Accessibility and Archives: Using British Sign Language to Explore Clifton Suspension Bridge
In this blog from Laura Hilton, Visitor Experience Manager for the Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust reflects on the experience of developing their offer for users of BSL.
Constructed between 1836 and 1843, the stone abutments of the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol offer an adventurous opportunity for those seeking to explore the life and works of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The Leigh Woods abutment, consisting of twelve massive, interlinked chambers, was sealed by its Victorian engineers upon completion - and despite the best efforts of modern engineers, the massive 2.5m thick sandstone walls prevented rediscovery until 2002. Since 2017 they have been accessed by small numbers of people in guided groups descending a ladder high on the rock face of the Avon Gorge.
We had been keen to develop hard hat tours of this space in (not with) British Sign Language for some time, and in 2023 a grant awarded by South West Museum Development and Arts Council England allowed me to begin putting together this new experience. I have always been keen to ensure that the venues and events I run are as accessible as we can make them. In a previous role for a local authority, I was trained as a volunteer Equalities and Diversity Representative and have worked hard on my own personal development to learn about the needs of a wide range of audiences.
Since opening in 2014, I and my team of staff and volunteers have attended a variety of courses on accessibility and awareness. We have learned to finger spell and thoughtfully guide visitors with visual impairments. We have created text to describe the images featured in our exhibition; a ‘picture point’ book to help visitors we don’t have a shared language with; talking tiles to include in our temporary exhibitions; and books of raised graphics to aid understanding of technical and engineering concepts.
In 2016, after an accessibility training day, I led my first tours of the bridge with BSL Interpretation thanks to funding from what was then the National Heritage Lottery Fund. I was very confident and well-practised at the tour, and regularly delivered it for ESOL (English as a Second or Other Language) students, which typically requires information to be very clearly presented at a slower pace. I’d also learned key facts that helped to boost my confidence in arranging the tour: firstly that attendees like to know who the interpreter will be in advance (as there are sometimes interpreters that individuals find harder to understand), and secondly that the interpreter needs to be familiar with the vocabulary you will be using so they can provide the right information in the right context.
Using the ESOL version of the tour – which contains all the same information but with less flowery language proved to be a good decision: the lip readers in the group told me that they found it easy to follow what I was saying, whilst the interpreter was able to keep pace naturally. I took time to stop and show photographs to the group, just as I would on any other tour, and we also allowed time for questions along the way. However, I learned that I tend to step forward when I am talking to make a closer connection with the group (which blocked line of sight with the interpreter), and that it is harder than I’d anticipated to adopt a ‘news reporter pose’ and deliver information without gesticulations. I also learned that research is key: we’d unfortunately clashed dates with a BSL cinema screening, so many people had to rush off at the end of the tour!
I therefore knew that planning would be key to the quality and success of the hard hat tours. My first step was to find a BSL Interpreter, which I did through the local council’s Translation and Interpretation Service (TIS) where we have an account. If you are not already registered for a service like this, it is likely to be easier to go direct and use the Association of Sign Language Interpreters website, which requires the first part of your postcode only (https://find.asli.org.uk).
As the tour includes heights and low-light areas and requires all participants to wear a hard hat, it was essential to walk the route with our chosen interpreter, Lisa Lloyd-Flach. I booked a session with her in order to prepare and by using this slot, we were able to restructure the tour in order to ensure the content could be delivered in full with planned stopping points in places where all participants would have good lines of sight to the interpreter.
Lisa also advised that the pace of the tour would be considerably slower: full and clear translation takes time and it is good practice to deliver information, especially if highly technical, in short bursts to allow time for questions and clarification. We also anticipated that some attendees might need additional support to access the space due to reduced mobility or limited vision. We therefore scheduled a two-hour window for a tour which is usually completed within one hour. Interpreting requires high levels of concentration, so this allowed a period on either side of the tour to speak more socially and informally with the participants.
To ensure that our prospective audience could access the event, we used a mobile phone to quickly create a simple video in BSL to introduce Lisa as our interpreter, explain what the tour involved, and show what would happen on the day. Lisa also advised that written information needed to be short, simple and clear in order to be as accessible as possible. I created a listing on our website with a link to our ticket providers where I explained (among other things):
Who would be delivering the tour and what they would be wearing
The route of the tour, and its access requirements (also seen in the video)
Information about the PPE provided (including a recommendation for anyone with a cochlear implant to bring a beanie hat for their comfort)
How to reach the venue by car or bus (with a description of the bus stop)
Where to find the tour guides once inside the building
I used the Fry Test (https://readable.com/readability/fry-readability-graph/) to check the readability of the text and it was signed off by Lisa before going live. To ensure we targeted members of the d/Deaf community (and ensure spaces were not taken by the general public) we listed the tour as a ‘BSL (British Sign Language) Hard Hat Tour’, stating “This tour is delivered in BSL (British Sign Language) with spoken English”. We also gave Lisa top billing as BSL Interpreter and tour leader, putting my name in a supporting role as the Bridge Historian.
We created digital and printed posters which we circulated to our contacts in the d/Deaf community, as well as advertising through our website and within our buildings. Lisa was also keen to help, and shared information about the event with her own contacts, which proved a great success.
On event days, we installed clear signage throughout our building, directing participants to our Education Workshop where the tour began. I printed pages from the BSL Dictionary (https://www.signbsl.com/) for our Front of House volunteer team so they could welcome and direct attendees with confidence, and I arranged for the interpreter to be on-site well in advance of the start of the activity so she would be in the building before the first participants arrived.
Over the duration of the delivery, 77% of our attendees were members of the d/Deaf community. I am pleased to report that the tours received highly positive reviews and many attendees said that they would return or recommend the experiences to family or friends. We’ve now added them to our regular programming and will be running them throughout 2024.
Contributions to this series are welcomed. If you have developed a BSL offer in your setting we would very much like to hear from you. In the first instance, potential contributors are asked to contact diversityandinclusion@archives.org.uk.