Accessibility

Tell us what you need

Contact us before your visit if you need any adjustments, so we can make sure we’re ready for you.

Email: [email protected] — we aim to reply within two working days.

Phone: 01559 384421 — answered daily 12:00–1:00pm and 3:30–4:30pm, and Monday to Friday 5:00–9:00pm.

Email is usually the best route, as our phone is only staffed during those hours.

Getting here and parking

Our main car park is level and firm-surfaced, and there’s a step-free path from the car park to the main gate of the ashram.

There’s a drop-off bay in the car park with a covered waiting area, so you can wait out of the weather rather than crossing the car park on foot.

From the drop-off bay it’s about 70 metres on flat ground to reception and the Lord Murugan Temple.

We’re currently working on marking a dedicated accessible parking bay.

Getting around the site

A free minibus service runs up the hill to the Maha Shakti Temple, so you don’t need to walk or wheel that route at all. Elderly and disabled pilgrims are welcome to use it. It leaves from the bottom of the hill at around 6am and 5.30pm, half an hour before the puja begins, and comes back down once the puja has finished. Pujas vary in length, so the return isn’t at a fixed time.

The minibus has a step entry, so it won’t suit everyone. If it doesn’t work for you, you’re welcome to drive your own accessible vehicle up the hill and park at the temple door. Please mention it when you contact us beforehand so we can have everything ready — but if you arrive without having arranged it, just ask. We’ll sort it out on the day.

Paths and terrain

Most tracks across the site are compressed gravel. They’re firm underfoot and generally manageable for wheelchair users and people using walking aids, and they hold up well in wet weather.

From reception and the Lord Murugan Temple, it’s about 170 metres to the Ranganatha Temple on gravel, with a gradient of up to 1 in 16 (about 6%) for the last 80 metres.

The one track that isn’t gravel runs from the Shirdi Sai Baba Temple to the Lord Dattatreya Temple, past St Francis. This one is woodchip, and it’s the steepest route on the site at roughly 1 in 16, or about 6%.

The woodchip is well compacted and firm in normal conditions. After prolonged rain it softens a little and takes more effort to push through, so if you’re using a wheelchair you may want someone with you on that stretch.

If you’d like to reach any part of the site and aren’t sure which route will work, please ask us when you arrive and we’ll show you the best way round.

The temples

The Lord Murugan Temple and the Maha Shakti Temple both have level access.

The Ranganatha Temple and the Shirdi Sai Baba Temple each have a single step at the main entrance, roughly 4–5 inches high. It’s a small step, but it’s enough to stop a wheelchair without a hand. There’s always someone nearby who can help, and we’re glad to be asked.

If you’d rather avoid the step at Ranganatha, there’s a step-free way in from the Lord Dattatreya side. Do ask and we’ll show you.

Toilets

By the car park — this is the one most people will want. It has grab rails and a low-height wash basin. There is a step of about 4 inches at the door, so it isn’t step-free, and a wheelchair user will need a hand to get in. Removing that step is one of the improvements we’re working on.

Near the Maha Shakti Temple — fully step-free, with grab rails and a low-height wash basin. It’s the better facility of the two, but it’s at the top of the hill, so it’s only a realistic option if you’re already up there. The free minibus runs that route, or you can drive up (see Getting around the site).

Near the Lord Murugan Temple — temporarily closed while they await refurbishment.

Eating

Meals are served in the Yaga Sala and the Dining Room. Both are accessible, as is the marquee we put up in the field opposite the Yaga Sala at busy times — so there’s step-free dining available whenever we’re serving.

Wheelchair users can pull up to a table. If queuing or carrying a tray isn’t practical, our team will bring your meal to you, or serve a companion ahead of the queue so they can bring it across. Just ask any member of the serving team.

Wheelchairs

We have two manual wheelchairs on site. They’re attendant-push chairs, so someone needs to push — a companion, or a member of our Seva team.

We don’t yet have a formal way to book one in advance. For now, please ask at reception or speak to any Seva team member when you arrive. If you know you’ll need a wheelchair, do mention it when you contact us before your visit and we’ll make sure one is set aside. Setting up a proper booking system is something we’re working on.

Assistance dogs

Assistance dogs are welcome at Skanda Vale.

One thing worth knowing before you come. Our temples are enclosed spaces, and worship here involves bells, drums, fire and incense at close quarters. Some dogs take it in their stride and some find it distressing, and you’ll know your dog far better than we do.

So please talk to us before your visit. We can tell you what to expect at each temple and when the quieter times are, and work out with you what arrangements might suit. We’d much rather find something that works for you and your dog than turn either of you away.

What the temples sound like

Our ceremonies are loud. Bells, conches, drums and singing, often all at once, in enclosed stone buildings that carry the sound.

For many people that’s the heart of what they come here for. For others it’s difficult, and if you wear hearing aids, find noise painful, or are sensitive to sound for any reason, it’s worth knowing before you arrive rather than discovering it mid-ceremony.

Leaving partway through a puja isn’t easy. The Maha Shakti Temple in particular is small and often full, and someone getting up and making their way out is disruptive for everyone around them. We’d rather help you plan than have you feel trapped:

• The Ranganatha Temple is the gentler option. It’s outdoors and more spacious, generally quieter, and much easier to step away from if you need to.
• Tell us when you arrive if you think you may need to leave partway through, and we’ll find you a spot near the entrance where you can slip out without disturbing anyone.
• Ask about quieter times. Not every ceremony is at the same pitch, and we can tell you which are gentler.

There’s incense in the temples too, which is worth knowing if you have asthma or find smoke difficult.

Staying overnight

The ashram

We have one room with level-access shower and an accessible bathroom: Vishnu 2. If you need it, please say so when you book, as it’s the only one of its kind.

You’re welcome to stay with us whether or not you’re bringing someone with you.

We should be clear about one thing, though: we have no specialist medical facilities on site. If you have a medical condition where you might need support during your stay, please consider whether you’d want a companion with you, and contact us before booking so we can talk it through together.

Skanda Hafan

Skanda Hafan has no level access and no accessible facilities. It isn’t currently suitable for wheelchair users, or for anyone who would struggle with steps.

If you’d like to stay and you’re not sure whether it would work for you, please contact us before booking and we’ll talk it through.

Help while you’re here

There are always volunteers around who are glad to help — with directions, with a wheelchair, or with anything else you need. Please do ask.

We should be honest that formal disability awareness and British Sign Language training isn’t yet in place across our volunteer team. Arranging it is one of our current priorities.

What we’re working on

We know there’s a good deal here that could be better. Our current priorities are:

• Improved accessible toilet and changing facilities
• Refurbishing the toilets near the Lord Murugan Temple
• Making our reception area and the adjacent service area more accessible
• A marked, dedicated accessible parking bay
• Step-free access to the accessible toilet by the car park
• A proper system for booking a wheelchair in advance
• Formal disability awareness training for our volunteer team, including British Sign Language
• Working out, with disabled people and with specialist advice, how to make our ceremonies more accessible to those who find noise difficult
• Large-print and audio versions of our visitor information
• A full access survey of the site, so we can publish detailed step-free routes and distances

Much of the detail on this page is about mobility, because that’s what we’ve been able to establish so far. We know access means more than steps and gradients, and we’ll keep adding to this page as we learn more.

If you visit and something doesn’t work for you, please tell us. It’s the most useful thing you can do to help us improve, and we’d genuinely like to hear it.