Written by BSRV volunteer ambassador and event participant, Annette Leishman.
On Wednesday, 5 March, a beautiful early autumn day, a group of vision impaired beach lovers from Blind Sports and Recreation Victoria, along with their support workers and volunteers set off for an invigorating coastal walk. We met at the Brighton Beach Station car park and walked across the road to the beach walking track. The track consisted of sealed bike path lanes, sandy stretches and wooded areas in some parts. Overall, the path was accessible to everyone, accommodating the variety of ages and degrees of vision loss within the group.
Time to dip the toes
At about the midway point of the walk, a few of us decided to cross the fine sand down to the beach. As it was hot day, it was refreshing to paddle in the cool ocean water, with the waves gently lapping and splashing against our legs. It was important to tread carefully because the tide had washed up a lot of shells.
Working up a sweat
A couple members of the group were fascinated by the shells, in particular the diverse shapes. Allan picked up a couple of fan shells and passed them around. They felt like perfectly shaped fans – smooth, hard and ridged with intermittent creases. Janina, who seemed to know her shells well, picked up a couple of rounded, smooth heart-like shaped shells. She identified them as cockle shells.
Arriving at the Squirrel Café – Sandringham
We walked about 300 metres along the water’s edge before climbing up a wooden staircase that reconnected to the main track. From there, we rejoined the rest of the group and made our way to Sandringham. In total, we had walked about 4 kms. Although it was a leisurely walk, we had worked up a sweat and were very happy when we arrived at our destination, the Squirrel Café, in the heart of Sandringham.
It was wonderful to enjoy a delicious lunch and some ice-cold drinks at the cafe while sharing great conversations.
Such a beautiful day!
Thanks to Rachel from Blind Sports and Recreation Victoria for organising this amazing walk.
I’d also like to acknowledge the Bayside City Council for their suport.
This walk is made possible by generous funding from the Bayside City Council.
