Tag → access

Saltaire Cycling

03 November, 11:14, by Chris Kenworthy Tags: , , , , , ,
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A view over Saltaire from the top of Five Rise Locks, there are two locks in the foreground and trees and a mill in the background

Five Rise Locks

We took our tandem group out for a pleasant afternoon’s cycle along the Leeds-Liverpool canal starting at Saltaire in Bingley then East towards Keighley. It was a pleasant sunny autumn afternoon for our group of seven keen cyclists, all up for a day out in the countryside.

Our tandem bike ride took in the industrial heart land of the Aire valley, passing between old mill buildings, newer transport links and the river of the same name. After an hour or so of gentle exercise, we stopped for a lunch break at Five Rise Locks just after a mammoth of a steep hill at the top of the locks.

Then it was back on the tandems and upstream, passing cottages, allotments and back gardens, only for a short while though until we reached East Riddleston Hall a historic 17th century National Trust manor house with an excellent tea shop.

We discovered this through extensive scientific research into their delicious scones with clotted cream and chocolate and coffee cake, washed down with a healthy amount of tea.

Three people eating lunch wearing cycling clothing, there are tandems in the foreground.

Tandem riders

You can find out more about our tandem clubs on our web site. These clubs also run on weekday evenings in Harrogate and Wetherby and help people with disabilities to access the countryside.

Summer walking weekend

06 September, 18:02, by Chris Kenworthy Tags: , , , , ,
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Our biannual walking weekend got off to a dramatic start last weekend. We’d just loaded up our to minibuses (including the purple princess) and set sail for the South Pennines when Sam (from Open Country) rang our mobile to let us know we’d helpfully driven off with his bag, including his house keys. So rather than let Sam sleep rough while we were away having fun, we did the decent thing and drove back to return his kit.

Group of people stood on a path with a countryside valley backdrop

Walking weekend group

The walking weekend centred around Hebden Hey in Calderdale and base camp was a basic but comfortable Scout centre with bunk beds in dormitories and a kitchen. We had a total of twenty six people with us including members, their carers and volunteers.

We offer two residential weekends a year which offer our members even more excitement and adventure than our day trips. It’s an opportunity for people with disabilities to access the countryside as well as a chance for everyone to get to know each other better. We share cooking, eating, social activities and it’s much cheaper than other holidays offered by disability-specialists, that means it’s more inclusive for our members living on tighter budgets. Our members’ families and carers get some respite too for the whole weekend we’re away.

Saturday 4th September

The plan for Saturday was a walk up to Stoodley Pike a hill which features a large war monument visible from miles around, as well as giving a fantastic view over Calderdale. We began at Blackstone Edge reservoir and marched up to the monument at Stoodley Pike summit. Then we gave our members a choice of an easy walk back into town or a slightly more challenging longer walk back to the bus – we cater for people of all abilities at Open Country and give everyone the independence and options they deserve.

Squirrel scoffing

Later that same day, Paul (Open Country) was awoken by a strange rustling sound in the sleeping quarters of our base camp. He was in a bunk bed above notorious Open Country member ‘The Squirrel’ (Ian), renowned for his insatiable appetite and constant feeding. By now, it was 1.30am in the early hours of Sunday, so Paul didn’t suspect for a moment that it would be Squirrel grazing. But sure enough, after firing up his torch and leaning over the edge of his bunk bed – there below was Squirrel having a midnight pork pie, which he swiftly concealed as if caught red-handed.

Ian sat at a table serving tea in a striped blazer and straw boater hat

The Squirrel takes tea

Sunday 5th September

We’d booked a tour of Gibson Mill on Sunday, a modernised 19th-century cotton mill which is self-sustaining, meaning it generates its own energy and has minimal impact on the surrounding environment. It was a fantastically interesting attraction, with the only downside being that they don’t generate enough electricity to run a freezer for ice-cream. Everyone knows that Open Country love ice-cream.

It was in the café at Gibson Mill that Squirrel entertained us by dressing up as a posh gentleman enjoying a spot of tea. Take a look at the delightful photograph attached to this blog post.

