Aros Centre Portree

The Aros Centre is now the Isle of Skye Candle Company Visitor Centre. Same building, same place but all new interior and offering.

The Aros Centre on the edge of Portree is home to so many different things for the local community and visitors to Skye. Primarily a tourist will see it as a visitors centre, with gifts, books and a cafe. For Skye it serves as a community hub, cinema, theatre and meeting place. Here we will explore what the Aros Centre Portree has to offer in terms of accessibility for the disabled.

Book and Gift Shop at the Aros

The Aros is home to a lovely little bookshop specialising in Scottish and Gaelic books. The books cover all genres including history, fiction, travel and of course Scottish cookery. Here you will find an extensive range of maps covering the Isle of Skye, as well as the rest of Scotland. Not forgetting the little ones, there is a comprehensive children’s section with books for all ages.

The gift shop area has an extensive range of gifts for all ages. Handily placed at the back of the gift area is a card shop, meaning you have a card and present all under one roof. Many of the gift items are from local artisans or traditional Scottish gifts, such as tweed and tartan.

Both these areas are very accessible with a lot of items on low level displays. There are some books and items on higher shelving but there are always a couple of members of staff in these areas who are willing to help. The floor area is spacious so navigating around with a wheelchair shouldn’t pose any problems.

Restaurant at The Aros

The Aros Restaurant is located at the right hand end of the building. A large bright open space with views out over Loch Portree and Ben Tianavaig. All the furniture is free standing making it easy to accommodate a wheelchair. The restaurant is table service, so you simply find yourselves a table and get comfy. The restaurant serves a variety of food from traybakes and scones, to toasties and nut roasts. You can go to the Aros Restaurant for a simple cuppa and a blether or enjoy a hearty lunch. Where possible they offer Gluten Free options but are only too happy to help with specific dietary needs.

When Sarah and Melanie last visited they enjoyed a couple of pannini’s and some soup to ward off the chilly weather outside. They are visiting again soon for Christmas Lunch. This will be a group of about 15-20 people, of which there will be a couple of wheelchairs and half a dozen disabled people. The Aros Restaurant was chosen by the group due to it’s location, disabled facilities and menu options. It simply ticked all the boxes with ease.

Hiding away behind the till in the Restaurant is a newly refurbished indoor children’s play area – Jurassic Island. You can buy a ticket at the till and let the kids run off some steam if it’s a bit wet outside.

Disabled facilities at The Aros

From our experience The Aros Centre is very accessible for disabled visitors. Not only are the restaurant and shopping areas easily accessible but so is the upstairs gallery and the cinema.

Downstairs you will find a fully equipped disabled toilet located next to the Ladies and Gents toilets.

To gain access to the upstairs meeting rooms and gallery area there is a lift next to the reception desk. This also gives you access to the gallery seating in the cinema. Downstairs in the cinema there are a few seats that can be booked specifically for wheelchairs. In this instance the chairs are completely removed allowing access for the largest of wheelchairs. The cinema doubles up as a stage so there are often plays, music or comedy events held at The Aros Centre, Portree. All these events are on the Aros website so if you want to attend and require an accessible seat just give them a call in advance.

In the car park there are 4 disabled parking spaces near to the door. Sometimes these are full, however you could be dropped off at the door. Or if necessary park a little further away in the parking at the end of the car park. The whole of the car park and the centre is on the same level so access is as easy as it possibly can be. The left hand end of the car park is not marked out in bays so sometimes there is a bit more space at that end if you don’t mind being further away from the building itself. Also in the car park there are couple of charging points for electric vehicles.

The Aros Centre Portree

All in all, The Aros is a great place to stop off, especially if you are disabled or have accessibility issues. They have ticked a lot of boxes when it comes to accessibility. From parking to eating, shopping or enjoying a show they really do have accessibility covered.