Rambling Free
Disabled ramblers can access all areas in Scotland and beyond.
Forth & Tay Disabled Ramblers is a registered Scottish charity based in the area between the Rivers Forth and Tay.
Members include scooter, electric and manual wheelchair and adapted cycle users and walkers who enjoy the leisurely pace of the group. Paths are checked in advance to ensure access and safety. Between April and October rambles are organised to parks, forests, canal towpaths, seaside promenades and national heritage sites. An accessible, affordable minibus is hired, collecting members at pick-up points in Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline. A limited number of scooters, electric wheelchairs and adapted, powered bikes are available for anyone who needs to borrow equipment. A team of trained, hardworking volunteers assists members where necessary.
The group aims to make countryside access as easy as possible for anyone with a disability, allowing them to enjoy the scenery, explore new places and have fun. Quality of life is greatly improved and health and fitness are enhanced. The social aspects extend outwith the ramble programme with other activities in the winter months.
In September 2003 the group teamed up with the English group Disabled Ramblers, for a trip to the Scottish Borders rambling on Bowhill Estate near Selkirk and in Glentress Forest near Peebles. A further trip to the Lake District followed on with rambles along the Old Keswick Railway Line and around Derwentwater. As a result of the visit a new accessible path is to be advertised at Bowhill and The National Trust widened The Catbells Terrace, a path high above Derwentwater, to accommodate scooters.
In October the management committee tested the newSuperfast ferry from Rosyth (Edinburgh) to Zeebrugge with funding from Fife Council, The Unemployed voluntary Action Fund and C R Smith (Glaziers).
In April 2004 the group took part in the Kate Kennedy procession. Organised by the university's Kate Kennedy Club, more than 130 characters from both town and gown dressed up in period costumes. They represented personalities from the town's history including the Early Church, the War of Independence, the founding of the university and its colleges, the Reformation and scientists and scholars.
Lady Mary's Walk, Crieff was the venue for the May outing. This was the first appearance of eight new scooters, bought with £15,000 raised from a variety of sources including Awards for All, the Scottish Community Foundation, The Hugh Fraser Foundation, the Gannochy Trust and a host of smaller funding bodies as well as from fundraising by the group.
In June the group rambled on Falkland Estate, where there are excellent new paths, purpose-built for scooter and wheelchair users. Ninian Crichton-Stuart of Falkland Heritage Trust gave the group a guided tour of the paths and a talk on the history of the estate. The afternoon was spent in the village where the annual festival was taking place in the pouring rain!
For further details contact the Secretary, 97 Gillway, Rosyth, Fife, KY11 2UL; telephone 01333 320864 or see www.ftdr.com.
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