Forth and Tay Disabled Ramblers

Who we are and what we do.

We are a user-led charity, established in August 2001 with the aim of making outdoor rambles accessible to people with limited mobility.  We own, and maintain, a fleet of 19 mobility scooters suitable for extended and comfortable use over accessible terrain such as forest pathways, country parks, canal tow paths etc.

Our users

Our users are mainly drawn from the areas bounded by the rivers Forth and Tay although others hail from areas such as Bridge of Earn, Edinburgh, West Lothian and Dundee.

Our rambles

Our rambles are carefully planned and surveyed beforehand, using forestry, canal, parkland and open countryside pathways accessible to the public.  We limit the duration to around 4 - 5 hours to ensure we can fit the ramble into a normal days hire for the vans we use. This allows us to complete rambles of between 6 and 10 miles giving our users a wide variety of countryside, views and experiences.

Our volunteers

We have a dedicated team of volunteers to look after the scooters, load and unload them from vans, accompany the ramblers to ensure routes are followed safely and address any needs of the users whilst doing so. This model ensures that staffing costs in delivering our service are kept to a bare minimum.

Our trustees

Our Board of Trustees is drawn from users of the service, supporting family members, friends and volunteers and is extremely active in ensuring the delivery of an efficient and enjoyable service.

Benefits to users

The benefit to our users are numerous. From an increased sense of well-being, improved physical and mental health, through to the chance to simply make new friends and socialise out of doors.

What our users say

We asked some of our users to tell us what benefits they felt they got from being a part of FTDR. Here's what they said:

"The support of the group allows me to do something on my own, and therefore feel a bit more independent.  Going for a ramble in nature is something I particularly enjoy.  I find getting outdoors, in nature makes me happier."

"Being a member of FTDR means everything to me as it has opened a whole new world allowing me to visit scenic places on a mobility scooter."

"FTDR has been a lifeline for me.  Not only has it enabled me to enjoy getting outdoors and exploring the countryside which I love but also, I have been able to participate as a charity trustee and that helps me to feel useful.  I enjoy the company of other like-minded people and have made new friends.  It helps me improve my stamina and improve my mental health."

"FTDR are the best group of people I have found, and they are so friendly and helpful.  Thanks to the group I can get out and see the beautiful scenery that Scotland has to offer."

"It has meant that I can get out in the fresh air and enjoy beautiful countryside and enjoy the company of others."

Overheads

Some of our ongoing overheads include the garaging of our fleet of scooters, charging and servicing of them between rambles and hire of suitable vans to simply get them to ramble starting points and return them afterwards. These costs are covered through contributions from members of the public and by charging minimum fees to users for the service they receive.

Breakdowns

We acquired our first few scooters over 22 years ago and those are coming to the end of their working lives with frequent breakdowns now causing problems when out on rambles with the potential to spoil the experience for our users.

All our scooters are maintained and serviced to a high standard but, despite that, the limited availability of suitable parts to replace worn or broken items is causing some very real issues in ensuring we have sufficient scooters available on the day of a busy ramble.

Our vision for the future

We regularly receive enquiries from people wanting to make use of our service but can only book on a first come, first served basis. Our Board of Trustees, whilst wanting to be able to continue the level of service currently available, would like to be able to increase the size of our scooter fleet to open the service up to a larger user group.   

What we need

We use all terrain electric mobility scooters to ensure our users have as comfortable an experience as possible over routes of varying terrain. The cost of a new all terrain scooter can vary between £3000 and £5,000 and we currently need to replace a few of our current fleet to ensure we maintain an uninterrupted service.

We are looking to raise £25,000 through this Crowdfunding appeal to enable us to not only buy sufficient scooters to replace those at the end of their service lives but also increase our fleet to provide us with a margin of resilience in delivering our and expanding our service to a larger user group.