Accessibility

Making this site work for everyone.

We want everyone to be able to use this website — whether they’re browsing on a phone in bright sunlight, using a screen reader, navigating with a keyboard, or somewhere in between. Here’s what we’ve done, what we know isn’t perfect, and how to flag anything that’s getting in your way.

What we’ve done

This site aims to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, the international standard for web accessibility. In practice, that means:

  • Every photograph and illustration has alternative text (or is marked decorative if it’s purely visual).
  • Text colours sit at strong contrast against their backgrounds — Fire Station Red on cream, charcoal body copy on cream, cream on charcoal in the footer.
  • Every interactive element (buttons, links, form fields) is reachable and operable using a keyboard alone — Tab to move forward, Shift+Tab to move back, Enter or Space to activate.
  • The site is built mobile-first and reflows cleanly down to 320px wide.
  • Headings and page structure use semantic HTML so screen readers can navigate by region and heading.
  • Form fields are properly labelled and required fields are marked.
  • A “Skip to content” link appears for keyboard users on every page.

What we know isn’t perfect

We’re honest about the rough edges:

  • Our printed menu PDFs aren’t fully accessible — they’re images of designed menus. Every dish on those PDFs is also available as plain HTML on the menus pages, which is the accessible route.
  • Our reservations widget is provided by a third party (DesignMyNight). They’ve done a reasonable job on accessibility but we don’t control their code directly. If anything isn’t working there, please ring us on 01829 423184 and we’ll take your booking by phone.
  • Some decorative illustrations might still be loading in late on slow connections. They’re marked decorative so screen readers skip them, but visual users on older mobiles may see layout shift briefly. We’re actively working on this.

If something isn’t working for you

Please tell us. We’d rather know and fix it than not know.

Describe what you were trying to do, what page you were on, and what didn’t work — and we’ll get back to you within a few working days. If it’s a booking that’s blocked by an accessibility issue, please call so we can take it directly.

In the venue

At Tarporley we have step-free access at the main entrance, accessible toilets, and tables that suit wheelchairs. If you have specific access needs for your visit, ring ahead and we’ll make sure the right table is reserved for you. Alderley Edge holds the same standards.

This statement was last updated in May 2026 and is reviewed when significant changes ship to the site.