Visiting the National Paralympic Heritage Centre

We are delighted to welcome visitors to our small museum and to ensure an enjoyable visit for all. If you need any assistance in addition to the facilities detailed below, please contact us at [email protected].

The Paralympic Heritage Centre is within Stoke Mandeville Stadium, which is owned by WheelPower - British WheelPower Sport. 

Opening hours

Monday to Friday 9:00AM - 7:00PM
Saturday and Sunday 9:00AM - 4:00PM

Please Note:

• The Heritage Centre will be closed on 23^rd - 24^th February 2026 due to the flame lighting ceremony for the Winter Paralympics.
• From the 2^nd March 2026 - the Heritage Centre will also be in use by staff and volunteers as an interim office, so capacity for visitors will be limited for a number of weeks.

Please check dates and times on the Stoke Mandeville Stadium website

Getting here

For information about travelling to the Heritage Centre by car, bus or train download our How to find us guide here. If you would like this guide in a different format please do get in touch.

Our address is:
Stoke Mandeville Stadium, Guttmann Road, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP21 9PP

Accessibility and facilities

Stoke Mandeville Stadium Access

The Heritage Centre Displays

• The exhibition is small - you should allow between 20 and 40 minutes to enjoy it fully.
• The introduction panel explains exhibition access.
• There is level access throughout and all of the displays are accessible to wheelchair users.
• There are hand-held large print guides and Braille captions for the main text and object labels.
• There are a small number of touch objects. Look out for the hand motif.
• Audio guides are provided to some of the displays and include Audio Description.
• Films with speech have British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation and subtitles.
• The Dr Guttmann exhibit has an induction loop.
• Watch a virtual tour of the Heritage Centre here with a Widgit tour to use alongside.

Pre-visit material

• Relaxation exercises
• Visual story
• Sensory maps
• Sensory trail

Our pre-visit material enables visitors to plan their trip to the Heritage Centre. It includes a social story and a sensory map to describe the journey into our sensitively lit accessible museum space. Additional extras such as the use of sensory equipment can be booked on request which we hope will make your visit as comfortable and rewarding as possible. If you would like any of the materials below in a different format please get in touch with us at: [email protected] 

Sensory equipment can be booked on request.

Relaxation exercise videos for a calm day ahead

These videos are intended to help us find a calm place from which to start planning our visit. Following the principles championed by Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann, who recognised the impact of movement not just on physical health but also on mental wellbeing, Paulina talks us through exercises in breathing and gentle movement to help us work through any anxieties we have for the day ahead.

A short introduction and breathing exercises

Breathing and movement exercises

Visual story

You can pause and restart this film to give more time for reading or download a pdf of the visual story presentation here

A widgit version of the visual story can be downloaded here

Sensory maps

Main Entrance to the Paralympic Heritage Centre

Download a pdf of the main entrance map here

At the National Paralympic Heritage Centre

Download a pdf of the Paralympic Heritage Centre map here

Sensory trail

Our sensory trail is intended to support visitors to the Heritage Centre to engage with our collection through the senses.  The senses of sight, hearing and touch as well as proprioception (spatial awareness) and vestibular (relating to balance) are explored using items and interactive displays in the museum. Just as Dr Guttmann introduced movement to his injured patients so that their mental and physical health would be restored, our new sensory trail draws on research around sensory circuits and how movement can stimulate the body to reach and maintain a ready state for learning.
 
The trail is available and free to use in the Paralympic Heritage Centre at any time. Or click on this link to download your own copy of the Sensory trail.  Any related feedback or suggestions for more opportunities to move in the museum are very welcome.  Please send your feedback to [email protected]. 

Further information

For more information about the Heritage Centre and additional resources visit here. To make a booking or for any other questions about your visit, please contact us at [email protected]