Disabled Daredevils airs on Channel 4 on Tuesday 30^th August 2016 at 11.05pm and features one of our founders, Paula Moulton.  Here’s her story of how she got involved.

“If you’re told often enough you can’t do something you will start to believe it.  It’s time though we start to focus on ability and normalise disability”

Roll back to December 2014 when I had a random request to speak to someone about an upcoming documentary on extreme sports. This seemed a bit odd as I’ve never considered wheelchair dance sport “extreme”, other than the odd time you might fall out of your wheelchair from time to time or Gary has slipped and accidentally kicked me on the head – but you can hardly call that extreme!

I was then asked “if you were allowed to do any extreme sport what would you like to do?”.  My response was downhill mountain biking that was all, although there’s things that I know I wouldn’t be able to do like bungee jumping and skydiving as I’ve been told “you can’t” in the past.

Roll forward to August 2015 and suddenly I was meeting up with a group of strangers, all with various physical disabilities, for a week-long adventure doing extreme sports – but the scariest thing was, none of us had any idea what sports were going to be thrown at us!

The challenges

It was a challenge in itself getting 8 people all with different needs to the same location for the same time, complete with multiple wheelchairs, hoists, walkers, spare limbs and of course our Pas, never mind a film crew with all their kit!

The gang assembled were; a mouth painter called Bazza, actors Jenna and Kain, wheelchair fitness instructor Kris, model and campaigner Gemma, Motocross fanatic Billy, football and travel mad Caroline and me – a wheelchair dancer and campaigner.

So what did they have planned for us, how would we do these things, had our GPs and consultants signed our permissions?  So often there’s so much red tape and health and safety issues it’s not worth the pain of even attempting extreme sports.

The first day found us being swung on a giant swing over a quarry then zip wired over the flooded quarry to finish jumping (or being thrown) in for a swim!

Quickly we all realised that some things were becoming common…lots of body harnesses, wetsuits and the prospect of a week of early starts!

More sports followed throughout the week with water skiing, bungee jumping and the final big challenge – a freefall skydive!

Personally, for me, the challenge that terrified me the most was the bungee jump.  I didn’t in a million years expect that I’d be allowed or able to do it.  How wrong could I be!  My consultant signed me off with the message “Don’t worry if you break yourself we can mend you!”  Whilst giving me confidence that it wasn’t going to kill me I was still terrified being hoisted up in a cradle over Bristol Quayside to be dropped on a big rubber band!

But, I did it!  With lots of encouragement from the gang below I was bouncing around on the end of the bungee rope.  It was an awesome experience, and so happy I did it, but it’s one that I wouldn’t repeat, unlike the sky dive which I can’t wait to do again!

Despite the extreme sports and the efforts the teams went to so we could take part, we came down to earth with a bump when ironically we could not get in to a restaurant one night (even though it was booked as a party with several wheelchair users) – their idea of a ramp was a flimsy piece of wood with a step on the other side of the doorway!

Being Normal

Actually the whole week was pretty ’normal’.  We took part in adrenaline sports, made new friends, had a few drinks, danced, played silly games, shared stories and swapped tips dreams and desires.  All pretty normal things for time away on any break, the only difference was our bodies.  However, we all had something else in common, that we were beginning to feel we could conquer anything!

Sometimes the world can be unforgiving and you can get bogged down in the day to day things, whether it be issues with care or getting around and facing access needs.  This trip reinforced that we can do it.

It’s always a bit of a downer when people say you can’t do that or call you “inspirational” because you’ve got on a bus on your own – sorry, but I’ve been doing that for years, just like you.  I think you get blinkered by society treating you as an inspiration for the slightest little thing and you forget sometimes that you truly do do things that are inspirational.

Now being called inspirational because you’ve skydived or bungee jumped; I think we could all accept that.

What the week did make several of us realise, was not to let other people’s perceptions of what you can and can’t do define you.  And a simple thing that it is okay to need more support and that accepting that support does not make you less able, it helps you focus your energy on the things that matter.

The Future

Would I be one of the “Disabled Daredevils” again?  Yes, in an instant!

Words cannot explain what this trip meant to me. I think we all went home and slept for a week and had bruises on bruises, but it was so worth it.

There are extreme activities I still want to do – including winter sports, even though I hate the cold!  I also like the idea of bigger zip wires and downhill adaptive mountain biking.  In honesty, I want to push my limits while I can!

Most importantly I want to do this for me.  I no longer feel the need to qualify to anyone else whether I’m an “inspiration” or not.

Main photo credit: Richard Ansett/C4

Whether local or national, rail is a simple way to get from A to B without the stress of driving or flying and like all other travel it’s best if you do some preparation before your journey (but much less than flying!).  Here’s our tips on Wheelchair train travel.

Cost

Rail travel in the UK can be relatively inexpensive by combing offers and the use of rail cards. For example, the Disabled Adult Railcard firstly gives you a discount, and then allows for a second person to travel at the same rate.    This discount is currently 1/3 off. Booking online is easiest to get the best available fares and pick up tickets at the station.