Six Dales Trail: Swinsty to Heyshaw

21 July, 09:42, by Open Country Tags: , , , , , ,
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On Sunday 18th July we took on the second leg of the Six Dales Trail, a 6-7 mile day trip through the beautiful Washburn Valley between Swinsty and Heyshaw. Our walking group was made up of volunteers Andy, Loz and Christine and Open Country members Paul, Allen, Roberta, Daniel, Charlotte, Dave and Karl. Sam from Open Country took the same walking group out on the first leg of the trail from Otley to Swinsty Reservoir on Sunday 4th July.

A group of people at a style in the countryside. Some are queueing to climb over it while others are already on the other side

Open Country Walking group on the Six Dales Trail

The Six Dales Trail is a classic ‘up hill and down dale’ walk with excellent views over Nidderdale. The countryside was thriving with wildlife too and we saw lots of Curlews and Lap Wings. We took a lunch break at Thruscross Dam and spent some time watching the canoeists practising below the sluice gates of the dam.

There were some very poorly maintained styles along the route, some blocked with tyres and other rubbish, especially on the approach to Heyshaw which made for an adventurous descent. Thankfully we had help from our volunteers to overcome any access difficulties for our members.

Our pleasant Sunday walk into the countryside wasn’t particularly eventful, but it was a day trip that most would take for granted. By helping people with disabilities to access the countryside on day trips like these, we give our members a sense of independence, improve their quality of life and have lots of fun along the way.

You can look at photos of our Six Dales Trail walks on our Facebook fan page photo album.

Do you want to join us for a lovely walk into the countryside?

We plan to do the full six dales over the course of the summer, running into October, if you want to join in the fun, you can find out more on our events calendar or contact us.

Twenty tandems

13 July, 17:25, by Open Country Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
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Monday saw a flotilla of 20 tandems take to the road to mark Open Country’s 20th anniversary: a ‘wheel spectacle’ for any pedestrian or motorist in the North Yorkshire area.

Barrie on a tandem bicycle pulling a funny face

Caption competition: entries on our Facebook fan page please...

We started out at Wetherby for a 20 mile cycle trip with a tactical pub stop at Tockwith. The outing was unique as it included all of our volunteers and service users from our Wetherby, Harrogate and Ripon tandem clubs. Even more unique, it saw Sam, Paul and David, the three pillars of Open Country all out of the office at once, rather than taking it in turns to drink tea at their desks.

The evening was a real team effort and brought our diverse community together to celebrate twenty years of our unique charity and its ongoing mission to help people with disabilities to access the countryside.

Special thanks to Betty’s Cafe & Tea Rooms for donating this delicious commemorative cake.

You can see a full set of photographs from the event in our Facebook photo album including a particularly flattering photo of Open Country volunteer Barrie.

‘Purple Princess’ or ‘Silver Cloud’?

22 June, 10:25, by Open Country Tags: , , , , ,
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Inside view of our new minibus

The inside of our new minibus, ready to be fitted out with seats

We’ve just taken delivery of our brand new Open Country minibus, affectionately nicknamed ‘The Purple Princess.’ But the thing is … it’s actually silver and is perhaps better suited to the nickname ‘Silver Cloud’ suggested by Adrian, a member of the Ripon Community Link group.

Our new bus is fully accessible, which means we can continue to fulfil our mission of helping people with disabilities to access the countryside in the Yorkshire area. Here’s a quick run-down of its features:

  • Sliding doors on both sides of the minibus: making it easier for people to get in and out
  • Full accessible tail lift: for wheelchairs and other equipment our disabled members might need
  • Tow bar: now we can tow a trailer’s worth of equipment

We’re especially excited about the new minibus because it means we can expand our activities into West Yorkshire and help even more people with disabilities to access the countryside around them. We can also help fellow charities further afield, like Otley Disability Action Group and Wetherby In Support Of The Elderly.

Inside view of our new minibus roof

Look how clean our new minibus is. How long do you think this will last?

Having another bus helps us meet the demands on our charity and means we no longer have to turn people with disabilities away because we’ve run out of seats. That said, we’re faced with a whole new problem: we’ve now got two minibuses to keep on the road: that’s twice as much fuel, tax, insurance and repair costs.

