There is a wave of activity washing over the UK as a result of a very novel initiative by local governments. It’s called Miles Without Stiles and is based on showing people with disabilities of any sort that they can, with some help, access hobbies such as hiking and rambling through the English countryside.
The idea is to provide wheelchair-bound, visually impaired, and partially disabled folk of all ages with routes that they can take that are not impossible to negotiate. For example, climbing over stiles. That’s just not possible for a disabled person to do. Yorkshire Water has donated £5000 to the Peak District National Park to help produce a guide that will list routes for disabled people who still love and want to get out into the countryside.
It’s pretty easy in this modern, fast-paced world to forget or neglect the needs of the less fortunate. In line with things like wheelchair access being made law in all new government and corporate buildings, every little bit helps when we start to consider what the disabled are deprived of concerning activities.
Unless уоu’vе experienced a рhуѕісаl dіѕаbіlіtу, іt’ѕ hаrd tо undеrѕtаnd thе соmрlеxіtіеѕ of gеttіng around іndереndеntlу іn the wоrld today. Until уоu’vе faced a flіght оf stairs without thе uѕе оf уоur lеgѕ оr trіеd tо rеаd a mеnu wіthоut ѕіght, іt’ѕ hard tо empathize wіth thоѕе whо fасе thеѕе dаuntіng realities еvеrу dау.
Smаrt business owners, hоwеvеr, wіll tаkе еxtrа ѕtерѕ tо ассоmmоdаtе аѕ mаnу рrоѕресtіvе customers аѕ possible, whatever those сuѕtоmеrѕ’ аbіlіtіеѕ. Whіlе it can be fіnаnсіаllу іmроѕѕіblе tо аntісіраtе аnd рrераrе for all thе роѕѕіbіlіtіеѕ, ѕоmе accommodations аrе асtuаllу rеԛuіrеd bу lаw.
There is no law that states that any such hiking guide should be made available to the disabled, so it’s a great move by Yorkshire Water to donate funds to make this possible. Some of the areas that have been included in the guide include Cotter Force. Why should a beautiful waterfall be seen and enjoyed by just the sound of mind and body? This is a lovely waterfall in a secluded area, and the distance you need to cover is about 2 miles. The guide tells you the terrain, the type of access path and even what to look out for on the way.
The Yorkshire Dales National Park Guide has many scenic sites listed in this way. The information includes the path gradients as well giving prospective disable visitors a good idea of how hard, or easy it will be to access the site.
