During the Covid pandemic, my partner and I began exploring the Hampshire countryside on our doorstep. We have three children, the oldest of whom – Isabel – suffered brain damage hours after her birth in 2003. This was caused by a preventable Group B Strep meningitis infection, and left her with blindness, severe cerebral palsy, and learning difficulties.

Isabel was fortunate to be able to stay at her residential special school for several weeks after the closure of her brother and sister’s secondary school, so we only had to deal with moody teenagers on our early family walks. But when she did stay at home from April to September 2020, we realised how difficult it was for her to accompany us in an NHS attendant wheelchair.

These wheelchairs cannot cope with difficult terrain. Moreover, the few walking trails that were advertised as ‘wheelchair accessible’ were ridiculously short – in some cases only 200 metres from the carpark to a viewpoint. For these reasons, we looked into getting an all-terrain buggy. After a bit of a fight to fund the £3,000 cost, we were able to buy one in June 2021.

With Isabel’s new transportation secured, we began to search for longer off-road routes without stiles and kissing gates. We quickly discovered that information about these routes seemed non-existent, so we decided to set up Wheelchair Walks Hampshire – Facebook and Instagram accounts where we share details of accessible routes that we have tested.

We scour maps looking for unexplored areas, and plan routes with the aid of the Ordnance Survey app, the AllTrails app, and routes published by local councils, the National Trust, and walking groups. On our walks, we regularly come across way markers for other routes, which gives us ideas for more areas to explore. To name a few, we have seen:

• Hangers Way
• Itchen Way
• Monarch’s Way
• Pilgrims’ Way
• South Downs Way
• Shipwrights Way
• St James’ Way (Camino Ingles)
• St Swithun’s Way
• Test Way
• Three Castles Path
• Writers’ Way
• Watercress Way
• Wayfarer’s Walk

I take photos on my phone as we walk, to record the terrain. If we come across stiles or kissing gates, then the walk is deemed ‘non Isabel-able’. If no obstacles are found, then I create a write-up of the route with maps and information about parking, refreshments, and accessible toilets, including the nearest Changing Places toilets for wheelchair users like Isabel who require hoist and bench toilets.

Being in Hampshire, several of our walks have included chalk streams – there is one in our town, Alresford, and several others within striking distance. Our younger children learnt to ride their bikes on the road thought the watercress beds to Deep Ford, and fed the ducks along the Millennium Trail whenever they could. Sadly, one of our favourite stream walks – between The Bush at Ovington and Martyr Worthy – is not accessible due to stiles along the route.

Because of other commitments, we haven’t managed to all go out together as often as we would like. I, however, appear to have become addicted to walking! I have given up running due to back and knee problems, so I now walk for exercise. My partner and I go walking most Fridays, which is his day off. When the days are longer – and the weather good – I walk roughly six kilometres, 2-3 days a week.

In March of this year, I walked 100 kilometres for Group B Strep Support – the charity that supported us after Isabel was born. It was quite a challenge, but I achieved it by planning walks that incorporated other tasks; dropping Isabel off at college in Alton, delivering homemade food to West Lea Farm Shop, and even trekking around central London to get a Fast Track passport for my elderly mother. I walked 137 kilometres in total that month.

This walking challenge really highlighted to me how few walks are truly accessible, which is frustrating. Bridleways are accessible by nature, but I prefer circular walks rather than retracing my steps, and these invariably involve footpaths and public rights of way that are not suitable for all-terrain buggies or wheelchairs. I am, however, pleased to note that Hampshire Countryside Service are starting to replace stiles and kissing gates with accessible gates.

I am currently exploring shorter stretches of several long-distance walks, to assess them for accessibility, and look forward to adding more routes to our collection. If you would like to check out our tested routes, you can follow us Facebook or Instagram.

Cherishing our chalk streams

Our thanks to Leesa for sharing her story - you can find more wheelchair-friendly walks on her social media channels. If you're interested in exploring our local chalk streams, do check out the Watercress and Winterbournes scheme.

We're always looking for people like Leesa, who are kind enough to share their personal experiences of these rare and special wild places. You can read more wonderful stories, or share your own, through the Tales from the Riverbank project.