Disappointed at the cancellation of the annual Aviemore Walking Festival a group of intrepid disabled ramblers from Fife decided to go it alone and travelled to Aviemore to sample the excellent network of accessible trails in the area. The eleven holidaymakers, who are all members of Forth & Tay Disabled Ramblers, spent a week in the area staying in a mixture of accessible self-catering and B & B accommodation. Seven of the ramblers use mobility scooters or powered wheelchairs to access the outdoors, whilst the other 4 are volunteers and carers. Thanks to the excellent scooter hire scheme run by the Badenoch and Strathspey Community Transport Company several of the rambles on this holiday were made possible.

Loch Morlich all-abilities trail

The first day’s rambling was around the all-abilities Loch Morlich and Allt Mhor trails. To get there take the ski road from Aviemore towards the Cairngorms and after six miles you will reach Glenmore Forest Park. The Watersports car park is situated on the right at the far end of Loch Morlich. The Watersports Centre is the large wooden building on the beach beside the loch. There is a disabled toilet in the forest near the start of the walk and another on opposite side of the road at Glenmore Visitor Centre alongside the cafeteria and shop.

From the Watersports car park, follow the brown waymarkers parallel with the loch edge through some very old Scots pine trees. The route is circular and is virtually level all the way. This is an easy all abilities trail, partly alongside Loch Morlich and passing through old Scots pines. There are stunning views over the loch to the Cairngorms, which were snow-capped at the time of the visit.

Towards the end of Loch Morlich the path turns left away from the loch and follows the banks of the Abhainn Ruigh-eunachan through pine, birch, and alder trees. Nature abounds with dipper, wagtail, heron and sandpiper to be spotted along the riverbank. The path then bears to the left before reaching the pavement beside the road. Follow this to the entrance to the Glenmore Campsite on the left or pop in to the Glenmore Visitor Centre on the right for coffee and a browse in the shop. Turn into the camp site and continue through it to return to the start.

Allt Mhor all-abilities trail

This path starts at the Allt Mhor car park, which is on the left hand side of the road past the Glenmore Visitor Centre as you approach from Aviemore. It has an aggregate surface and interpretation panels telling the story of the native pinewood habitat. With stunning views up to the Cairngorm northern corries the path runs through pine trees with an abundance of heather, blaeberries and juniper along the way. The route returns via the river bank, giving a feeling of rugged terrain. There is a resting place and some picnic benches by the riverside. As the surface is good on the forest tracks the group did an extended version of the Allt Mhor trail having crossed the road from the Loch Morlich path, making it somewhere between three and four miles in total before returning to the Glenmore Visitor Centre for the by now ritual coffee and cake!

Cairngorm Funicular

The following day the adventurous bunch took a trip on the funicular railway to the top of Cairngorm. There are numerous disabled parking spaces at the top end of the car park plus an accessible toilet. There are manual wheelchairs available for use if required just after the ticket office. There is level access to the bottom carriage and it is possible to travel up to Ptarmigan Station seated in a wheelchair. The journey takes around 8 minutes. Once inside there is access to all areas via lifts – an exhibition area, a shop, an outdoor viewing platform and a restaurant. There is a steepish ramp out onto the viewing platform. From the viewpoint a ptarmigan and a snow bunting were spotted, much to the delight of the party. The temperature and the biting wind meant that no one lingered long – but long enough for Bee to capture a stunning photograph of a snow bunting.

Glen More Visitor Centre to the Green Loch

It may have been May, but the second day’s rambling started with flurries of snow outside Glenmore Visitor Centre. This did not deter the hardy bunch from setting out for the Green Loch in fairly cold conditions.

The route runs on tarmac past Glenmore Lodge then narrows to become a path, which runs all the way to the loch. The path surface has been greatly improved in recent years making it a more comfortable run. There are a few gradients along the way.

The loch is so called because the water is green. Legend has it that this is because the pixies used to wash their clothes in it. Following a stop for a picnic lunch it was a long 2 miles back after one of the scooters broke down at the loch and Helena had to be pushed all the way to the start but everyone deemed it a wonderful ramble!

The Highland Wildlife Park

A trip to the Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig was next on the agenda to see Mercedes the polar bear and the tiger cubs, which had celebrated their first birthday earlier in the week.

