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A hike for adults with limited mobility and additional needs was held at Castlewellan Forest Park last week.
The inclusive hike was held on the 22nd of August in partnership between Mountaineering Ireland, Mourne Heritage Trust, The Outdoor Partnership and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.
The morning hike which was attended by members of Bolster Community in Newry, saw participants take to the trails around the forest park. They had a great time learning more about the nature around the Forest Park while getting their steps in and of course enjoying the spectacular views of the Irish sea.
The afternoon session was a flatter route around Castlewellan Lake where many of the participants were happy to try out the accessible bikes provided by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. Naomi Herron from the DisAbility HUB in Downpatrick had a great time on the bike exploring the park and was able to access parts of the forest which would normally be hard to reach in her wheelchair.
Amy Dixon, Education and Biodiversity Officer at Castlewellan joined the hikes and shared lots of interesting facts about the history and biodiversity of the Forest Park. This was through the outreach project “Re-rooting our past in the future: Castlewellan Historic Demesne” funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council
We hope to be able to run more events like this in future to help make the outdoors more inclusive for people with limited mobility and additional needs.
The Outdoor Partnership is a charity which aims to make the outdoors more accessible for all. To find out more about what we do and how to get involved contact Victoria Kelly at victoria.kelly@outdoorpartnership.co.uk or phone 07516501295.
