Castle tours with sign language interpreter

A national trust site has been running British Sign Language (BSL) tours to make its attractions more accessible.

Corfe Castle in Dorset has invited a BSL interpreter to provide simultaneous interpretation to the tours guided by the keeper of the castle.

The last summer tour this season is on Saturday.

Storytelling tours interpreter, Kat Wiltshire, said BSL should be included in everyday life.

"The tours here should be all the time so if any deaf person rocks up anywhere they should be able to do the tour rather than having to wait until tomorrow or next week when there is one,” Ms Wiltshire added.

The tour travels through the ages from the Normans to the 1980s, revealing castle secrets and an insight into its turbulent history.

Jezica Tansley-Walch, welcome manager at Corfe Castle, said they wanted to be able to share its history "with as many people as possible".

“The National Trust wants to make the whole place accessible for anyone with any kind of needs and that is not always physical abilities,” she said.

"They are trying to push forward with branching out and speaking to those communities directly."

Richard Neale, who has lost most of his hearing, attended the tour with his son who he described as "profoundly deaf".

“BSL tours are really quite rare. It’s unusual when they appear but when they do we try to head down.”

The Brammer-Thompsons from Weymouth are hearing parents to two deaf children.

They said an opportunity like this so close to home was "really nice".

"It’s good for the children to see their language in everyday use," Mrs Brammer-Thompson said.

"You would expect that to be available for hearing children with guided tours so why shouldn’t it be available for deaf children as well?”

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