COMPETITION: win a £100 Cotswold Outdoor voucher with the National Trust

This is an updated post from our archives. The National Trust is dedicated to making outdoor activities accessible to everyone, including disabled individuals. In collaboration with disability advocate Martyn Sibley, the Trust has previously organized events to highlight accessible adventures. While past competitions have concluded, the National Trust continues to offer a variety of accessible outdoor activities across the UK.

Upcoming Accessible Outdoor Activities with the National Trust

The National Trust is committed to providing inclusive experiences for all. Here are some accessible activities you can enjoy:

• Accessible Nature Trails: Explore well-maintained paths suitable for wheelchairs and mobility aids at various National Trust sites. For example, the Baggy Point in North Devon offers accessible trails with stunning coastal views.
• Adaptive Cycling: Some locations offer adaptive bicycles for hire, allowing everyone to enjoy cycling through picturesque landscapes.
• Guided Sensory Walks: Engage your senses with guided walks designed for individuals with visual impairments, available at select properties.

For more information on accessible activities and events, visit the National Trust’s Access for Everyone page.

Martyn Sibley is the kind of person who never backs down from a challenge. Joining forces with the National Trust, he’s making waves in showing just how accessible the great outdoors can be. He’s set to tackle one of three thrilling activities to shine a light on the possibilities that await.

And the best bit? You get to decide what he does and be in with the chance of winning a £100 Cotswold Outdoor voucher! 

Humans have always loved exploring. Many of us feel at our best when we are with nature. For generations we’ve pushed ourselves to our limits, and beyond. We’ve found new lands, planets and technology, just from daring to leave our physical and intellectual comfort zones. So it’s important that our natural surroundings are kept unspoiled, so everyone can enjoy them.

The National Trust is a name most of you will have heard of. It exists to do just that, to preserve and nurture our beautiful natural environments. The National Trust explains its mission very simply: “We look after coastline, forests, woods, fens, beaches, farmland, moorland, islands, archaeological remains, nature reserves, villages, historic houses, gardens, mills and pubs. We restore them, protect them and open them up to everyone. For the National Trust, conservation has always gone hand-in-hand with public access.”

Historically, the outdoors hasn’t always been ‘accessible’ for disabled people. I have Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), which means I have muscle weakness and so use a wheelchair. As you can imagine, there are a lot of outdoor terrains that are off limits for me, and some outdoor activities.

But fortunately, accessibility has been improving over the years. I have now visited a number of Britain’s National Parks in my wheelchair, and found the experience to be very positive.

So to celebrate the outdoors and how accessible it can be, the National Trust is sending me on one of three outdoor challenges: wheelchair abseiling, carriage driving with horses or sailing. And it’s not up to me what I do, it’s up to you to decide. Better still, if you do, you’ll also be in with a chance of winning a £100 Cotswold Outdoor voucher, which sells outdoor gear, from jackets to boots and travel bags to GPS watches.

All you have to do to enter is cast your vote from the choices of abseiling, sailing and carriage driving with horses.

The competition closes 16th October 2016.

The challenges will be held in Devon, which recently hosted the National Trust’s new South West Outdoor Festival. It included hiking, biking, trail running, wild swimming, camping, star gazing and wild food foraging. It is a weekend packed with something for everyone, where you can build your own adventure weekend, or chill out in the West Country’s wonderful wilderness. The same event will be on next year, so keep your eyes peeled for details. For any information on accessibility, email: northdevon@nationaltrust.org.uk.

I’ll be writing about my adventure in a couple of weeks, so check back to find out how your choice went!

By Martyn Sibley

• What disability? Martyn Sibley’s awesome adventure
• Top five tips on planning the accessible holiday of a lifetime
• Accessible adventures in Exmoor with the Calvert Trust

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Originally posted on 10/10/2016 @ 12:40 am