Our resident adrenalin junkies, Maria and Leslie missed out on the excitement of the animals to go gliding at Glenfeshie, where Leslie did his first ever loop-the-loop! Well done Leslie – he’d celebrated his 70th birthday last November! A BBQ in the evening at the Capability Scotland chalet at Dalraddy Holiday Park, where 5 of the participants were staying, finished off another perfect day.

Inverdruie to Loch an Eilean

Loch an Eilean was the group’s third ramble destination. The start is at the car park opposite the Rothiemurchus Visitor Centre at Inverdruie and the route runs out via Black Park to Loch an Eilean.

A freezing cold wind was blowing down the loch but after a quick picnic lunch everyone managed to warm up by the fire in the visitor centre before the arduous route back via Lochan Mor – the Lily Loch… Some of the path surface had been washed away by the hard winter snows, making it quite an adventure! The inevitable coffee and cake at the Rothiemurchus Visitor Centre finished off the day and all was soon forgotten.

RSPB Loch Garten

A leisurely final afternoon was spent observing the ospreys at the RSPB Loch Garten site. Ospreys have been returning to Loch Garten for a number of years. When they first returned to Scotland to breed, this ancient Caledonian pinewood was where they made their home and they have returned every year since.

There are two car parks. The Osprey Centre car park has a rolled, even surface and there are three disabled parking bays. By prior arrangement cars may be driven to the centre entrance. Loch Mallachie car park has a natural, even surface.

There are toilet facilities behind the ticket desk at the start, one of which is unisex and wheelchair accessible. It is 25 m from the Osprey Centre car park and 325 m from the Osprey Centre. The visitor centre is 350 m from the car park along a wide, rolled stone path with a short section of 1:15 gradient. The access ramp into the centre is 1:20. Once inside, the Osprey Centre is on one level and has no steps or ramps. There are telescopes at varying heights plus interpretative materials for wheelchair users. There are also a number of different height viewing slots that provide excellent views of the nesting ospreys. Live CCTV pictures of the nest are displayed on elevated TV screens and RSPB staff can describe what is happening. Telescopes and binoculars are also available for use. Seats are available. Information displays with some tactile elements are easily accessible. The shop is fully accessible to wheelchair users and staff can assist with purchases.

There is a wheelchair available for loan from the Osprey Centre. It is advisable to telephone to pre-book or ask at reception on arrival. Staff are on hand to assist wheelchair users. Osprey nest microphones provide help for those with a hearing impairment. Staff assistance is also available to provide audio descriptions of the CCTV pictures.

There are also some excellent paths on the reserve, with red squirrels, dragonflies, woodpeckers and crested tits and more to be spotted.

The Aviemore area offers a multitude of trails, many of which are ideal for wheelchair, power chair and scooter users. It is also well ahead of other areas in the provision of other facilities for people with disabilities and in particular a good range of accessible accommodation and excellent disabled toilets everywhere.

For more information about our trip including details of accommodation, or if you would like to join the Forth & Tay Disabled Ramblers, please contact us for more information.

Disabled Ramblers organise thirty rambles each year, across the UK and Ireland. Rambles usually take place between mid-April and the end of October. If you’ve been inspired to get out and about then contact them at the address below and they can put you in touch with your local group. Many groups have all-terrain scooters available for hire.

Disabled Ramblers

Website: www.disabledramblers.co.uk

(there is an email contact form on this website)

Forth & Tay Disabled Ramblers

Website: www.ftdr.com

Disabled Ramblers Northern Ireland

Telephone: 028 9080 8090

Email: ramble@shopmobilitybelfast.co.uk

Website: www.disabledramblersni.com

Highland Disabled Ramblers

Telephone: 07895 066 965

Email: admin@highland-disabled-ramblers.org

Website: www.highland-disabled-ramblers.org

Related posts:

1. Walking on Wheels
2. Explore Oban: Accessible rambles and attractions

When people ask me why did I write Walking on Wheels, I have a stock answer.  “Because it was needed”, I say.  There was a complete dearth of information on barrier free countryside paths accessible to those of us requiring wheels for our mobility. That, of course, is only part of the story but the more I think about “why” the more confused I get.

Was it in my nature?  Was it my upbringing?  Would it have happened had I lived a century ago? Perhaps I was just part of our early 21st century, “go-for-it” attitude and saw an opportunity?

What I know for sure was that Walking on Wheels was part of my journey through life living with MS. It would never have happened had I not become an ‘MSer’, dependent on an assortment of wheelchairs and scooters for the past 10 years.  I feel very fortunate in my nature and my nurture.  I’m an optimist by nature and a problem solver by education.

