Tag Archives: Accessible Routes

Accessible Routes, Days Out, Quingo Scooters

Quingo Accessible Days Out: Clifton Country Park

Here at Quingo Scooters, we want to help you live your life to the fullest, by encouraging you to discover the world around you on your mobility scooter. In our series of articles, we’re shedding light on various accessible days out, which you can use to explore the UK’s most scenic outdoor spaces.

Today we’re going to Clifton Country Park. You’ll find this popular, stunning attraction in Irwell Valley, which is just a few miles away from thriving Salford. Read on for a fabulous day out…

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Clifton Country Park

Clifton Country Park is a 48 hectare picturesque local nature reserve, serving as an oasis away from the hectic confines of urban Salford. It features various meadows, woods, ponds and lakes for visitors to discover. The park has various self-guiding trails, with the highlight being its highly popular lake path. It won the prestigious Green Flag Award in both 2006 and 2007, so you know it’s a great place to visit.

This is a great park to indulge in a little wildlife spotting in particular, as it’s popular with bird watchers and fish enthusiasts. It also boasts various beautiful plant-life, from Irish Yews to Norwegian Maples. Clifton Country Park is especially known for its Arboretum, as well as for housing the remains of the Wet Earth Colliery. Set up in 1740, this was one of the first deep mines to be sunk into the Irwell Valley.

Clifton Country Park is free to visit and opens daily. It also has a Visitor Centre, where you can find out more about the Park, access key services and learn about the area’s fascinating industrial past. The Clifton Country Park Visitor Centre is open 11.30am – 4.30pm on Saturdays, 10am – 4.30pm on Sundays and 11.30am – 4.30pm on Mondays, but it can be opened at other times by arrangement.

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Talking accessibility

The park itself has a hard-surfaced, main cark park with three parking bays available for designated blue badge holders, which can be accessed via Clifton House Road.

After you have arrived, you can reach the nearby Visitor Centre by taking the level ramp up from the main cark park. The Visitor Centre is fully accessible and it also has fully accessible toilets. These spacious facilities include grab rails and easy access wash basins and hand dryers. The site also has a café and shop, which can be accessed via a level ramp, as well as an accessible picnic area with tables.

The main trail running around Clifton Country Park’s lake is fully accessible.  It boasts a wide, hard surface, making it easy for mobility scooter users to navigate, providing you with a clear, circular walk. We should also note that rangers patrol the park from 9am to 5pm on most days, providing you with assistance when necessary. The Park’s rangers run a regular Friday morning walk for those with limited mobility, which starts at the Visitor Centre and is held from 10.15am to 11.30am.

About QuingoThe Quingo Scooter range features six models to suit your needs and budget. New models are now available from just £22/week on our new contract hire scheme which includes all servicing and maintenance, Insurance, Roadside Recovery, Call Outs and Consumables including Batteries and Tyres. For more information on this or the latest Quingo Scooter range, please visit our website. Alternatively, if you have any Service questions you can always contact us or call customer services on 01582 430 900.

Keep up to date with the latest mobility scooter advice, tips and interesting places to visit on the Quingo Scooter Users Blog. Connect with Quingo and keep up to date with all our latest news on Facebook and Twitter.

All Quingo Personal Mobility Vehicles are provided by Forever Active, the UK’s exclusive distributor. Forever Active is a trading name of Advantage Marketing Corporation Limited (AMC).  AMC Limited is an appointed representative of First Senior Insurance Services Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. First Senior Insurance Services FSA Register number is 308478.

Accessible Routes, Quingo Scooters

Quingo Accessible Routes: Mills Pit and Common, Bedfordshire

Quingo Scooters know just how great it is to get outdoors and into the countryside, to get some fresh air and appreciate the fantastic scenery! In our Accessible Routes series, we’ll be sharing some routes for you to take on your mobility scooter, where you can spend a day in the great outdoors.

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Arlesey, Bedfordshire

Arlesey is a large village in Bedfordshire, located near the border with Hertfordshire and about three miles north-west of Letchworth Garden City.  Through the mid twentieth century, Arlesey had a thriving brick making industry, with five brickworks operating around the town in 1900. Although the famous Arlesey White bricks are no longer produced there, you’ll find lakes in place of some of the old sites. The Blue Lagoon is now used for sailing, whilst the Green Lagoon is used for fishing.

Accessible Route

Name: Mills Pit and Common

Type of route: Circular, there and back

Distance: 1 mile

Gradient: A few ups and downs

Terrain: Medium

Facilities: Parking, Pub, Toilets, Café

This route is a great for when you fancy a nice short trip out. It’s circular with a few ups and downs but is a largely easy route that will take you along the banks of the River Hiz. The kissing gates and paths are both mobility scooter friendly.

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Editorial credit: cj127Photography / Shutterstock.com

The route starts at the village hall, where you should leave the car park and turn left. You’ll then meet a multiple junction after about a quarter of a mile – this is the old site of the village pump. Interestingly, a replica of this can be found outside the village hall where the route starts and ends.

