Access Adventure

This book is a unique and inspiring guide to the UK's best trails and outdoor adventures, opened up to all through the expertise of accessibility champion Debbie North and her interviewees. From the crunch of gravel on a canal path to the hush of woodland in morning light, it celebrates the space, stillness and connection that only the outdoors can offer. Access Adventure takes readers from the Lake District to the Kent and Hampshire coast, the Yorkshire Dales to the Brecon Beacons and Wye Valley, and the Isle of Skye to Rendlesham Forest's UFO trail. Each accessible route comes with practical details and ideas for nearby adventures, all specifically written with wheelchair-users in mind. Alongside route descriptions, Debbie shares moving stories of people whose lives have been transformed by being outdoors. These walks don't just guide you through landscapes - they offer a window into human resilience, welcoming all who seek both adventure and a deeper connection with nature and each other.

Debbie North is a passionate advocate for countryside accessibility. After losing her mobility due to spinal degeneration, she continued exploring the outdoors in a TerrainHopper 4×4 all-terrain wheelchair. With her late husband Andy, she tackled Wainwrights, Munros and created her own Coast to Coast route. She founded Access the Dales in Andy's memory. Debbie is now a writer, speaker, consultant and disability and access ambassador. Her motto is 'making the inaccessible accessible'.

Introduction Miles without Stiles Grades The Watercut, Mallerstang, Cumbria | Debbie North Sutton Bank, North York Moors National Park | Sara Towers Threlkeld to Keswick, Lake District National Park | Arron Hart Orrest Head, Lake District National Park | Dawn and Alan Towart Coniston to Tarn Hows Circular, Lake District National Park | Alex Staniforth Newborough National Nature Reserve and Forest, Anglesey | Mike Palmer Beacon Fell, Craig-y-nos Country Park, Bannau Brycheiniog National Park | Karen Harris The Wye Valley, Redbrook, Gloucester | Bethany Handley Hergest Ridge, Herefordshire | MariKa Kovacs Leigh Woods, Abbots Leigh, Somerset | Dee Crute Kings Wood, St Austell, Cornwall | Pat Smith River Otter Estuary, Budleigh Salterton, Devon | Isaac Kenyon Ashdown Forest, East Sussex | Anita Kerwin-Nye Heartwood Forest, nr St Albans, Hertfordshire | Emma Harrison Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands | Darren Harris Stansted Park, Stoughton, West Sussex | Stephanie Jane Quintrell Folkestone Warren, Kent | Gini Mitchell Millennium Quay, Portsmouth, Hampshire | Pauline Nixon Folkestone Coastal Path, Kent | Tina, Cas and Freddie Bush Holmwood Common, Dorking, Surrey | Genny Brown UFO Trail, Rendlesham Forest nr Woodbridge, Suffolk | Natasha Sones Sutton Hoo, Woodbridge, Suffolk | Ozzy and Victoria Raynor Lady Canning's Plantation, Ringinglow, South Yorkshire | Maxwell Ayamba Cullen to Portknockie, Moray | Georgina Jackson The Kelpies to the Falkirk Wheel | Chris Butterfield Edinbane, Isle of Skye | Sarah Lister Beacon Fell, Goosnargh, Lancashire | Sarah Dornan Gisburn Forest, Ribble Valley, Lancashire | Declan Fraser-Higgins Sprotbrough, Doncaster, South Yorkshire | Andi White Nateby Fell, Yorkshire Dales National Park | Adam Medlock Useful websites Index Photo credits