Page 85 - Discovery Guide

A new partnership between the Forest of Bowland National Landscape team and Access the Dales aims to open up even the most inaccessible parts of Bowland to wheelchair users
The Forest of Bowland National Landscape Team has joined forces with inclusive mobility charity Access the Dales to break down the barriers that prevent people living with disabilities from enjoying the great outdoors – either independently or with their friends and family.
A new generation of all-terrain wheelchairs (ATWs) is redefining the performance boundaries of traditional wheelchairs and opening up more opportunities for adventure for wheelchair users with a range of mobility impairments.
A growing range of specialist all-terrain wheelchairs is now available; wheelchairs which have been carefully designed to be able to cope with different terrains, including muddy woodland trails, gravel paths, wet grass, tree roots, steep hills and even mountains!
The Forest of Bowland National Landscape has a number of hub locations across the area where all- terrain wheelchairs are available to hire and can be used along designated trails. These include Gisburn Forest, Wood End Farm at Dunsop Bridge, Sabden village and New Laund Farm near Whitewell, where the Government’s Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme has funded two brand new TerrainHopper all-terrain wheelchairs.
Last autumn, Gisburn Forest hosted one of the largest gatherings of all-terrain wheelchair manufacturers and access organisations to promote inclusive access to the countryside.
The event attracted representatives from several all-terrain wheelchair manufacturers, plus members of
the public and delegates from a
number of public and voluntary sector organisations who put the vehicles through their paces on the rugged trails running through Gisburn Forest, which is managed by Forestry England.
Forestry England is currently making improvements to the trails at Gisburn Forest to further improve access and signage for wheelchair users.
Access the Dales founder, Debbie North, wheeled her way around the five-mile Birch Hills Trail at Gisburn Forest and suggested several improvements
to make this two-and-a-half hour woodland walk even more accessible to wheelchair users.
Access the Dales started out as a
blog through which Debbie sought to increase awareness of the needs of mobility-impaired people to continue accessing the countryside after ill health took away her ability to walk.
All-terrain wheelchairs allowed Debbie to continue to walk in the Yorkshire Dales with her husband Andy, and when he
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