Introducing our new Sensory Trail

Created in association with the Sensory Trust, the trail is designed to be as accessible and inclusive as possible, warmly welcoming a diverse audience regardless of age, ability or circumstance. We can discover the ship through listening and reading stories, and by exploring with our senses.  The trail is one way we’re telling everyone that all these ways of exploring are welcomed and encouraged.

What does the trail look like?

The trail consists of an introduction sign, a 16-page trail booklet, and eight tactile sensory markers and trail marker points installed on site, highlighting interesting stories and facts about the ship. The trail has been co-designed with Sensory Trust and the interpretation, education and community engagement teams at SS Great Britain Trust, inspired by local community workshops held at SS Great Britain earlier this year. The booklet, sensory markers and signage are inclusively designed by Sensory Trust.

When you arrive on site, an introduction sign will invite you to explore with your senses, with examples of the tactile sensory markers and the opportunity to pick up a booklet. The booklet can also be picked up at points elsewhere onsite or downloaded from our website. It contains a fun activity for you to complete at home – make your own signal flags. The eight cast metal sensory markers (handmade by a Cornish blacksmith) have raised tactile sense symbols and braille (i.e. look, touch, smell, listen), and are installed at accessible heights around the site.

The trail is located on an accessible route, within the Dockyard, Top Deck, Dry Dock and Being Brunel Museum. The points can be experienced in any order, with or without a booklet, as each trail point has a sensory marker and a call to action on them. You also do not have to find all eight points of the trail; you can explore however you wish to suit your needs.  

By inviting visitors to explore SS Great Britain with their senses and highlighting interesting things to touch, listen to, smell and see, we believe it will make a richer experience for everybody to enjoy, connect with people and heritage at a deeper level, and create long lasting memories.  

Who is the Sensory Trust?

The Sensory Trust is a charity based in Cornwall and a leading authority on inclusive and sensory design. They create meaningful and lasting connections between people of all ages and abilities and the natural world. Inclusion and accessibility are at the heart of all their work.

They are publishing guidance to inspire a wider, national audience of our sensory approach to creating inclusive heritage visitor experiences. They believe that heritage is for everyone, and by using a sensory-rich approach to share the stories of our heritage, we can create a more memorable, meaningful and engaging experience for everyone to enjoy together.

For more information about the Sensory Trust, visit their website.