Accessibility

We want this site to work for everyone, and we would rather hear that it does not than assume it does.

What we target

We aim for WCAG 2.2 Level AA. That is a target we work toward, not a certification we are claiming.

What is in place

• Every text and background pairing on the site meets AA contrast. We measure this rather than estimate it: an automated pass computes the real ratio for every one of the site’s text nodes against the background actually painted behind it, across a range of window widths.
• Where text sits over a photograph, the photograph never carries the contrast. A solid colour is painted over the image first, and the ratio is calculated against the lightest result that layer can produce, which is what it would look like over a pure white photo. No photograph is brighter than white, so the measured ratio is a floor rather than an average, and it holds whatever the image is and however it crops on your screen.
• Brass is an accent, not a body colour. Where it carries meaning, as small labels on dark blocks and as link underlines on cream, it clears the ratio required for that size and role. Where it is purely decorative, as the hairline dividers, no ratio is required and none is claimed. It is never used for paragraph text on cream, where it would not pass.
• The whole site is keyboard operable, with a visible focus ring on every control and a skip link to the main content.
• Headings run in order, form fields have real labels, and the FAQ uses native disclosure elements rather than scripted ones.
• The one animation on the site, the hero settling in, is switched off for anyone who has asked their system to reduce motion.
• Text resizes with your browser settings, and the layout reflows down to a 320px window, with nothing cut off at either end. The page itself never scrolls sideways at any width.
• One element does scroll sideways, and only on narrower screens: the row of photographs on the home page, which becomes a swipeable strip below about 1024px and a full row above it. It is a labelled region that takes keyboard focus, so it can be panned with the arrow keys rather than only by touch. Nothing is behind it but photographs, and no information on the site exists only there.
• The privacy notice is not a modal. It does not take focus when it appears, it does not trap the keyboard, and the page behind it stays fully reachable. It closes on Escape or with the button.
• The notice sits at the top of the page and reserves exactly its own height, measured rather than assumed, so it cannot cover a heading, a button, or a form field at any window width or text size. In-page links account for it too, so jumping to a section never parks that section’s heading behind it.

Known gaps

• Two of the venue photographs are supplied at a lower resolution than the rest and will look softer on a high-density screen. They are used at the smallest sizes on the page. Every image on the site is real and carries descriptive alt text; there are no placeholder slots left.
• Section labels such as “What is included” are styled labels rather than headings, so they do not appear when navigating by heading. Heading levels themselves run in order with no gaps.
• We have not yet run a full manual audit with a screen reader on every page. The automated passes we do run cover contrast, structure, keyboard order, reflow, and text resize. When a manual pass happens, this section will say so.

Telling us about a problem

If something on this site is hard or impossible to use, email [email protected] and describe what happened. We aim to reply within five working days. If a barrier stops you completing an application, we will take the application by email instead.