Do you want to help people with disabilities access the countryside?

If you think you can help us keep our minibuses on the road we’d be grateful of any support you can give us: whether that’s any donation you can afford or hands-on mechanical assistance or discounts. You should contact us if you think you can help.

Oh and before you go … two quick questions for you:

  1. Would you like to sponsor a seat on board our new minibus ‘Silver Cloud’?
  2. Now that we have two minibuses, can we call it a fleet?

Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook fan page or drop us a tweet at Twitter.

Accessible cycling: wheely easy with Open Country

18 June, 09:00, by Open Country Tags: , , , , , , ,
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Open Country never let a beautiful sunny day go to waste, especially when there’s great accessible outdoor sites like Angler’s Country Park in Wakefield to cycle round on our tandems and duet wheelchair bicycles. Saturday was no exception and our team made up of Paul (Open Country), Chris (volunteer) and our members Jamie, Wayne, Adeline, Sally and Ian took the minibus over to South Yorkshire for a fun day out.

The minibus wheelchair access lift came in really handy for getting equipment in and out of the van, that’s four bikes in total borrowed from our tandem club with runs in Harrogate and Ripon, taking our members with disabilities into the countryside during the week. Adeline brought her own bike too, which we popped into the back after picking up each of our members from their homes.

Two tyres in swamp land, a birds nest is in one of the tyres

A bird's nest in some discarded tyres

Riding the Trans-Pennine trail through the dappled shade of a forest was an absolute joy for our members who just loved the fresh air, sunshine and countryside all around them. Like most of our day drips for disabled people, it lasted around six hours with a lunch break and stops for sight-seeing.

People just loved our duet wheelchair bike too, stopping us to ask about it or admire Wayne sitting comfortably up front while volunteer Chris acted as his personal chauffeur all day, huffing and puffing all the way round.

We did get a tiny bit lost after taking a wrong turning on a cycle track which turned the day into a bit of an adventure. We soon found our way back though, after Sally and Ian had chance to show off their riding skills, leaving us all for dust.

One highlight of the day came when we were cycling along next to an old disused colliery railway, Paul spotted a young bird perched in an impromptu nest, sited right in the middle of an old discarded tyre in some wetland. Nature always finds a way, a bit like Open Country when we get lost.

Do you want to ride in the sunshine with us?

We’re always after new volunteers who can join in us in our mission to help people with disabilities access to the countryside. It could be something as simple as riding a tandem bicycle with one of our members or even helping maintain our modest fleet of bicycles.

If you can’t give us your time, any donation will help keep our bicycles on the road when they break down, otherwise we have to turn members away from these countryside outings that they look forward to so much.

A Day in Bridlington

16 June, 10:00, by Open Country Tags: , , , , , ,
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It’s rare that the humble sat nav gets a mention in any blog post, but our unit gets a special commendation for services above and beyond the call of duty on Saturday 5th June. So arise Sir TomTom, who guided us without incident through the back roads of North Yorkshire, circumventing hours of hot and sticky traffic jams between Harrogate and sunny Bridlington.

Ian stood with a sand-castle bucket on his head

The 'Squirrel' (Ian) at Whitby

We had twelve people on the outing: a mixture of people with disabilities, wheelchair users and volunteers, who after taking the scenic route were ready for a jaunt in the glorious sunshine. Like all Open Country day trips, we provide access to the countryside for people with disabilities but we offer them freedom and independence to do as they choose at our destination.

Saturday was no exception, Sam (Open Country) took a few people for a look around the beach, harbour and fair while Anita and Helen seized the opportunity to go shoe shopping. Others had fish and chips, ice creams and a play in the sand. How delightful.

Do you like sunshine and the countryside?

Then come with us! If you share your time volunteering with us, we can continue our mission to help people with disabilities access to the countryside on days out like these.

A simple trip to the seaside encourages independence, confidence and improves someone’s quality of life but we can’t do it without your help: leave a comment below to get involved or contact us to find out more.

