France
Germany
Italy
Spain
Netherlands
Belgium (French)
Belgium (Dutch)
Ireland
Czechia
The rugged countryside around the UK has become a lifeline for thousands of people, especially while living in lockdown during the pandemic. But if you’re a wheelchair user, many of the spectacular national parks and trails can be inaccessible. From physical barriers like stiles to lack of parking for wheelchair accessible vehicles, planning an accessible countryside ramble can be a difficult task. One woman, however, is on a mission to bring about change and allow hard to reach beauty spots to be enjoyed by all.
Conquering the Outdoors
Debbie North is a motivational speaker and writer from Cumbria. She has been a wheelchair user for 13 years after being diagnosed with a degenerative spinal condition. One thing Debbie was determined not to give up after her diagnosis was hill-walking, a hobby both her and her husband, Andy, were passionate about. Debbie vowed that she would continue, even if that meant covering tricky terrain and scaling steep summits in a wheelchair. After months of online research, she discovered a company who made a specialist off-road wheelchair known as the Terrain Hopper, the perfect solution for Debbie’s outdoor pursuits.
Debbie said: “I’m a big advocate of technology and in ten or fifteen-years’ time who knows what we’ll be capable of? The Terrain Hopper has allowed me to experience things that otherwise I wouldn’t be able to experience. I see it as like my hiking boots that’s suitable for all seasons.”
Plotting a Route to Accessibility
Debbie then turned her attention to helping others like her enjoy the outdoors. She started writing a blog, ‘Access the Dales’ to help disabled outdoor enthusiasts find wheelchair-friendly trails and hiking routes. Debbie and Andy also raised over £6,000 for the Calvert Trust, a charity that runs accessible outdoor adventure holidays. What’s more, she also contributed to The Outdoor Guide, an online accessibility project run by television presenter, Julia Bradbury. Debbie explained more about the project.
She said: “It’s very much about raising awareness of accessibility issues and part of that awareness is being able to have all the resources in one place for people to look up.”
Miles Without Stiles
Building on her success as a disability consultant, Debbie has recently become involved in the Miles Without Stiles initiative. The project that started in the Lake District has now been rolled out throughout the UK’s walking trails and national parks. It aims to remove barriers such as stiles and particularly rough terrain that make them inaccessible for wheelchair users and people with other types of disabilities. Not only that, but Debbie has even raised enough money for her local National Trust site to buy an all-terrain mobility scooter to be used by disabled visitors, free of charge. After all her success, in Debbie’s opinion, the accolades she gets for her work in the disability community shouldn’t be seen as anything special.
She concludes: “Many see my background as very inspirational and motivating however one day I’d just like it to become the norm. To simply make the inaccessible accessible.”
To learn more about The Outdoor Guide, head online: https://theoutdoorguide.co.uk/.