But enough of soul-searching.  By the mid-1990s I took early retirement from my final post as a part-time typist.  Although I did not realise it at the time, this job was part of my journey towards becoming a published author. It gave me the basic computer skills.

Scottish Disabled Ramblers is born

Five years into retirement and I was becoming just bored enough to rise to the challenge of problem-solving my way back into the countryside but this time in my wheelchair.  I discovered there was a group in England called the Countryside Access Group run by the inspiring Dr Mike Bruton.  I soon found myself organising a similar group in Scotland.

First of all a group of service providers and disabled friends met together. In January 2000 we had an inaugural meeting and set up Scottish Disabled Ramblers (SDR) which was to be run by and for disabled people.  For nearly five years I lived, breathed, ate, slept and dreamt of all things pertaining to wheelchair countryside access.  I was, perhaps naïvely, very keen to promote an ethos of self-reliance and to encourage responsibility for oneself.  In an era of health and safety I felt I was walking a tightrope.  It was, perhaps, that tightrope that led to the demise of SDR but ironically it was also that ethos which allowed the growth and development of four autonomous disabled rambling groups in Scotland – all of which are still functioning to this day.

What next?  What to do with all this information I had collected? The next stage of my journey began.  I had new skills to learn, not least Multimap (a computer programme).  I had new funds to find and for this I am most grateful to Workability run by Leonard Cheshire.  I had a publisher to seek.

A eureka moment

Finding Bríd Hetherington, owner of Cualann Press, was the eureka moment.  And it all happened through serendipity.  I was looking in my local directory for a printer and after ‘printer’ saw ‘publisher’ listed.  There was only one publisher so I gave them a ring and left a message.  Several days later Bríd came to see me and took me on.  She turned my sow’s ear into a silk purse.

The journey has not stopped.  New paths open all the time and I mean that both literally and metaphorically.  New all-ability, countryside paths are opening up all the time.  And new paths on my journey through life as an MSer continually surprise me.  Having been asked to write this article is just one of many.

The success of my book, Walking on Wheels, of which 1400 have been sold, raising nearly £6,500, now means the Trust has the delightful task of distributing grants.  For years I have been applying for grants and now the table has turned and I am part of the team awarding grants.

More information:

For more information on the book see: www.walkingonwheels.org

Scottish Disabled Rambler Groups

Forth and Tay Disabled Ramblers  www.ftdr.com

Highland Disabled Ramblers        www.highland-disabled-ramblers.org

West Lothian Disabled Ramblers    Bathgate office : 07521320680

Angus Disabled Ramblers                Chairperson : 01674 830328

This article first appeared in the July 2009 issue of Mobilise magazine, which goes out to all our members and includes reviews of adapted cars and mobility equipment, features on accessible travel and leisure, campaign updates, news, competitions and real-life stories.
Membership of our charity costs just £16 per year and includes your monthly subscription to Mobilise.

Related posts:

1. Explore Oban: Accessible rambles and attractions

Oban makes a great base for touring this beautiful part of Scotland and has accessible accommodation to suit all budgets, from bed and breakfasts to country house hotel. At Oban Shopmobility, situated between the Train Station and the Ferry Pier, you’ll find a large range of electric scooters and wheelchairs for use.  For a small fee they will even drop off an electric scooter or wheelchair at your hotel, ready for your arrival.

Travelling by ferry is the only way to reach some of the region’s islands, but can be pricey. Blue Badge holders (with road tax exemption) can get a discount on some routes off the normal single fare. Check with the ferry company, Caledonian Macbrayne, (known as CalMac), when you book. If you need assistance when travelling such as a wheelchair at the terminals or on the ship, make it known when booking as some ships only have limited numbers of wheelchairs available and demand can be high, especially in summer.

Inspiring guidebooks

For the more adventurous and seasoned buggy users with your own transport there are some exciting new developments in Scotland and Walking on Wheels by Eva McCracken is a must-have guide. This book gives 50 “wheel-friendly” trails of differing ability throughout Scotland, including several in the Oban area. One of my favourites is the idyllic Crinan Canal. For those that prefer camping (or travelling in style with a caravan or motorhome!) the Cool Camping, Scotland, guide includes some really special, handpicked sites.

