More about the Sensory Trust

So, here we are, outside a woodland site in London. We’re assessing the site as part of a larger project that takes in woodland sites all over the capital. And what have we here exactly? Most access organisations would immediately spot the barriers to access: a rough narrow path, railway sleepers dug into the ground to stop motorbikes, but which only ever stop people with wheelchairs or pushchairs. These things are important but they’re far from the whole story. Access can be difficult or impossible here, but the real question is; would you want to?

The railway sleepers are brutal and unwelcoming, the spiked railing that stretches out around the woodland looks more like a prison fence than anything that would make you feel safe. The whole place has an air of neglect. This is not a site that says "come in". It is forbidding and implies that few people will have a good, safe experience if they venture behind the spiked fence and motorbike barriers. We know that being outdoors in a natural environment is good for our health. Sensory Trust deals with the reasons why so many of our outdoor spaces fail to welcome us in.