Quingo Scooters Accessible Routes: Whinlatter Forest Park | Quingo Scooters

Quingo Scooters Accessible Routes: Whinlatter Forest Park

The British countryside offers a wonderful range of options for those of you looking to explore new places on your mobility scooter. In the latest in our series of articles on accessible routes, Quingo Scooters heads to one of the most fascinating parts of the English Lake District – Whinlatter Forest.

Whinlatter Forest Park

Whinlatter Forest Park is billed as ‘England’s only true Mountain Forest’ and is a fantastic place to explore, whatever your accessibility needs. The Lake District itself is a stunningly beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site. Whinlatter is an important part of this landscape and it has been carefully managed by the Forestry Commission over many years so that it’s a place that balances the needs of a huge diversity of wildlife with the many visitors who enjoy it every year. So, as you travel around the forest, keep an eye out for Roe deer, badgers and foxes.

Quingo Scooters Accessible Routes: Whinlatter Forest Park | Quingo Scooters Badger

And don’t forget to look up too: there’s a good chance you’ll see Osprey from the special viewing point at Whinlatter.

Quingo Scooters Accessible Routes: Whinlatter Forest Park | Quingo Scooters Osprey

However, we’ve found that one of the most relaxing ways to spend a few hours at Whinlatter is simply to pass the time in Siskins Café. There are an incredible variety of birds that use the bird feeders outside the windows, including siskin (and if you’re lucky you might even see a red squirrel trying its luck on the feeders!).

There is a one-mile marked trail at Revelin Moss, which is suitable for wheelchairs and buggies, and has great views of Grisedale Pike. There are other short walks, which are easy access and staff at the centre will be pleased to help advise you which will be the most suitable.

If you fancy something different, Rough Riderz is a 4-wheeled mountain bike club. It offers people the opportunity to experience the thrills of downhill mountain biking on specially designed 4-wheeled mountain bikes. You can find out more information, including taster days, on the Rough Riderz website.

Accessibility at Whinlatter Forest Park

Considering this is such a wild and rugged landscape, Whinlatter Forest Park is surprisingly accessible, not least because of a new scheme that offers the use of off-road mobility scooters known as ‘trampers’. These are offered by Lake District Mobility and their website is a great place to start your adventure around Whinlatter. You can sign up to be an annual member of their scheme, which costs £10, or get a two-week taster membership for £2.50. Give them a call on 01768 778469 to book and discuss your needs.

Whinlatter Forest Park itself has number of a designated Blue Badge spaces near the main building. The parking spaces are up a slope (it’s not too steep) but there is also the option to be dropped off outside the rear of the main building too, where you will also find an accessible toilet as well.

For more general accessibility information about Whinlatter, take a look at their dedicated page here.

Getting there

Because of its relatively remote location, the easiest way to get to Whinlatter is by car. From the M6 just take the A66 towards Cockermouth and then turn west at Braithwaite on the B5292 towards Lorton. The Visitor Centre is signposted from there. During the summer you can also take the bus from Keswick to Whinlatter and we recommend taking the Honister Rambler (bus number 77 or 77A) that goes via the spectacular Honister Pass. The Visitor Information Centre and the Forest Shop are both open every single day over the summer, from 10am-4pm, while the Siskins Cafe is open from 10am to 5pm every day.

Share your accessible route with Quingo!

If you’ve been to visit any great accessible routes on your Quingo or would like us to write about a particular place you have visited, we’d be delighted to hear from you! You can email your stories, recommendations and pictures by filling out the contact form on our website and we’ll feature them on our blog.

About Quingo

The Quingo Scooter range features six models to suit your needs and budget. New models are now available from just £22/week on our new contract hire scheme which includes all servicing and maintenance, Insurance, Roadside Recovery, Call Outs and Consumables including Batteries and Tyres. For more information on this or the latest Quingo Scooter range, please visit our website. Alternatively, if you have any Service questions you can always contact us or call customer services on 01582 430 900.

Keep up to date with the latest mobility scooter advice, tips and interesting places to visit on the Quingo Scooter Users Blog. Connect with Quingo and keep up to date with all our latest news on Facebook and Twitter.All Quingo Personal Mobility Vehicles are provided by Forever Active, the UK’s exclusive distributor. Forever Active is a trading name of Advantage Marketing Corporation Limited (AMC).  AMC Limited is an appointed representative of First Senior Insurance Services Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. First Senior Insurance Services FSA Register number is 308478.