Sunshine and stings: a day at Askham Bog

03 June, 10:12, by Open Country Tags: , , , , , ,
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Les at Askham Bog

Les: Tarzan of Askham

“It’s a good job someone remembered to pack the gloves”, thought the Friday conservation work team as they marched purposefully through the sticky backwaters of Askham Bog near York. Otherwise everyone’s arms would’ve been peppered with the tell-tale white specks of nettle stings and spent the remainder of the day scratching themselves crazy.

Askham Bog is managed by John from the Wildlife Trust, a long-time friend of Open Country, working with us in our cause to help people with disabilities to access the countryside. John brought his new toy for us to look at too: a shiny brush cutting machine that we weren’t allowed to play with, probably for the best though.

Our mission was to help clear away unruly nettles that had sprung up in a peaceful glade area of the bog. The conservation team, nine strong, were thrilled to find a nice set of dry logs to perch on in a sunny clearing near the work area. Regulars Billy and Paul also found themselves somewhere to stretch out, sunbathe and supervise in their own inimitable fashion.

The nettles, some four or five foot in height were beginning to take over the area, meaning competition was becoming difficult for other wild flora that the Wildlife Trust were trying to encourage in the area. Plucking out these pesky weeds was a simple task, but a very important one and in the process we were treated to a frog, ‘cuckoo spit’ and some rare wild plants found only at Askham Bog.

After a decent three or four hours work (and some leisurely breaks for lunch and a nap) the area was looking much clearer, now that the nettles had been taught a lesson. We’d even had time for a quick game of ‘Where’s Les?’ (like hide and seek but with member Les who we pretend we can’t see), the usual team humour and debated the finer points of whether to begin strike action if a break wasn’t brought forward.

Speaking of Les, today he did us all proud when he skipped purposefully across a rickety old bridge that had fallen into disrepair, without a second thought. Many others who ‘know’ Les would have thought him unable to conquer such a feat but he put his doubters to shame and proved himself both confident and independent. It was a proud moment for us as he demonstrated exactly the kind of qualities that Open Country promote and encourage amongst its many members with disabilities.

Do you believe in access to conservation areas for people with disabilities?

Our conservation groups contribute to some very important projects across North Yorkshire and can only continue to do so with help from volunteers and fund raisers. If you can help us in our mission to make areas of natural beauty accessible for people with disabilities to enjoy, then contact us or leave a comment below.

Ripon Tandem Club

20 May, 06:52, by Open Country Tags: , , , , , ,
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Our new Ripon Tandem Cycling Club is now up and running on Thursday evenings, helping people with disabilities to access the countryside on two-seater bicycles. It started two weeks ago and we’re grateful for the support we received from North Yorkshire Sport which helped us get our tandem bikes.

Cyclists cycling along a country path in flourescent vests

Ripon tandem club sporting their theme colour: neon

The Ripon Tandem Cycling Club is great exercise for our members with disabilities as they pedal through the countryside under their own steam as well as being a great social event. It means they get a break away from their day and evening centres and enjoy all the fun and independence a bike ride can offer. As far as we’re aware there are no other comparable activity groups in the Yorkshire area and we’re proud to be able to offer it.

Tandem cycle routes vary between fifteen and twenty miles and take around three hours to complete. The routes coincidentally pass by the finest Sam Smith’s public houses and explore the outlying villages and quiet back roads around North Yorkshire. We generally set off at about 6pm-6.30pm and return by 9.30pm.

Last year our tandems cost £1100 alone in repairs and parts to keep them spinning. We get practical help from volunteers Barrie MacJannette and Mike Bartholomew who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty with oil, but we still need donations to buy replacement parts when things inevitably break or wear out.

Sponsor a tandem bicycle

With fifteen bikes it costs us roughly £80 per bike per year to keep it in a serviceable condition. If you think helping people with disabilities access the countryside is a worthy cause, contact us and sponsor a tandem. Your £80 (or however much you can afford) will help give a year’s worth of happiness and enjoyment to our members with disabilities.

Cyclists on a path in front of a church in the background

It's not all hard work: Ripon tandem club admire the view