24/07/2013 - Permalink

Launch of new wheelchair access to the Mosses

Related topics: Leisure, culture and heritage

Wheelchair users can now reach more areas of the countryside and enjoy the beauty of Whixall Moss for the very first time thanks to a new access path for people with disabilities.

Shropshire Council’s outdoor recreation team, in partnership with the Canal and Rivers Trust, Natural England and the Meres and Mosses Landscape Partnership Scheme, has carried out work along the towpath at Whixall to allow wheelchair access to the Moss.  

The work consisted of:

  • Extending and upgrading Morris’ Bridge car park to provide a picnic area, parking bays for people with disabilities and an easy access ramp to the towpath
  • Upgrading a kilometre of towpath to a standard suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs; this links the car park to the new boardwalk into the Moss provided by Natural England
  • Creating a new mooring to allow the Lyneal Trust specially-modified narrow boats to access the towpath.

The event will be attended by representatives from Natural England, LEADER, Meres and Mosses Landscape Partnership Scheme, Shropshire Council, Heritage Lottery Fund, Disabled Holiday Info, the Lyneal Trust, Fieldfare Trust, Canal and River Trust and Shropshire Local Access Forum.

The new path and mooring has been made possible thanks to funding from and support from LEADER (key funder), the partners, and the Lyneal Trust – a registered charity that provides holidays and canal boat trips for people with disabilities with their families and friends.

Lyneal Trustee, Anne Wignall, said:

“We are proud to be involved in this exciting development and congratulate everyone who has contributed to the opening up of this area.  Lyneal Trust holidaymakers will have a wonderful opportunity to explore parts of our beautiful county that have been inaccessible until now thanks to the new mooring and wheelchair access that have been created.”

Natural England’s Senior Reserve Manager, Joan Daniels, commented: 

“The edge of the Moss has been converted to farmland and forestry, so getting less-abled visitors to experience the wonderful bog wildlife and wilderness experience of the NNR has been very difficult.  Our new boardwalk gets people right into one of the nicest parts of the restored Moss, where they can see white-faced darter and emperor dragonflies, large heath butterflies, curlew and hobbies, all set in watery wilderness.”

Gwilym Butler, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for leisure, libraries and culture, said:

“I am delighted that people with disabilities will now for the first time have access to one of our county’s most important nature reserves, as everyone should be able to enjoy the outdoors, no matter what their ability.  This project has been a great example of partnership working and I would like to thank everyone involved who have helped made this project happen.”

Pauline Dee, local Shropshire Councillor for Wem, added:

“I am looking forward to the trail, as I will be using a wheelchair to see how the trail works for those of us who have a disability.  Quite often people with disabilities cannot have access to places of beauty and interest, and this hopefully will go some way to alleviate this problem.”

The launch starts at 2pm at Morris’ Bridge car park, followed by a walk along the canal tow path to meet the Lyneal Trust boat at the new mooring.  The launch will continue with a walk on to the boardwalk into the Moss where Joan Daniels, the Natural England Senior Reserve Manager, will give a talk on the Moss, how it was formed and its history.

For more information about the trail for people with disabilities launch, contact Shropshire Council’s outdoor recreation team on 01743 255059 or email leanne.jones@shropshire.gov.uk.