Voice Trails is a scheme to enable blind people to get out into the countryside and enjoy a walk in the company of an experienced guide. Here's what some walkers on a visit to The Spinnies, near Bangor, thought of this new venture.
Carys Dafydd, Snowdonia National Park community officer: I organise a forum on disability equality twice a year. This year, someone talked about the difficulties blind people face in exploring the countryside. They said they knew of a great guide called Colin Antwis who could help.
So with the help of the National Park, the Countryside Council for Wales, Gwynedd Council's disabled sports officer and the North Wales Society for the Blind, we organised some walks to Aber Mawddach and Abergwyngregyn.
To begin with we used listening equipment, similar to that used when performing live translation. There'll be an MP3 recording of Colin's descriptions available soon for people to download and go on the walk whenever they like.
On the whole, people said they preferred to be free to walk, talk to friends and listen to the guide together, so we don't use the listening equipment anymore.
We intend to continue with these walks through the winter. For information on future walks, contact me on 01766 772269 or get a copy of the North Wales Society for the Blind's newsletter.