The Rough Guide to Accessible Britain, produced in association with Motability, also includes information on attractions in the Oban area and is packed with ideas for the disabled visitor. The guide costs £6.99 including P&P but Blue Badge holders can claim a copy of the guide free. See the details below.

Off road fun

The Oban to Fort William Cycleway is currently under development but will eventually incorporate more than 50 miles of pathway suitable for cycling, walking and mobility scooters. The route has been designed to DDA standard and any access controls along the route are designed to allow space for wheelchairs, buggies and hand bikes to get through. The route largely follows a dismantled railway line closed by Dr Beecham in the 1960’s and has spectacular views.  Some parts are not complete yet so check with the sustainable transport charity Sustrans before you go.

The current section of the Cycleway that is open provides a traffic free coastal fringe path, from which you can spot seals and sea birds, otters and – if you are really lucky – a porpoise or dolphin.

Katharine Taylor, National Cycle Network Development Manager, said: “People with disabilities should be aware of the occasional steep sections but we are very pleased to have created ten miles of path which is fully accessible to everyone. We are also glad to have support from the Argyle Beats Cardiovascular Disease charity which is putting in money to provide seats, as resting points.”

You can also join the Cycleway beside Loch Creran, starting at the Scottish Sea Life Centre at Baracaldine, just ten miles north of Oban. This avoids the steep access at Creagan. There’s also a steep section between Ganavan and Dunbeg, where Argyll and Bute Council are considering putting in a skid proof surface and railings.

Loch Creran is a Special Area of Conservation, designated for its biogenic reef. The reef is comprised of very special calcareous worms, which  form an important habitat for the wide range of biodiversity for which the area is famous. At The Sea Life Centre you can view a recreation of this unique reef and its inhabitants, including seals. The centre is fully accessible with tarmac and concrete paths suitable for wheelchairs, although you may need to double back on your route a few times. There is also an accessible café, shop, and disabled toilet.

Unique history and geography

Just south of Oban, the countryside boasts more than 350 prehistoric and historic sites around Kilmartin Glen. East of Oban, Ardchattan Priory is where the last Scottish Parliament was held in Gaelic. Ancient stones and gardens can be explored on the shores of Loch Etive and behind the Priory are “kettle holes”, part of the glacial relics left behind by the last ice age.

The west coast of Scotland is world-renowned for these stunning landscape features created by the movement of glaciers, including some extraordinary raised beaches, which can result in steep embankments and even cliffs some distance inland. The Ganavan to Dunbeg cycle track climbs one such embankment when leaving the beach at Ganavan, near Oban. This section of track is only for the most able and capable buggy users. As far as I am aware this is the only difficult section along the track that is currently open.

For a less arduous but very special trip visit the disused quarry at Ballachulish. You may need to collect the key from the Community Council (details on the gate), but it is well worth it. Why not take a picnic and spend some time here enjoying the tranquillity? Be careful though – you’ll need to pack the bug spray if you’re planning to visit during the midge season which runs from mid-May to mid-September!

There are numerous Special Areas of Conservation along this beautiful section of coast so help keep it special by remembering the Country Code: take nothing but photos; leave nothing but footprints; or, in our case, buggy tracks!

More information

Walking on Wheels, by Eva McCracken. 2006. Cualann Press. www.cualann.com

Cool Camping: Scotland, by Robin & Jenny McKelvie. 2007. Punk Publishing Ltd.

www.coolcamping.co.uk

The Rough Guide to Accessible Britain

www.accessibleguide.co.uk

Tel: 0800 953 7070

Tourist Information:

www.visitscotland.com

Tel: 0845 22 55 121.

Scottish Sea Life Centre

www.sealsanctuary.co.uk

Tel.01631 720386

Cycleway details:

www.sustrans.org.uk

Tel 0845 113 0065

Visit Scotland

For more information on accessible attractions and holiday accomodation in Scotland, see VisitScotland where you can search by location, level of accessibility and star grading. You can also call Visit Scotland on 0845 22 55 121 for information and advice. Please mention Mobilise when you call.

This article first appeared in the May 2009 issue of Mobilise magazine, which goes out to all our members and includes reviews of adapted cars and mobility equipment, features on accessible travel and leisure, campaign updates, news, competitions and real-life stories.
Membership of our charity costs just  £16 per year and includes your monthly subscription to Mobilise.

Related posts:

1. A trip to accessible Venice
2. Accessible places to visit – London