A Denmark Beach

Going abroad is only a recent but wonderful discovery of mine. Being able to do something in a completely ME and disabled friendly way is very rare, and an absolute blessing too. It’s never easy weighing up your health against living, but I think that there has to be a balancing act. Being able to enjoy living is a luxury that many do not realise.

I have not been to a beach since 2004, due to severe ill health and it not being accessible to go to. In the U.K., there are very few beaches that you can just go on without having to change wheelchairs so you don’t sink in the sand. However, 13 years later, I happened to be near a beach in Skagen, Denmark. With my new power wheelchair; we were walking up one of the roads. We went the other way from the shops, where everyone seemed to be heading towards we had no money on us so just had to hope that beach would pull all the stops out for us!

As we got to the end of the traditional street with yellow walls and a pinky-red roof on every house, the smell of the sea air reached our nostrils. When I closed my eyes, I could hear the sea roaring into the land. Would my dream come true of being able to see the beach? *no pun intended*. I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to get onto the beach for it was unlikely that such a small town would have any wheelchairs that could go on sand. My wheelchair had done it’s job and taken me to places I would never have seen without it…

However, I was in for a shock. A good shock at that! We got to the end of the terrace and turned the corner. To my surprise, there was a beach with a wooden path that seemed to go onto the beach. A wooden path that not only took me onto the beach, but right down to near the sea that was suitable for wheelchairs!! An accessible beach!

I whizzed off down the path to see the bright white sand contrasting against the deep blue hue of the sea. Listening to the whooshing of the sea, the sun and the blue skies, was truly magical. I got to be so close to the sea that I could recline and tilt my wheelchair fully back. It allowed me to enjoy the peaceful wonder of something so simple. It is insane that a small beach could give so much joy.

Yet, how can it be possible that a small beach in Denmark is more equip than bigger beaches? Is it time for all beaches to become more accessible for wheelchairs? Whether it is a big wheelchair that is suitable for the sand, or a simple wooden path that enables a wheelchair to get right on the beach.

For me, the answer is simple. A person or a child with a wheelchair deserves no less than able bodied people. We need to wake up to accessibility.