Accessible Britain

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery
SCOTLAND
Right in the heart of Edinburgh, just off Princes Street, lies the National Gallery complex,
whose three interconnected buildings house the Royal Scottish Academy, the Weston Link
(a shopping and eating centre) and, most notably, the Scottish National Gallery. The gallery
is home to the national collection of fine art, which, for its size, equals any other gallery
in the world.
Masterpieces from Raphael, Titian, El Greco, Velázquez, Rembrandt and Rubens
vie for attention with Impressionist works by the likes of Monet, Cézanne and Degas,
and Post-Impressionists including Van Gogh and Gauguin – all superbly displayed
in an impressive Neoclassical building. The gallery also houses Antonio Canova’s
stunning sculpture The Three Graces. And above all, there’s a comprehensive display
of Scottish painting, with all the major names, including Allan Ramsay, David Wilkie
and William McTaggart, represented. Perhaps the best-known painting is Sir Henry
Raeburn’s The Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch, popularly
known as The Skating Minister.
Parking can be tricky in the city centre, but there’s a handful of Blue Badge bays in a
pedestrianised area right outside the gallery (just off The Mound). The National Gallery
complex is fully accessible over all levels, and even has voice-activated lifts. There are
BSL-trained staff on site, and tours catering for a range of disabilities can be arranged
by contacting the education department in advance.
Just a few streets away, on Queen Street, is the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, fresh
from a two-year, multi-million-pound restoration. Fully accessible throughout, the
gallery houses an outstanding chronology of portraiture from the Reformation through
to the present day, taking in subjects as diverse as Robert Burns, Robbie Coltrane and
Sir Alex Ferguson. The gallery’s cathedral-like vaulted ceilings and Gothic windows
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