ONE of the Lake District's most popular attractions is welcoming new industry efforts to encourage and help more Cumbrian businesses to become accessible for all by highlighting examples of best practice.

Around 20% of visitors to Cumbria are thought/estimated to have a disability – a statistic which in recent weeks spurred-on a consortium of organisations led by Cumbria Tourism to hold a special conference dedicated to raising awareness of how to improve accessibility and inclusion.

Tourism and hospitality businesses from across Cumbria met to explore the growing accessible tourism market and how they can provide a world-class experience for all.

Businesses large and small attended the fully-booked conference. Mike Turner, Managing Director of Treetop Trek Ltd says, “One in five visits to Cumbria involve someone with additional needs requiring extra assistance. The Lake District, Cumbria, is a place that everyone should be able to enjoy so it’s vital that attractions all over the county do everything we can to ensure that we are open and welcoming to all.”

No stranger to being recognised for its work in this field, Treetop Trek was ‘Highly Commended’ in the Cumbria Tourism Awards 2019 ‘Accessible and Inclusive’ category. That success was boosted further after Treetop Trek was shortlisted in the ‘Accessible for All’ category at the recent national ‘Staycation Awards’ in London, hosted by Countryfile and The One Show presenter Matt Baker.

The business credit many of their improvements to their Treetop Trek and Treetop Nets facilities to a collaboration with local charity the Bendrigg Trust, which has been providing outdoor and adventure experiences to people with disabilities for over 40 years, describing the charity as the perfect organisation to assist with staff training and adapting equipment.

Mike continues, “We’ve always tried to make our experiences as inclusive as possible with a carer goes free policy but as a high-ropes experience it was initially a little unnerving to have conversations about wheel chair users. Every school we welcome for example will bring along at least one child with special needs so it’s essential we are able to provide activities that can be enjoyed together. A big part of the challenge is knowing how to communicate and what questions to ask so we put all full time staff through accessibility training with Bendrigg and it has made a huge difference.

“Physical improvements have also included the installation of specialist hoisting equipment and braking systems which allow wheelchair or restricted mobility users to access the top of the zipline tower and the 250 metre triple zip line down to the shore of Windermere. This means we can offer the experiences to an even wider audience and specifically extend use of our facilities to Bendrigg guests in return for their ongoing support.

“There is always more that can be done but the important thing for businesses to note is that even small changes can make a huge difference and don’t be scared of making an effort to improve accessibility. We’d like to say a really special and heartfelt thanks to the team for all their help and hope it inspires other local attractions to do everything they can to improve accessibility even further."