Making Aden as accessible as possible to all our visitors is extremely important to us. We have recently upgraded and increased the amount of disabled parking bays, as well as developing a brand-new toilet block which has both disabled, baby changing, and Changing Places toilet facilities. We have also developed a new play area which contains not only DDA compliant play equipment, but also a fully accessible roundabout.
The recently installed children’s play area in Aden caters for people of all ages and abilities. With a range of DDA compliant play equipment as well as a fully accessible roundabout, its a great place to go, no matter your ability. The play area also offers the perfect balance between formal and informal play opportunities, which are safe, secure, stimulating, and challenging. The play area has also been designed to offer multiple play opportunities for children of all ages to either play together on the same item or play separately.
Following community consultation, and the successful Accessible Aden funding application to the Visit Scotland Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund (RTIF) we are currently increasing the amount and quality of our disabled parking bays in Aden Country Park. We are doubling the amount of disabled parking bays from 4 to 8 paring bays. There will be 4 disabled parking bays in carpark 1 (nearest the courtyard area) and a further 4 in carpark 2. The quality of the parking bays are also being improved through resurfacing and line marking. Currently we are just awaiting the line marking to be complete.
There are three main public toilet blocks within Aden Country Park. One at each car park, and a third in the Coach House building, situated in the central courtyard area. Further toilets are available in the Aden Cafe, and Aberdeenshire Farming Museum.
Following consultation and funding support from the Visit Scotland Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund (RTIF) we have recently built a new toilet block containing a fully equipped Changing Places toilet. These facilities will not only help to address the increased demand for high quality visitor facilities, but also support inclusive communities, and improved facilities for marginalised groups. Indeed, it is hoped that the new Changing Places facilities will make the difference between a short visit, or the chance to relax and enjoy the park facilities for much longer. For some families they are the deciding factor in a decision to visit the park at all. The Changing Places facility is located in the main car park and offers a hoist, shower, bed, privacy screen, hand rails and everything required to meet the needs of people with complex care needs.
To help those visitors wanting to use the hoist please either view the simple YouTube video on how to use the hoist: Watch Hoist Video or download a copy of the hoist “Quick Reference Guide” or the “Instructions for Use” manual by clicking on the buttons below:
To help those visitors wanting to use the shower trolley bed please download a copy of the shower trolley “Operating Instructions” or “User Guide” by clicking on the buttons below:
Also located in the new toilet block in the main carpark is a disabled toilet, for those with less complex needs required as part of the Changing Places facilities. As the image above shows, the disabled toilet facilities have hand rails, and the required space needed for a wheelchair. This disabled toilet also offers baby changing facilities. A further disabled toilet can be found next to the Coach House Visitor Information Centre, in the central courtyard area. Again this toilet also offers baby changing facilities.
At the Aberdeenshire Farming Museum a ramp leads to a paved courtyard area which allows access to the Museum main entrance, Horseman’s House, and Aden Theatre. The ground floor of both the Farming Museum and Hareshowe Farm are accessible to visitors with restricted mobility (wheelchair available if required). The upper floor of both the Farming Museum and Hareshowe Farm, are however, not accessible to visitors with restricted mobility.
The Aden Café is situated next to the Aberdeenshire Farming Museum and as such has the same ease of access to the ground floor from the central courtyard area. The Aden Café has seating available both upstairs and downstairs however the upper floor is not accessible to visitors with restricted mobility.
The Aberdeenshire Recording Centre is predominately based on the ground floor of the old laundry building, and is fully accessible to visitors with restricted mobility. Furthermore a chair lift is also available to allow access to the first floor of the building.
Aden Country Park offers an extensive network of well-maintained footpaths offering short and long walks to visitors. The paths, many of which are suitable for wheelchair users, range from Tarmac surface, country style stone surface and grass or bark surface. Aden also has various types and styles of bridges which form part of the footpath network.
