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Accessibility

Hugh Miller’s Birthplace Cottage & Museum accessibility guide

Hugh Miller’s Birthplace Cottage & Museum comprises two main buildings – the birthplace cottage and a Georgian house. Each has its own garden space.

On this page:

Welcome

Hugh Miller’s Birthplace Cottage & Museum explores the life and work of one of Scotland’s most eminent geologists and story tellers.

Please contact us with any accessibility enquiries.

Tel: 01381 600245

Email: millermuseum@nts.org.uk

At a glance

We look forward to welcoming you to our museum and cottage. As both elements of the visit are housed within listed buildings, they are not designed with modern accessibility guidelines.

  • The main museum house is accessed by 4 stone steps and comprises three floors of interpretation and museum artefacts.
  • The floors are accessed via a spiral staircase and there is no lift.
  • There is one unisex toilet on the ground floor.
  • The cottage is accessed via a cobbled courtyard with a kerb step to enter and then a drop step into the cottage itself.
  • The upper floor is reached by a short flight of stairs and there is no lift.

Please note we have a complimentary ticket policy for carers.

A range of fossils are displayed on a dark felt mat on a table in a museum.
An extensive fossil collection is on display in the museum.

Getting here

Hugh Miller’s Birthplace Cottage & Museum
Church Street
Cromarty
IV2 8XA

Cromarty is approximately 20 miles north of Inverness, on the Black Isle.

By car

There are road signs from the A9 directing visitors to Cromarty.

Parking

Cromarty is an old town with limited parking. There is no designated parking for Hugh Miller’s Birthplace Cottage & Museum.

  • There is a car park by the harbour at Cromarty Links.
  • Side street parking is possible in town.
  • Parking is free throughout the town.

Car-free travel

Cromarty is connected to the wider Black Isle area and Inverness by regular buses.

Cycle routes are located across the Black Isle and many lead to Cromarty.

Dogs

  • Assistance dogs are welcome throughout the museum and cottage.
  • Well-behaved dogs are also welcome on the ground floor. If you are comfortable, staff will happily sit with your dog while you explore the site.
  • A water bowl for dogs can be found outside the front door of the museum and cottage.

Mobile signal

  • Mobile signal is somewhat patchy in Cromarty and it does depend on the network you are using.
  • In the event of an emergency, there are staff stationed in the museum and cottage to assist.
An 18th-century bedroom is displayed in an cottage with sloping wooden ceilings. The floors are dark and wooden. The doorway into the room is very low. A mannequin stands in the room, clothed in an 18th-century woman's dress, shawl and bonnet.
The rooms in the birthplace cottage have traditional low ceilings.

Facilities

Museum (Miller House)

  • The museum is accessed via four stone steps from the main road (Church Street). There are handrails on either side of the steps.
  • The main door width is 106cm.
  • The main door is not automatic and opens inwards.
  • The museum covers three floors, accessed by a spiral staircase with a handrail. There is seating on each floor.
  • The visit is self-guided, and visitors can spend as long as they like in each room.
  • The museum garden is accessed via the back door of the museum and has a few low steps curving around the space.
  • The back door width is 74cm.
  • The back door is not automatic and opens inwards.
A set of four stone steps lead straight from the road up to a fairly narrow set of doors, one half of which is open. There are handrails either side of the steps. Plaques are fixed to the white stone wall on the right of the door. A narrow spiral staircase with an orange carpet runner leading up the centre of the white wooden stairs. There is a rope handrail to the left of the stairs, affixed to the blue walls. At the bottom of the stairs on the right is a short wooden bannister. A garden path in a patio-style garden. A curving stone path with shallow, cobbled steps winds round a large stone sculpture on the right. A thatched cottage stands to the left.

Cottage

  • The birthplace cottage is located next door to the museum and is accessed via a cobbled courtyard from the road.
  • There is a kerb step into the courtyard.
  • The cottage is over 300 years old and has low ceilings throughout the property.
  • Upon entering, there is a step down into the hallway with the main cottage to the left and a second-hand book shop to the right.
  • The main door width is 76cm.
  • The main door height is 153cm.
  • The main door is not automatic and opens inwards.
  • The upstairs is accessed by a narrow stairway.
  • The visit is self-guided, and visitors can spend as long as they like in each room.
  • Seating is available throughout the cottage.
  • The cottage garden is located at the far end of the cobbled courtyard. It is reached via a set of small stone steps with a handrail.
A low and narrow green wooden door is the entrance to an 18th-century cottage. Large cobblestones lie either side of the narrow path in front of the door. There is a large ceramic planter on the left. A sign is posted on the door saying: Shop open. A narrow staircase with black wooden steps leads straight upstairs from an entrance hall. Wooden bannisters run either side of the stairs. On the left a museum room can just be seen. On the right, a bookshop can just be seen. Stone paving slabs make a path across a cobbled courtyard beside an 18th-century stone cottage. Iron railings separate the courtyard from the street. A poster is attached to the railings.

Shop

  • The main shop is located inside Miller House on the ground floor.
  • Staff are available to assist with any objects that are too high or heavy to reach, and can also provide price information for items.

Toilet

  • A unisex toilet is available inside Miller House on the ground floor beside the reception.
  • Baby changing facilities are available.
  • The toilet door width is 84cm.
  • The toilet door is not automatic and opens outwards.
  • Room size: 182cm width, 196cm length

When our museum is closed, the nearest public toilet facilities can be found in Allan Square, 500 metres away.

A small, square toilet room shows a toilet in the right, with a moveable handrail on one side and a fixed one on the other. The sink is next to the toilet, and there is a mirror above the sink. There is a fixed handrail beside the sink.
The toilet in Miller House

Guide last updated: May 2024

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