The GB in the photo in the previous post has a ladder that leads up to the hatch that you can just see to port of the berth. The ladder is normally stowed in the cabinet but can be deployed as per the last photo here (sorry it's sideways.)
You are correct about the head; the photo here shows the aft head. It has a shower, but it is a wet head, similar to the forward head.
In our search, we initially really liked the GB 36 but once we looked at the GB 42 we never looked back. Same basic layout, but much more room. Plus the aft stateroom usually has the island queen plus a separate shower stall/room to starboard and a head to port. The second photo gives a hint what the 42 aft stateroom looks like.
In the end we went with a Nordic Tug but came very close on a GB 42.