Beyond Boundaries East Lothian, or BBEL, is an organisation that helps to provide access to the outdoors and outdoor sport to disabled people. Founded in East Lothian about six years ago, BBEL has over 50 members but in the last year alone has reached over 350 disabled people and given them access to outdoor activities….
I am really delighted to say that I managed to get a blog post onto the Berghaus Community Website. Berghaus very kind let me write a post about my experience of disability and outdoor sport, for which I am very grateful. I hope you will read the post and leave some feedback. Thanks very much,…
I was asked to write a guest post on another blog called Mummy Tries and I am very grateful. Renee is an inspirational mother, a home educator and a published author. Mummy Tries is an inspiring lifestyle blog to do with all things parenting. As well as writing about parenting, Renee covers Autism, Mental…
Seadrift Bed and Breakfast I have recently returned from a delightful short break on the beautiful shores of Lochalsh. My adventures took me onto Skye where I was walking amongst magnificent mountains. I went there to stay in a Bed and Breakfast just outside the Kyle of Lochalsh to sample its delights. I discovered a…
Disabled people who rely on vital monies for mobility, that enables them to have an active life and go about their daily business, are facing an uncertain future. Many thousands of disabled people rely on high rate Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to enable them to access a car via the Motability scheme to enable them to…
Having access to the outdoors is sometimes taken for gtranted. However for disabled people finding oppotunities to spend time in the wilderness can be more difficult. I was lucky enought to writte this article for Mountaineering Sotland Magazine and share a bit of my expereince. The outdoors have always been a part of my…
Motivation and inspiration doesn’t get much higher than on a snowy Scottish mountain below a clear blue sky. On a picture postcard day myself and a friend set out to climb two mountains in Glenshee and what a day it turned out to be. The two Munros, Cairn an Turic and Cairn of Claise can…
I have been lucky enough to visit Orkney lately and I had a really interesting time. My trip was to carry out detailed research. Funded by the John Muir Trust Des Rubens and Bill Wallace Grant, I went to Orkney to investigate disability access across the archaeological sites. The idea for this investigation came after…
By the time I stopped and it had dawned on me that I had probably gone too far and didn’t really know where I was, I was soaked to the skin and really starting to get cold. The rain had been coming down quite heavily but I hadn’t really realized it, I was just enjoying…
I have always had a desire to cycle the length of the Outer Hebrides have finally taken the plunge and decided to have a crack at it. Round the world cyclist Mark Beaumont recently accomplished it although he did it is 24 hours. I am not proposing to cycle the 186 miles in 24 hours…
Inspiration If you are looking for inspiration to go walking in the Scottish Borders, a visit to the healthy spring of St Ronan’s is well worth a visit. The healing waters of St Ronan are thought to have to have evolved over 400 million years ago! Nestled in the Borders town of Innerleithen a small…
The Lomond Hills stand pretty much in the centre of the Kingdom of Fife and can be seen from afar. The village of Falkland lies at the foot of them, an old and historic Scottish town. Falkland is home to the famous Falkland Palace, a monument now under the care of Historic Scotland. I…
Describing disabled people as ‘not worth the full wage,’ Lord Freud just now finds himself embroiled in bitter political arguments and is facing calls from the opposite side of the House of Commons for him to step down from Cabinet. The Conservative Peer and Welfare Secretary was recorded making such remarks at the recent party…
There has been a call recently by health professionals to try to cut waiting times for mental health patients who have to wait often extended periods of time before they can access the help they require. Presently people wait weeks longer to see a consultant, much longer than they would have if they been suffering…
Background As you may know by now, I am very attached to the Scottish Mountains and love walking in them. It does, of course bring its own set of challenges for me. UK Hillwalking magazine kindly agreed to publish an article for me and I am very grateful. I have set out some of…
Just the other week, a care worker was sentenced to four months in prison, and another two given suspended sentences, for their roles in a catalogue of mistreatment and abuse of people with Alzheimer’s disease at a care home in North Somerset. Despite the introduction of some of the tightest regulations and monitoring in the…
The Pentland Hills lie just past the city boundary on the south side of Edinburgh and are a popular place for people of the city to walk, get fresh air, and enjoy some time out of town at the weekends. This week a friend and I decided to do just that and on Saturday afternoon…
‘Cruel and Callus,’ are among the terms that have been used to describe the Governments plans to reform Disability Living Allowance (DLA), a reform that will inevitably leave thousands of disabled people without the vital money they need to live their daily lives. Is it thought that among the 80,000 people in receipt of DLA,…
I have been lucky enough to get another guest blog post published, this time on the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op website. I have written a summary of my trip to the Hebridies and a little background about how I got into cycling in the first place. Hope you enjoy. https://www.edinburghbicycle.com/info/david-c-reilly-disability-cyclist/
Knoydart is a very special place. A peninsula on the west coast of Scotland accessed only by boat, it has all the feelings of a remote Scottish island. Staying in the village of Inverie, I went there recently to explore Scotland’s last true wilderness. Standing on the pier at Mallaig, I…