Andrew Broadbent, a student in Recreation Management at the University of Edinburgh has taken a snapshot of current disability access to climbing in the Lake District by looking at four facilities. This is what he found.

Prior to visiting the Lake District my experience and knowledge of ‘climbing for all’ was limited. I had failed to comprehend the amount of work and provision there was for disabled individuals who wanted to climb and hadn’t witnessed the desire to climb from any disabled individuals. The people I met and the places I visited taught me that the benefit of climbing and outdoor activities lies in the creation of an individual challenge for persons of any ability.

During my tour I was invited to look around two trusts, the Calvert Trust near Keswick and the Bendrigg Trust near Kendal, who specialise in providing a range of outdoor activities to disabled groups. It was not a surprise, therefore, that these two centres both had outstanding indoor climbing facilities and dedicated staff teams to provide indoor and outdoor climbing experiences.

In contrast I also visited two private facilities. The manager of one, an indoor climbing wall, felt that as a limited company, there simply wasn’t a viable business case to improve and extend the facilities for disabled users. It was realised that although it would be wonderful if they could provide specialised facilities for disabled groups, due to commercial pressures it was simply not financially feasible, especially with a specialised centre under half an hours drive away. However, although the facilities do not cater specifically to disabled groups, they can be adapted and managed so that individuals with various disabilities can attempt at least some parts of the wall. Because of this adaptation, the wall has had a number of disabled users in the past who have enjoyed their experience at the wall.

The second private facility I visited have managed to improve some of their facilities to cater for disabled users, these modifications have included widening doorways and introducing an abseil tower, to provide a climbing experience to wheelchair bound climbers. The Calvert trust regularly makes use of this wall due to its accessibility and staff dedication.

Despite their obvious differences in accessibility of facilities and staff proficiency, each of the four facilities commented that each disability will bring its own limitations, be that range of movement, awareness or understanding, however, by involving individuals in an activity such as climbing they are able to push the boundaries and achieve targets they were convinced were insurmountable.

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