Every day, your vital support of our work helps to keep our towpaths open and accessible to all.
Andrew regularly handbikes with his cycling club friends
Forging successful collaborations with disabled towpath users like Andrew Moult has helped us identify the improvements needed so everyone can enjoy our canals.
With your incredible support, we have been able to upgrade more than 500 miles of towpath in the last decade; a quarter of our entire network made safer and more accessible for everyone who loves our waterways. But with many more miles to go, we always need more hands to help, and that’s how Andrew came to volunteer his time and insight.
As Andrew is a wheelchair user, he has particular challenges accessing our towpaths. He now uses a handbike – a specially adapted tricycle powered by the arms and upper body rather than the legs – to ride along our canals in the West Midlands.
People are often intrigued by his unusual form of transport and this is how Andrew got chatting to James Dennison, from the Trust on the towpath:
“At the time, James had been tasked with helping improve the towpath in the local area”, says Andrew. “He asked me if I’d like to perform an audit to assess the towpaths around Walsall and the Alexander Stadium to point out any issues with accessibility.”
Andrew’s advice helped our team improve access to the canal at Perry Barr, on the Tame Valley Canal
Eager to help, Andrew soon got to work. “It took several months,” he says. “I looked for gates and other obstacles that stopped cyclists, wheelchair users, or simply anyone pushing their child along in a buggy, from getting on to the towpath. James was great and took everything I said on board. Recording a video of me struggling to get through gates really helped bring the problems to life to potential funding partners.”
Sure enough, thanks in large part to Andrew’s diligent work and your ongoing and vital support, our charity secured funding from local councils in the area to make the canal more inclusive and welcoming to all.
“Since then, the Trust has removed gates, opened up access points, and improved surfaces to make the towpath much more accessible,” says Andrew. “Now people can easily wheel, walk or cycle from the Arboretum in Walsall all the way down to Alexander Stadium and beyond, which is brilliant. It’s all about the Trust’s mission to welcome everyone to the towpath.”
A thumbs up for towpath routes on wheels
Andrew is also a valued member of Walsall Arboretum Community Cycle Club. A big part of his role as ride leader is to plan, record, and supervise safe, enjoyable bike routes along our canals for people of all ages and abilities.
“We use towpath routes for club rides all over the West Midlands,” he says, “and over the past few years, I’ve really come to appreciate canals. Riding along the towpath is always great fun and there’s so much to see along the way. Our canals are a real asset for everyone in our community. It’s great that Friends like you help community volunteers like me make them accessible to all.”
Would you like to volunteer your time to improve your local towpath? Get involved as Andrew did.
