"Along with all this is tremendous friendliness and friendship and fun; 'cause we have fun, even in you know, talking to your guides, it's companionship."
"If there hadn't been something for visually impaired people, I thoroughly believe some of us would of started it," is something that Betsy goes on to say, after reinforcing the sense of community and friendship within this group and groups like it - "The sense of working with somebody is actually the most important thing, as we have so much of it in our group."
As well as the friendships, the landscapes seem so vivid through Betsy's (and others') descriptions. Trees, wind, rain and even the ground underfoot sound and feel much more enhanced through their words, and after experiencing one of these walks with the group, it's hard to disagree with how they feel about them.
As well as the friendships, the landscapes seem so vivid through Betsy's (and others') descriptions. Trees, wind, rain and even the ground underfoot sound and feel much more enhanced through their words, and after experiencing one of these walks with the group, it's hard to disagree with how they feel about them.
"You can hear the breeze in the trees, and if there’s any wind everything rustles quite a lot. There’s lots of sounds out there if you stop and listen to them."
The only problem it seems, is that there are plenty of guides waiting to help, but not enough visually impaired walkers. It appears the hospitals aren't referring people to social services and support groups (such as this one) as much as they once did -"There's less contact with visually impaired people, and so we have fewer [VIP] coming with us, which is a tragedy."