Dornoch Beach Wheelchairs
Dornoch Beach Wheelchairs is a Scottish Charity that believes that everyone has the right to enjoy our beautiful beaches. To book a wheelchair phone 0300 770 4624
This new service is unique to the North of Scotland and where better to begin than beautiful Dornoch!
To hire a wheelchair (free of charge) please contact the team on 0300 770 4624 or message them through their Facebook page
People of any age can find themselves unable to access our beautiful beaches. Physical disability can arise for many reasons – from lifelong health conditions to general infirmity, accidents and many more reasons.
After over two years of hard work by the Chair and a dedicated team of volunteers a new shed housing the wheelchairs has opened.
The facility has four state of the art wheelchairs.
Having these chairs will mean everything to disabled people who have found it difficult to access the beach in the past. They are free to hire and we are looking forward to seeing them in use.
Thanks to our Community Council who have funded the state of the art, hydraulic hoist to enable safe transfer from the users chair into the beach chair.
They have landscaped the area around the car park and created new paths that will enable safe access onto the beach.
This area now has new benches and picnic tables that are suitable for wheelchair users, a big sandpit with a toy library so families can play safely and picnic there and we will shortly install a BBQ area where visitors can cook safely without risking fire.
The team aim to continue to add to the collection and will need more of the all-terrain chairs of different sizes, types and designs to meet the needs and wants of users.
Fundraising is likely to be never ending!
“We’d like to thank everyone that has donated to this fantastic cause.”We hire out beach wheelchairs free of charge from our newly built shed based at the Dornoch Beach car park and local volunteers will man this.
All of the wheelchairs have been specially designed to enable individuals with disabilities to get back on the beach. Unlike a standard manual wheelchair they have large, rubber wheels that move easily over the sand. They can also be pushed into the sea to allow the user to enjoy a paddle.
It has taken two years and a lot of work and effort in order to establish the project. As with anything new, committed volunteers, funding and resources were needed to get things off the ground.
The big step forward came when The Beatrice Wind Farm awarded a large part of the funds needed. Now, the team could apply for charitable status and secure a permanent base for the project.
The committee run a market stall selling branded merchandise and are prominent in the community, enthusiastically raising funds in order to make Beach Wheelchairs a sustainable long-term service.
We have had many enquiries about our project, so it’s clear that there’s a demand and the two nursing homes in town are looking forward to being able to take their residents out to enjoy this facility.