One of the advantages of having relatives to stay is that you visit the local attractions which are ignored during your day to day life.
I have had my cousin here for the last fortnight which has been a bit of a mixed blessing as I'm not very good at saying when things get too tiring or painful for me and she is not very good at noticing.
One good thing that has come out of it, however, is the discovery of Tramper hire in the South West area. We went to visit Buckland Abbey (Sir Francis Drake and all that) and I phoned ahead to book a mobility scooter.
Apparently there is a scheme that hires out all terrain scooters in various locations across the West Country which would normally be inaccessible to those of us who can only walk short distances. countrysidemobility.org It costs £10 per year.
I am thrilled about this as it means I can visit a number of places such as the Tarka Trail and Berry Head which are too much for me to walk and too bumpy for a normal scooter.
The Tramper is much like any other mobility scooter you get from the shopmobility places but has higher and tougher wheels I think, The only thing I found difficult was that it was operated by turning the handle bars - a little like a motorbike - and I found that my wrist become sore very quickly. It can be changed from right hand to left hand operation with the click of a switch but nonetheless I would find it hard to use for any length of time.
The thought of being able to access the open countryside again has filled me with anticipation. I'll have to see if I can get a trip or two in before my operation as that will lay me up for a few months. Hooray for all terrain scooter hire!
Judy,keep us informed on how it goes as it is something i would use when we're away. It would be great to think that there was nowhere i couldn't go if i had use of one of them. Happy scootering Judy. xxx
I'll certainly do that Sylvi - I had you in mind when I wrote this because I know you had a struggle in St.Ives earlier this year.
I'm going in for my ankle operation on the 12th though so unfortunately it is going to be a few months before I can test it out as I doubt that I'll have time before-hand. I can't wait to go off road!
There may be something similar available in your area - it's worth a google.
What hospital are you going into and i hope that it is succesful. Don't be like me and try to hard to recover!! I will thinking of you and hope that your soon home and blogging while you recover.xxx
I have a bit of a problem on the rehabilitation front. Ordinarily they would be looking to send me home within a couple of days of the op but with no weight bearing for the first 6 weeks followed by partial weight bearing for the following 6. There is no way I can manage at home on my own under those circumstances, especially with a great big dog bouncing all over the place.
My daughter is not mentally equipped to help me out for that length of time and my son works long hours. The best option for me is to see if I can go to the local cottage hospital for a couple of weeks and then get someone to drive me up to hertfordshire to stay with my sisters. My daughter can then move into my house and see to her dog.
I feel very sad that this is the only option left to me as I would prefer to be in my own house but have to be sensible about it. I wouldn't be able to use crutches because my knee on my unoperated leg is not strong enough to support me and my wrists are not strong enough either. I'm hoping to get transferred to the cottage hospital in Dartmouth though with spectacular views across the river mouth and friends close by to wheel me out to the pub. Every cloud has a silver lining eh? xx
I bet,Dartmouth is a lovley place to go to. WE have just got back from a parade in warton. It was a lovely evening for for a parade. It was a british legion parade and i sat ouside the church and waited for them to come,if i started coughing in there it would be an big effort to get out with my scooter. Then we had no marshals so wait for this... THey had me at the top of the road stopping traffic from bumping into the parade. It was such a funny site, me in the middle of the road and my stick stopping traffic........
I hope all goes well for you. Message me when you get out and let me know how you got on. love sylvi.xx
Hi Creaky,
Thank you for this, I shall certainly be looking to see if they provide anything like this for the Lake District as I am missing my trips there. I know it will not get me to Crummock Water but I may be able to get quite near!
We have been mainly visiting houses and gardens and calling ahead for wheelchair hire so that I can at least enjoy some of what this nation can offer. For next year we are looking to visit Scotland so if any of you are living up there and can give advise on ideal places for easy access with limited walking around some lovely lochs.
I know there is internet access and we visited Wales this year via internet and telephone calls, the person we rented off said the sea was in walking distance. Hers and mine walking distance are different, I would have been able to do it a few years ago but no more!
Good Luck for the 12th, will be thinking of you and I hope all goes well for you and the arrangements on your return.
in reply to
Apparently they can do longer distances than the average scooter before battery runs out - always reassuring to know.
What a great idea! I don't need a scooter thankfully as can still manage myself, albeit a touch slowly, and anyway countryside here is just outside the front door as we're at the end of a dead end road in the middle of woodland. But the thought of not being able to get out fills me with horror as my daily dose of countryside keeps me sane, so it good that there's some help for people. Pollyx
This link gives a list of counparks across the UK that use the Tramper hire service. You may find one in your area.
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