Truly a team effort, funded and supported by the community.
About: all those who help
We have so many people to thank! The type on this list may be small, but the gratitude is enormous.
From the start, Bridport Town Council has been supportive, and it was their initial funding for the beach matting, that enabled us to start making West Beach an accessible beach. The Town Council continue to remain closely involved and have oversight of the scheme, for which we are truly thankful.
Parkdean Resort at West Bay help enormously by providing back up coverage for wheelchair drop off,and their Changing Places facility is a game changer for those with disabilities, who can now have a whole day out at the beach.
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​The Rotary Club of Bridport generously donated the Sandcruiser Wheelchair.
Magna Housing generously donated the floating Mobi-Chair.
Bridport Round Table, generously donated the Hippocampe Wheelchair, and
West Dorset Mencap generously donated the Trail Glider.
Thanks to Steve Eldridge Design who designed the Trail Glider, and Crafty Fabrication who built it; their expertise, determination and attention to detail was incredible.
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Dorset council have been a marvellous support in many ways and particular thanks go to the Harbour Master James, deputy Ben and the rest of the Harbour team; they do a great job managing the matting. James was also very practical and helpful with our new building.
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The building was funded by our Crowdfunder and generous donations from individuals in the local community, charities and businesses.
Other significant donations came from: West Bay Days, Highlands End Holiday Park, Groves Nursery, Colmer W.I., Specsavers Bridport, the Hive Beach Wheelchair Friendly Benches Crowdfunders, and of course to everyone who donated through our own Beach Wheelchairs for West Bay Crowdfunder page.
Also huge thanks to: Hedditch Welding, Robbie Roskell RRABC, Koller Engineering, Bridport Christian Fellowship, Bridport Choral Society, Mays Floorplans Ltd, Mimi's designs and Vertiworks.
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We are also so grateful for the support from Dorset National Landscapes and Dorset Coast Forum.
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Thank you! to everyone for your generosity and your ongoing support for Reach the Beach.
The brilliant Beach Access Project, founded by Will Behenner, aims to make Dorset the accessible Blue Space capital of the UK, through a collaboration with Brighton University, Dorset Council, Dorset Coast Forum, Dorset National Landscapes and The National Trust. This is such an admirable venture, and we are very proud to be part of it.
Our Volunteers.
Special thanks to our amazing volunteers. Without your selfless giving of your time, none of this would be possible.
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Some of you have also given your expertise- be it swimming instructors or DIYers, and your amazing bookings management- and again, a heartfelt thank you for this.
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You are all complete stars. We do not have enough pics of you all- watch this space!!
About: The Reach the Beach story.
‘I’ve always strongly believed in accessibility for everyone, and the beach is such a simple but important pleasure’.
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Local to the area, Elaine Leader was pushing a relative in a wheelchair around West Bay in 2021, when she realised that although there is a ramp, there is no way a wheelchair can get on to and across the beach! Elaine decided there and then that West Bay needed beach matting and beach wheelchairs, which was, to put it mildly, a little crazy, as logistically and financially this was an enormous challenge.
Progress was slow at first, but after much dogged and determined persistence, in March 2022, Elaine presented her plan to Bridport Town Council, and admirably, the support from the councillors was unanimous . Phase 1, the first set of beach matting, was agreed, generously funded by the Council, and laid in August 2022.
A crowdfunder was then launched to raise funds and the response was heartwarmingly positive, as local businesses, the community, organizations and local charities all donated, and the funds were used to buy the wheelchairs and equipment. Reach the Beach was launched in March 2023 with three wheelchairs.
Frustratingly, nothing currently on the market catered for people who needed to remain in their own wheelchairs, so Elaine set about developing one and getting it constructed! Our unique Trail Glider was launched in April 2024.
Volunteers were recruited, and fund raising continued, which enabled us to build our own storage building on the quay in July 2025.
We now have 18 wonderful volunteers and hope to help more and more people to Reach the Beach.