Facilities and services

• Visitor Centre
• The Visitor Experience
• Accessibility Features

Visitor Centre

Fort Wellington Visitor Centre

A visit to Fort Wellington begins with the Visitor Centre's impressive exhibits, providing an introduction to the history and significance of the site. A staff member is on duty to assist visitors and provide them information on Parks Canada and places to visit in the Prescott area.

The Visitor Centre is the location for the Blockhouse Souvenirs Gift Shop, offering a fascinating range of quality items relating to the time period of the fort.

Free parking is available adjacent to the Visitor Centre and public washrooms are located in the rear of the building. Admission tickets are sold at the Visitor Centre.

The Visitor Experience

Fort Wellington itself is a short walk from the Visitor Centre and gives visitors the experience of a 19^th century British military establishment. The fort recreates the lives of members of the Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment who were stationed there in the 1840s. Some of the enlisted soldiers were married men who had brought their wives and children with them to Prescott, and this reality is reflected by the costumed staff whom visitors will encounter during their time at the fort. The massive blockhouse is the heart of Fort Wellington, and is thought to be the largest in Canada. Inside, there is a recreation of the various storerooms and the living quarters that it contained in the 1840s. The crowded living conditions of the blockhouse contrast markedly with the comfort of the nearby quarters assigned to the fort's commanding officer. The distinction between the officer and the enlisted men is also clearly apparent in the layout of the latrine which separated the officer from the other occupants of the fort.

Costumed staff are on hand to tell visitors about the history of Fort Wellington, and to answer their questions. Demonstrations of activities that the men, their wives and children would have engaged in occur at regular intervals.

Visitors who want to learn more about Fort Wellington and its place in the defense of Canada have the opportunity to tour an extensive display on the third floor of the blockhouse.

Accessibility Features

• The Visitor Centre is fully accessible, with accessible washrooms.
• Designated accessible parking is available in the Visitor Centre parking lot.
• All pathways on the site are wheelchair accessible
• The ground floor of the Block House is wheelchair accessible. Visitors unable to climb to the second and third storeys will have interpreters available to explain and animate those storeys.
• TDD - (613) 925-2896