Office accessibility for Thistle House

Telephone

Our general number is 0131 226 7061. Calls by Relay UK are welcome.

Our head office is located in Edinburgh city centre and has disabled access and disabled parking as well as a number of other accessibility features.

Disabled parking requires prior booking with Reception before your visit to the office.

You can view our office and get directions on this map.

Thistle House is accessible by bus, car, tram, train and bike:

Bus

Lothian Buses services 12, 26, 31 and 100 stop near to Thistle House

• If you are travelling towards the city centre the closest bus stop is located across the road from our office outside the Apex Hotel.
• If you are travelling away from the city centre the closest bus stop is at the Haymarket tram stop located around 150 metres from our office.

Tram

Trams heading to the airport or city centre both stop around 150 metres from Thistle House at Haymarket (as shown on the map above).

Train

Haymarket train station is located around 175 metres from Thistle House (as shown on the map above).

Car

We have a limited number of car parking spaces available, two of these are designated accessible parking spaces. To pre-book a car parking space contact Reception on 0131 226 7061. Our car parking spaces are located in an internal basement car park to the rear of Thistle House accessed via Devon Place. You can find directions to the car park here.

Chargeable on-street car parking is located on some side streets such as Magdala Terrace, Devon Place and Coates Gardens. Greenways are in operation directly outside of Thistle House.

Bike

There are bike racks outside the Tesco Express opposite Thistle House.

All visitors must report to Reception on the ground floor. There are five stairs from the street level main door to the Reception desk. The stairs have handrails at both sides.

There is a dedicated ramp entrance next to the main entrance.  At the bottom of the ramp there is a bell that will alert staff to your arrival. The entrance is 800mm wide and our reception area enables wheelchair users to manoeuvre freely.

If you have pre-booked a car parking space (see above) you can enter Thistle House directly from the basement car park. There is an automatic door with an intercom. Press the intercom button marked ‘Reception’ to alert them to your arrival. Please let Reception know if you need to use the lift before you enter the building and you will be assisted. Otherwise, please use the stairs to report to Reception.

On reporting to Reception you will be given a visitor’s pass with fire procedures and Health & Safety information attached to it. If a fire alarm sounds (a continuously ringing bell) you must leave the building immediately and gather on Devon Place. Fire and evacuation information is located in all stairwells and meeting rooms.

Accessible toilets are located on the ground and second floors. They are accessed via push doors with a width of 800mm.

Accessible lifts service all floors in Thistle House. The lift doors are 800mm wide and the lift is 1000mm deep. In the event of a fire alarm you should not use the lifts. Fire evacuation chairs are available on each floor and our fire officers and Facilities staff are trained in the use of this equipment.

Assistance dogs are welcome in our office. Please let us know in advance if you would like us to make any special arrangements to help accommodate them. We will have a bowl of water available for them.

Induction loops are available at Reception and in our meeting rooms for visitors on the ground and fourth floors. Portable induction loops are also available from Reception on request. Hearing aid users must turn their hearing aid to the “T” position to use the induction loops.

Please let us know in advance of your visit about support you need to visit our offices or communicate with us during your time in Thistle House.