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With rolling hills, historic castles and quaint towns, Yorkshire is one of the most beautiful regions in England. While I was studying at Leeds University I had the chance to get out and explore some of the nearby towns and national parks, including Harrogate and the Yorkshire Dales.
Around two million people visit Yorkshire Water’s land (such as reservoirs, ancient woodland, and moorland) every year, but for large sections of society it isn’t so accessible. According to research conducted by Yorkshire Water (the second largest landowner in the region), most visitors to their 70,000 acres of land are currently white, middle class and aged 35-55+. If you have a disability, it’s a lot more difficult to gain access to Britain’s more rural and remote areas.
They’re now looking to attract more disabled people by improving pathways and disabled facilities at their most popular reservoir destinations.
To encourage more disabled visitors, they’ve teamed up with Experience Community, a not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) who help disabled people access the British countryside. This has already resulted in more disabled group rambles around YorkshireWater reservoirs, such as Langsett in South Yorkshire and Swinsty in the Washburn Valley, on specially designed mountain trikes and mountain bikes.
Yorkshire Water’s Recreation Manager Geoff Lomas says –
“We have 115 scenic reservoirs dotted around the region and these are all popular with dog walkers, picnic-goers, runners, anglers and cyclists, but we now want to make some of them more inviting to disabled people as a go to destination. This may mean improving paths around reservoirs by making them flatter, wider and addressing any surface issues so wheelchair user’s accessibility needs are met. In the past, Yorkshire Water’s land used to be off limits to the public but since privatisation in 1989 we have had an ever increasing number of visitors to our land. Many of our reservoirs are now recreational hotspots and we want to make them as inclusive as possible by providing information and access that is both informative and enticing to disabled people. Our partnership with Experience Community will help achieve this.”
Craig Grimes, Managing Director of Experience Community –
“Gaining access to the countryside for disabled people has been an uphill battle, but co-operation from landowners such as YorkshireWater really makes a difference. Through working with Yorkshire Water we’ve been able to identify various reservoirs where small changes to infrastructure such as widening a gate or better access has been provided. There are now new longer routes with varying levels of difficulty that we can use with our rambling and hand cycling groups.”
To find out more about walking routes, cycling routes, horse riding and activities in Yorkshire, visit the Yorkshire Water website.
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Source: pommietravels.com