FAQs for visits

Organise your arrival time

Please arrive at our Education Centre, which is in Victoria Tower Gardens (marked ‘13’ on this map) and you will be met by our team. You need to arrive 15 minutes before your visit start time, to allow time to find us and get through the airport-style security checks. Please carefully read this information to help you plan for a safe visit.

Organise your travel arrangements

Once you have arranged the best way for your group to travel to Parliament we’d encourage you to check if you are eligible for our travel subsidy scheme. Please note that additional help through this scheme became available on 1st April 2024.

Please note there is no coach drop off points along UK Parliament for security reasons. Details of available coach parking in central London can be found on the Transport for London website. Our nearest tube and train stations are Victoria Station and Westminster Station.

Underground and Rail

Visitors travelling on the London Underground can use the District, Circle or Jubilee lines to get to Westminster station, which is fully wheelchair accessible.

If you need help at Westminster station, please speak to the Transport for London staff. You don’t need to book help in advance.

Victoria, Charing Cross and Waterloo mainline stations are about 20 minutes away by foot and have connecting buses.

Bus

Buses stop near Parliament Square in Victoria Street and towards Trafalgar Square in Whitehall. All buses in London are now wheelchair accessible.

River Boat

Several river boat operators offer services that stop at Westminster Pier on Victoria Embankment. The ramps can be quite steep so visitors using a manual wheelchair may need help.

Coach

Coach drivers can stop on Abingdon Street. They may drop off and pick up on the Victoria Tower Gardens side before the second zebra crossing.

Coach parking is not available at UK Parliament. There are coach parking bays in Westminster, available on an hourly tariff.

For more information on coach parking see the Westminster City Council website. Specific information for coach drivers is available on the Transport for London website.

UK Parliament cannot provide you a template for a risk assessment nor allow entry for teachers to do a site visit as part of their risk assessment process. We have a document about “planning a safe visit” here on our website FAQs for visits – Parliament UK Education

Please call us as soon as possible on 020 7219 4496 and let us know when you expect to arrive.

The visit will still finish at the published time, and we may not be able to include all elements of the visit.

Visits will not be eligible for a subsidy when groups request to finish a session early. Please ensure that when booking, you select a visit type which will allow you to attend the whole session.

No. Your organisation’s local MP will be told that your group are visiting and invited to join you. They may confirm directly with us or they may contact you directly to arrange to meet you on the day. Meeting your MP is subject to their availability in Westminster at the time of your visit and may change at short notice. 

Tours and workshops have a maximum capacity of 36. The ratio of adults to pupils depends on students’ age: 

• Age 5-7: 1 adult to 7 pupils 
• Age 7-18: 1 adult to 15 pupils 

You can book up to 108 visitors in each academic term. If you’re bringing more than 36 people, we’ll split your group across multiple timeslots. The minimum group size is 12 people, including adults.

Tours and workshops are available to young people aged 5-18.

We can’t offer places to groups older than 18, but you’re welcome to book a tour of UK Parliament.

Yes, but they take an alternative tour route at some points. Please let us know if there are wheelchair users or people with mobility needs in your group before your visit so we can allocate additional staffing.

There are toilet facilities for wheelchair users in all buildings and along the visitor route.

Yes. We welcome pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

To discuss any adjustments your group needs, please call the UK Parliament Education Service on 020 7219 4496.

Every term we offer a SEND schools event day where you can receive the highest level of travel subsidy band allocation.

The lunch space is available for 30 minutes after the end of your workshop. This only applies if you are doing a tour and workshop programme. 

The Education Centre is also next to Victoria Tower Gardens, which is ideal for a picnic. 

There are two places on the tour route where you can take photos. Your guide will point these out.

Photos are also allowed in your workshop group, but please talk to your workshop leader beforehand.

If your group is taking part in a tour and a workshop, you won’t be able to visit the UK Parliament gift shop.

You’ll receive details in your booking confirmation of how to pre-order gifts and souvenirs. These will be given to the lead teacher for each group at the end of your visit.

Please note that the shop requires at least five working days’ notice to process your order.

Our travel subsidy scheme helps education groups visiting UK Parliament from outside London and the South East with their travel costs. If your group is eligible you can receive between 60% and 85% of your travel costs back (subject to maximum claim caps).

Please refer to our travel subsidy guide.

Please contact our distributor if you have a query about a placed learning resources order. Please quote your order number when emailing/phoning.

Call us on 0203 150 3696 or email ukparliament@partridgesuk.com