing Places facility, and the main path down is surfaced. The stones themselves are uneven volcanic rock — that part is unavoidable — but getting to them, and getting a proper view, is genuinely provided for.
Half a dayNT members free · non-members payShuttle buggy + all-terrain chairs to borrow
The strongest all-round offer of any indoor attraction here. W5 has a dedicated Quiet Room for anyone who needs to step out of the noise and crowds — used by children and adults with sensory needs and by autistic visitors — plus free admission for carers and priority queuing for children with additional needs. It also runs autism-friendly experiences through the year rather than as a one-off. Four floors, all lift-served, all under one roof, with parking directly underneath at the Odyssey. On a wet day it is hard to beat.
Half a dayTicketed · carers usually freeQuiet room · free carer entry · priority queuing
Free, indoors, lift-served throughout, and it lends sensory backpacks to help make a visit more comfortable for autistic visitors. Because there is no admission charge there is also no pressure to stay — if twenty minutes is all that works today, twenty minutes has cost you nothing, which takes a surprising amount of weight off a difficult day. It sits inside Botanic Gardens, so the Palm House and a flat park walk are right outside the door.
2 – 3 hoursFree entrySensory backpacks · lift to every floor
The most thoroughly set-up country park in Northern Ireland for limited mobility, and it is free. The walks are laid out to be manageable for people with limited mobility, and the park provides a mobility vehicle, a hearing loop system at the visitor centre, accessible parking, accessible toilets and a wheelchair-accessible café. The bog boardwalk is the reason to come — a raised timber walkway out over living peatland, which is a landscape you cannot get close to anywhere else, and here you can roll straight out into the middle of it.
A wetland reserve on the shore of Strangford Lough built around getting close to wildlife without having to go far to find it. There are surfaced woodland and waterside trails, bird hides you can watch from while seated and sheltered, a sensory garden, and feeding sessions where the ducks and geese come to you. The combination of short distances, plenty of places to stop, and something genuinely happening at each one makes it work for a lot of families where a long open walk would not.
Half a dayTicketed · see siteSensory garden · hides · surfaced waterside trails
A whole reconstructed town and countryside spread across a large outdoor site at Cultra, and one of the Northern Ireland venues with a registered Changing Places facility — which is what makes a full day here possible rather than a rushed couple of hours. It is a big site with real gradients, so plan the route rather than wandering, and ask at the entrance which of the buildings are step-free on the day you visit, because it varies across the historic cottages.
Half a dayTicketed · see siteChanging Places on site · large outdoor site
Belfast Zoo has a registered Changing Places facility, which puts it on a short list of NI attractions where a full day is realistic. Be straight with yourself about the terrain though: the zoo is built into the side of Cave Hill and some of it is genuinely steep. Ring ahead, ask which route across the site is manageable, and plan around the steeper sections rather than discovering them halfway round.
Half a dayTicketed · see siteChanging Places on site · steep in places
Free to go into, free guided tours, a permanent exhibition on the city's history, lawns to sit out on, and a registered Changing Places facility. Belfast city centre is unusually well provided for generally — the Crescent Arts Centre, the Assembly Buildings, Grand Central Station and Titanic Belfast all have Changing Places too, so a city-centre day can be planned around known, mapped facilities rather than hoping.
2 hoursFreeChanging Places · free entry and free tours
Above west Belfast · year-round · free · National Trust
The big view over Belfast, and one of the few upland places here with a registered Changing Places facility. The Ridge Trail is a surfaced path along the top with the whole city, the lough and on a clear day Scotland laid out below you. It is open, exposed hillside — wind is the limiting factor rather than the surface — so pick your day. Free to walk; the National Trust charges non-members for the car park.
Indoor play is where the Changing Places gap bites hardest — it is the classic rainy-day fallback, and most of them do not have the facilities to make a long visit possible. Two that do are Curry's Fun Park in Portrush and High Rise in Lisburn, both registered Changing Places sites. If neither is near you, use the Changing Places map before you pick a venue rather than after, and phone the play centre to ask about quieter sessions — most run one and few advertise it.
2 – 3 hoursTicketed · see each siteTwo of the few play venues with full facilities
Not a day out, but the thing that makes the other eleven possible. There are close to a hundred registered Changing Places facilities across Northern Ireland, and the official "Find a Toilet" interactive map shows you the nearest to wherever you are going — City Hall, Titanic Belfast, Belfast Zoo, the Ulster Folk Museum, Divis, Grand Central Station, the Crescent Arts Centre and the Assembly Buildings among them. Ten minutes with that map before you set off changes which days out are possible. Pair it with our own map to find what is worth doing nearby.
Ten minutes before you goFreeThe single most useful thing on this page
Accessible days out in NI: your questions answered
Which Northern Ireland beaches have beach wheelchairs?
Five: Benone Strand and Portstewart Strand in Co Londonderry, Portrush East Strand in Co Antrim, and Cranfield and Groomsport in Co Down. They run an inclusive scheme with the Mae Murray Foundation offering beach wheelchairs, all-terrain chairs, beach walkers and floating chairs, plus accessible parking, toilets and adult changing with a hoist.
How do I borrow a beach wheelchair in Northern Ireland?
Register with the Mae Murray Foundation — membership is free. You watch a short induction video, then book the equipment at least 72 hours in advance through their online form, with an extra water safety video if you want a floating chair. Sign up before you need it rather than the week you want to go.
How many Changing Places toilets are there in Northern Ireland?
Close to a hundred registered facilities. They include Belfast City Hall, Titanic Belfast, Belfast Zoo, the Ulster Folk Museum, Divis and the Black Mountain, Grand Central Station, the Crescent Arts Centre and the NI Assembly Buildings. The official Changing Places "Find a Toilet" map shows the nearest to you.
Is the Giant's Causeway wheelchair accessible?
The route to it is well provided for. The National Trust runs an electric shuttle buggy from the visitor centre down to the stones for visitors with mobility needs, has all-terrain wheelchairs and scooters to borrow, and the visitor centre has accessible toilets and a Changing Places. The stones themselves are uneven volcanic rock, but getting down to them and getting a proper view is provided for.
Which Northern Ireland attractions are autism-friendly?
W5 in Belfast has a dedicated Quiet Room, free carer admission, priority queuing for children with additional needs and autism-friendly experiences through the year. The Ulster Museum lends sensory backpacks. Castle Espie has a sensory garden and short, sheltered trails. Many other venues run a quiet session without advertising it — it is always worth phoning to ask.
Are there wheelchair-accessible walks in Northern Ireland?
Yes. Peatlands Park near Dungannon has walks laid out for limited mobility plus a mobility vehicle, hearing loop and accessible café, and its bog boardwalk takes you out over living peatland. The Ridge Trail at Divis and the Black Mountain is surfaced with a view over Belfast. Castle Espie has surfaced waterside trails with hides to stop at.
Where should we start?
Pick your day in one line
Want the beach? Register with the Mae Murray Foundation now, before you need it — then Benone, Portstewart, Portrush East Strand, Cranfield or Groomsport, booked 72 hours ahead.
Wet day? W5 for the quiet room and free carer entry, or the Ulster Museum for free entry, lifts and sensory backpacks.
Want a proper walk? The bog boardwalk at Peatlands Park, or the surfaced Ridge Trail at Divis for the view over Belfast.
Need a Changing Places? Check the Find a Toilet map first and build the day around it — it changes what is possible.
Keep exploring
Every place here is on our free map alongside about 2,000 more family days out across Northern Ireland, with full guides and what’s on near you. If you find a facility here that has changed, tell us and we will fix it.