Here, you should turn right and head up the hill to the railway bridge. Immediately over the bridge, turn right and follow the track to the bottom of the hill and round to the left to the end of Mill Lane.

Follow the path through the kissing gate along the riverside path. Here you’ll find two disabled fishing points if that’s something you’re interested in. After that you’ll pass through another kissing gate, where the footpath finishes and you enter the Mill Pits Meadows. Follow this to the bridge and you’ll find a weir on the river where there are two accessible picnic tables. This is a site of one of the old mills, and the remains of the millrace can even be seen in the water.

This is a great opportunity to relax and take in the sights of the river and the wildlife. The river has an abundance of fish, and you may even see a Kingfisher flash past. When you’re ready to return to the village hall, simply go back the way you came.

About Quingo

The Quingo Scooter range features six models to suit your needs and budget. New models are now available from just £22/week on our new contract hire scheme which includes all servicing and maintenance, Insurance, Roadside Recovery, Call Outs and Consumables including Batteries and Tyres. For more information on this or the latest Quingo Scooter range, please visit our website. Alternatively, if you have any Service questions you can always contact us or call customer services on 01582 430 900.

Keep up to date with the latest mobility scooter advice, tips and interesting places to visit on the Quingo Scooter Users Blog. Connect with Quingo and keep up to date with all our latest news on Facebook and Twitter.

All Quingo Personal Mobility Vehicles are provided by Forever Active, the UK’s exclusive distributor. Forever Active is a trading name of Advantage Marketing Corporation Limited (AMC).  AMC Limited is an appointed representative of First Senior Insurance Services Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. First Senior Insurance Services FSA Register number is 308478.

Accessible Routes

Quingo Accessible Routes: Dodd Summit Trail – Keswick, Cumbria

Here at Quingo Scooters we know just how great it is to get outdoors and into the countryside, to get some fresh air and appreciate the fantastic scenery! In our new series, we’ll be sharing some accessible routes for you to take on your mobility scooter.

Keswick

In the heart of the Lake District National Park you’ll find Keswick, a northwest market town. Surrounded by mountains such as Skiddaw, the scenery is something to marvel at. The Cumberland Pencil Museum documents the history of pencils and the Keswick Museum & Art Gallery displays local artefacts. The vast Derwent Water lake is located at the south of the town, where you can enjoy boat tours and the Theatre by the Lake.

Accessible Route

Name: Dodd Summit Trail

Type of route: Circular

Distance: 4.5 miles

Gradient: Minimal

Terrain: Medium

Facilities: Toilets, Café

The Dodd Summit Trail gives fantastic panoramic views, which include those of Derwentwater, Bassenthwaite Lake, the Solway Coast and even the hills of Dumfries and Galloway. This trail passes through wooded slopes, an open hill and spectacular sights.

The walk starts at the car park, and is also the starting point for several other walks through this forest. All walks are described in a leaflet which is available at the Old Sawmill Tea Room.

It’s recommended to first make your way to the lower viewpoint, which is open every day between 10am and 5pm. From this viewpoint you’ll be able to catch some extraordinary views of the ospreys fishing over the lake, as well as the bold red squirrels. Here, there is also information provided by the staff and volunteers, including how to safely make your way to the upper viewpoint.

Half a mile from the lower viewpoint you’ll reach the higher viewpoint, which can be accessed via the forest. It will take around 30 minutes to make your way here, and there is a steady gradient involved. Again staffed by volunteers, this viewpoint too has optics available which give some amazing views of the new nest, which is only 400m away. Due to reasons of nest protection, the upper viewpoint is only open between 10.30am and 4.30pm daily.

High powered telescopes are provided on this walk, but it’s a good idea to bring your own binoculars if you want a better look at the ospreys fishing, sitting, feeding and washing.

If you require any additional information you can contact the Whinlatter Visitor Centre on 01768 77846.

About Quingo

The Quingo Scooter range features six models to suit your needs and budget. New models are now available from just £22/week on our new contract hire scheme which includes all servicing and maintenance, Insurance, Roadside Recovery, Call Outs and Consumables including Batteries and Tyres. For more information on this or the latest Quingo Scooter range, please visit our website. Alternatively, if you have any Service questions you can always contact us or call customer services on 01582 430 900.

Keep up to date with the latest mobility scooter advice, tips and interesting places to visit on the Quingo Scooter Users Blog. Connect with Quingo and keep up to date with all our latest news on Facebook and Twitter.

All Quingo Personal Mobility Vehicles are provided by Forever Active, the UK’s exclusive distributor. Forever Active is a trading name of Advantage Marketing Corporation Limited (AMC).  AMC Limited is an appointed representative of First Senior Insurance Services Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. First Senior Insurance Services FSA Register number is 308478.