Hear from Tony, one of the walkers who joined us on Staffordshire Day:

We started off the month of May with our pilot accessible walk, bringing people together to access Staffordshire’s beautiful countryside.

The walk was attended by visually impaired, wheelchair users, and CPRE Staffordshire volunteers and walking guides.

One of the walkers who joined us was Tony Green. Here’s what he had to say about his experience on the CPRE Staffordshire Accessible Walk:

“My name is Tony Green and I have been struggling with a severe lack of vision for most of my life. I moved up from North-West London in 1987 for a job working as a computer programmer for Britannia Building Society in Leek in Staffordshire.

On Friday, May 1, I went on an accessible walk organised by the charity the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). I’m sure I must have heard of this charity in the past, but I have to admit to knowing virtually nothing about it. So, one advantage of going on this walk was to hear about the charity and its work.

Anyway, a group of us were picked up from Leek Bus Station at around 10:00 and taken by minibus to a carpark in Dimmingsdale. Three of us on the minibus were visually impaired and two of us had our guide dogs with us. On arrival, we met three people from the charity and another gentleman who was a wheelchair user.

After having had a group photograph taken, we set off on the walk. I had my guide dog on harness and to begin with he was following the others. It was a beautiful, warm sunny day and I had decided to wear shorts. This had seemed like a great idea at the time, but as we went through a gate to get on to the disused railway track, I managed to get slightly too close to a stinging nettle which brushed across the side of my calf. Ouch.

As we set off along the track, I asked if it would be possible to let the dogs off the lead so they could have a run around. I also explained that if that was okay, I would need to grab hold of someone’s elbow to guide me along. I had a couple of kind offers to guide me, and for the beginning of the walk, I was paired up with a great guy called Mohammed. It was actually through speaking to him that I learned quite a bit about the CPRE charity and their work. They have a strong desire to protect and regenerate the countryside. One way of doing that is to encourage others to appreciate the beauty and benefits of the natural world around them. Our walk was certainly helpful in that respect.

Although Mohammed didn’t have much experience of guiding visually impaired people he did a fantastic job. He was very considerate; informing me of uneven underfoot conditions and other potential obstacles. As we continued along the track, he would also break off and describe something of the countryside through which we were walking. Over the crunch of our feet on the surface of the track, there was the constant musical accompaniment of bird song. In addition, every now and again, there was the sound of guide dogs charging past as they chased each other around and splashed their way through water. They were obviously thoroughly enjoying themselves.

We had been going for some time when Mohammed explained that we were walking through an old disused railway station. Steve, the main organiser of the walk, brought us all together to tell us a bit about the station and the platform which was still there.

When we set off again, Mohammed asked me how I spent my time. I told him about my previous life as a programmer, but mentioned that following redundancy in 2013, I had turned my hand to writing. Naturally, he asked what kind of writing. I explained that I wrote adventure novels which dealt with both nature and the Bible. This set us off on a stimulating discussion about faith and the natural world. I have to say, it was refreshing and hugely encouraging to speak to someone from a different faith who wanted to focus on our shared beliefs.

After a while, Mohammed passed his guiding duties on to Sarah; a lovely girl who had also brought her dog with her.

The time went quite quickly, and it wasn’t long before we left the track and had a short walk along a road to arrive at the pub where we were to have a very enjoyable lunch. This was a great opportunity to socialize with others with whom we had shared the walk. Very generously, lunch had also been included.

After our meal, we discussed practical things like different locations which might be suitable for future walks, and how far away it would be reasonable to travel. Sadly, before we knew it, it was time to get back on the minibus and return to Leek.

Before I end, I would very much like to take this opportunity to once more thank all those involved in the organisation, running and funding of the event. It was a great success. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is considering taking part in one of these events in the future. Thank you all.”

If you, or someone you know, would be interested in joining us for our next accessible walk, please get in touch with us by emailing: protect@cprestaffordshire.org.uk

The walk is free to attend, with lunch and a drink included. Transport to the start of the walk can be arranged. Everyone is welcome to attend this event, all ages and abilities.