Are you, or is one of the people in your traveling group, a wheelchair user? Experiencing an outdoor holiday in countryside terrain where there is an emphasis on walking, can prove challenging for those in wheelchairs. The Miles Without Stiles project has created routes through the lakes that are accessible for wheelchair users and also those with young infants who will be using pushchairs, during their walks.
Miles without Stiles, have created walks with better, smoother paths and implemented gates to replace those tricky stiles. There are already 42 routes across the national park, with several new routes in the pipeline that are set to open early this Autumn.
Gradients on many of these walks are no more than 1:10 and the surfaces are made of tarmac or smooth, compacted stone with a diameter of 10 mm or less. Also for ease of use, path width is kept to a minimum of 1 metre with plenty of room to pass other people along the way.
Maps of all the miles without stiles walks are available from either Bowness on Windermere information centre, Keswick information centre or Ullswater information centre at Glenridding. Consult lakedistrict.gov.uk for information on the easiest routes to any of these centres from the Beech Hill.
A standout walk created by the folks at Miles without Stiles, is the one around Blea Tarn. This walk is made all the more pleasurable by the easy access to the 19th century pub the Old Dungeon. A classic hikers’ and climbers’ bar in the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, Great Langdale, it is the perfect place to relax and wet your whistle before you embark on your next trek.