Rowena Macaulay

I grew up on a farm, enjoying great freedom to roam which I took for granted in equal measure! Access to the countryside took on a different meaning in my thirties though when I became a fulltime chair user, meeting with new kinds of barriers and needing new kinds of information. In 2010 I founded Walk Colchester, a community walk advocacy organisation concerned with inclusive approaches to the design and management of the local walking environment. Since then, I’ve become particularly interested in the use of photography and digital mapping as tools for providing information differently about walking opportunities and obstacles, and in the creation of ‘phototrails’ aimed at encouraging countryside access by older, disabled and new walkers. I am also committed to the processes of barrier removal and redesign, working alongside the local council and other user groups (e.g., cyclists) to this end.