If you are a wheelchair user and stay in your own chair for the journey you automatically qualify for a discount without having a railcard, but this is only on Anytime fares (these are the highest fares) and only available in person at the station.  So it is worth buying a Railcard if you travel more than 3-4 times a year.

Non Railcard Discounts available on adult Anytime fares*

First Class / Standard Single or Day Single or Return         34%

First Class / Standard Day Return                                             50%

*Sometimes it may be cheaper to buy an undiscounted Off-peak or Advance ticket.

*Correct at August 2016

Booking Assistance

Assistance can be arranged from the taxi rank to the train in one phone call, and at your destination they will make sure you are taken to the appropriate pickup point in the station.  Assistance, in theory, can be arranged for nearly every manned station and some unmanned stations within the UK, but in some rural stations the support can be more hit and miss.

If you are buying your tickets with Virgin Trains you can simply phone the Assistance Team direct and purchase your ticket and book assistance in one step.  With other companies, buy your ticket online and then phone and book assistance from the relevant train company’s Assistance Team.

What you need to know

They will ask you a series of questions such as how you plan to arrive and leave the station?  If you need assistance from the taxi rank/drop off point?  Will you need the ramp to board the train?  Will you be travelling in your wheelchair?  That’s really it.

When you arrive at the station you either meet the staff at the designated spot of make yourself known to a member of staff and they will make sure you get on the train.

On the train

It’s always useful to get the train manger to phone ahead to your destination station to make sure that they know you are coming.  Mistakes do happen so it’s also useful to have a mobile phone on you. The accessible wheelchair spaces on the trains are usually by the accessible bathrooms.  These bathrooms are usually snug, not as tight as on a plane but certainly not big enough for a hoist or someone to be easily able to assist you, so plan ahead.  You can however easily get an average manual or power chair in.

Refreshments – bring your own unless you know there is a trolley service or you are travelling with a companion.  The buffet car can be far away and the aisles are not wheelchair accessible for you to get down the train.  Some train managers will be helpful enough and go for you.

Equipment

You can travel in manual, or most power wheelchairs or with most walking aids/frames.  It’s best to check with individual train companies about Scooters as they vary in size and don’t always fit in the wheelchair space or can be too big/heavy for the ramps.

Who you going to call?

Booking Assistance – Book online with Virgin or for all companies

Phone numbers for the train companies can be found here.

We continue our travel blog season with information about staying in hotels as a wheelchair user.

You fancy a break away, a countryside hotel a city break or maybe a trip to the sun but you need accessible accommodation, what questions should you ask to make sure what they are saying is true.

Firstly, check the location – do you really want to have to navigate a steep hill in order to access the hotel we all know it’s not too bad going one way but the other can be anything from exhausting to downright impossible!  If the whole area is hilly is that going to be an issue, could you or your chair cope and how are your fitness levels?  You are going on a break after all, not boot camp!

So, you’ve found the area, now the hotel.  What is it that you absolutely need and what is that you would like. Make a list – for example, if an accessible bathroom and step free access is a must there are several ways you can check this.  Do they provide a shower chair and what sort is it? It pays to check as it removes some of the stress when you get there. Googling or searching TripAdvisor for images for the outside and inside of the hotel can be useful.

Do you require a hoist, if so, check that it can go under the bed and check the height of the bed is suitable for your needs too.

As a rule of thumb always contact the hotel direct to ask questions. If using a travel agent that doesn’t specialist in accessible holidays, ask them to check the gazetteer but still phone or email the hotel direct yourself.

Once you have checked that the essential things are okay then you can go for the ‘likes!’ – the infinity pool, spa treatments or the best in-house dining experience.

Remember you can take two pieces of mobility equipment with you if you are flying with European airlines, but it is worthwhile knowing that in many places you can hire equipment such as hoists and just taking your own slings with you.  Similarly, if you use feeds and catheter supplies these can sometimes be delivered to a hotel abroad for you by your supply company depending on location. Speak to you delivery company for further information,

It can be daunting choosing a hotel for the first time but it does get easier. Mistakes can be made however there are always little hacks that can help such as:

• if your wheelchair won’t fit through bathroom door – ask hotel to take the door off!
• a plastic garden chair is a great substitute shower chair
• always ask for extra towels and pillows on arrival so it’s not last thing at night when you realise you need more -let’s face it – we go through more towels than average!
• don’t be afraid to ask the hotel move furniture take it out of the room completely so you can manoeuvre around the room.
• Ask the local hotel staff for advice about local accessibility

Remember the more homework you do the more informed you will be. As you become more experienced in travel planning you will do things automatically. For example, while travelling solo there are certain hotel chains we would not stay in as the fire doors are too heavy to open. On the other hand, there are others that we would stay in worldwide that we wouldn’t feel the need to even ask questions as we know they have a universal room plan. This knowledge comes with time and it’s different for each person due to individual access needs.

The most important thing though is when you get there to be able to finally enjoy yourself and relax.