DISABLED COUNTRYSIDE ACCESS

We are a community group led by individuals with experience of diverse disabilities and abilities, running a 5 year campaign to improve the accessibility of 20 countryside walks around Oxfordshire. We aim to enable people with physical, cognitive, hearing and sight impairments, and wider disabilities including those with a mosaic of conditions listed, to safely access and enjoy nature, supporting wellbeing, independence and social connection.

To date, we have focused on five routes which are St. Mary’s Fields, Kidlington, Brasenose Woods, Oxford, Aston Rowant and Linky Down, South Oxfordshire, and an urban rural route in Charlbury, West Oxfordshire.

For each route, except Charlbury, we have produced a short film of a director attempting routes in his wheelchair to highlight accessibility barriers and engage decision-makers. We have supported the set-up of a local taskforce around each route, bringing together disabled people, community groups, volunteers, land owners and local decision-makers to identify accessibility barriers to the routes and work collaboratively to create 10-year route improvement and management plans.
We are working to secure funding to expand our work to additional routes in the following areas: Daeda’s Wood near Deddington, Abbey Gardens, and Thames Path, Abingdon,
Spiceball Park, Oxford Canal, Banbury, Stoke Wood, Bicester, Goring on Thames, Farmoor Reservoir, Gill Mill near Witney, Witney Lakes and Meadows
Watlington Hill, Chinnor Hill, Northmoor short circular walk, The Rollright Stones near Chipping Norton, Henley on Thames, and Henley on Thames to Lower Shiplake.

You can watch our films via our YouTube channel.
If you are interested in getting involved, please get in touch!