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It
was early in July, Thursday 8th, although the weathermen said it
was the coldest July day on record and the north easterly winds
made it as cold as mid-winter, when we met in the car park at Dry
Bridge, Exmoor. Six disabled members of the adventure “rambling”
group, plus four careers, plus five of us from the Mendip Ramblers
to accompany them and help when needed. The disabled have these
fantastic specially made electric buggies to ride over the rough
terrain. Most of them are four-wheeled, but one is three-wheeled,
with a speed of 6 mph and a range of 20 miles. They also need either
a car with a trailer or a van with ramps to carry the buggy. Depending
on the disability (which ranges from not too severe to MS or Polio
& paralysis or being on Dialysis three times a week) the vehicles
have quite complicated mechanics to assist in getting the buggy
in and out and also the disabled person. One in particular reminds
me of Wallace & Grommit when he slides from bed to table getting
dressed en route.
I thought I had travelled quite a way (55 miles) to get there, but
while some lived in Somerset, others had travelled from as far as
Guildford, Surrey, or Oxford or Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire or
Southampton. This rather illustrates how much these rambles mean
to them, to travel so far for only two days of rambling. Indeed,
the person on dialysis (from Hemel Hempstead) could only manage
one day, having to return on the Friday for the next dialysis session.
Well wrapped up (including hot-water bottles inside the covers)
we set off at 11.00am along the track in a north-easterly direction.
Once over the brow of the hill, the wind was less strong and we
walkers were beginning to warm up. At the “crossroads”
we turned right, going east towards Badgworthy. There were often
puddles across the track for several yards (metres) (some as deep
as 3 inches (8 cm)) which the buggies splashed through (like children
who jump in puddles), and we walkers went onto the moorland &
heather / gorse alongside. Most of the way the track had had stones
put down, which had sunk into the sandy soil but made a hard surface
for the buggies. As we began to drop down through the trees towards
Badgworthy Water, there was a step in the track which the four-wheelers
needed some help to get over. The three-wheeler managed this quite
easily, but later on got totally stuck on a rock, with only one
wheel on the ground. It took four or five people to manhandle the
buggy, half-lifting and half using the motor plus wedging loose
stones under the airborne wheel, before the buggy was finally back
on the track after five or ten minutes.
At the bottom of the hill, we had a short rest (admiring the scenery)
before following the track alongside Badgworthy Water towards Malmsmead.
We noticed one of the buggies had a flat tyre, but fortunately another
member carried a pump so the tyre was pumped up. We were now sheltered
from the wind by the trees and the sum was out and shining on the
water as it rushed over and around the rocks. So far we had seen
no-one else, but as we approached Cloud Farm we met another (local)
member of the group, with her dog, who was to “buggy ramble”
as our leader the next day. She hadn’t been able to hitch
the buggy trailer up, but had driven over and walked with the aid
of two sticks to meet us for a short distance before returning home.
We continued alongside the river, passing through some fields of
sheep, at which point we had to put the accompanying dogs on their
leads and the helpers had to hold them as the buggy drivers couldn’t.
The dog I held wanted to be at the front, although its owner was
at the back, and it kept pulling on the lead. The track ended at
the road by Lorna Doone Farm, where we stopped for lunch. The buggies
made use of the ford there to splash through and clean their wheels.
After lunch and pumping up the flat tyre, we set off along the road
going west for a few yards, before branching off onto a south-westerly
track leading back to Dry Bridge. The tyre needed two further pumps
to get back to the car park, but we all arrived safely, if somewhat
wind-blown, by 4.15pm, having rambled for 7 – 8 miles. The
buggies returned to their overnight accommodation, whist we ramblers
went home. |
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