MORE than 40 people attended an Accessible Dartmoor Day recently, to test drive the Genny XR – an innovative powered wheelchair based upon Segway technology.

The high-tech wheelchair enables people with disabilities to move safely in spaces that were formerly inaccessible to them. Dartmoor National Park is the first national park to test the Genny XR and hosted the event at its main offices near Bovey Tracey.

Local businesswoman Lisa Jenkins, owner of Dartmoor Accomm-odation, was the driving force in bringing the Genny to Dartmoor.

She said: ‘I was delighted with the high level of interest the event generated. Attendees included local mobility organisations, outdoor activity providers and representatives from popular venues and attractions.

‘Feedback was immensely positive and everyone that tried out one of the two Gennys on display was really impressed with its performance.’

Lisa is disabled herself, having had juvenile chronic arthritis from the age of six.

‘Living and working where I do, I am acutely aware of how frustrating it can be for people with mobility issues to be able to get out and enjoy this glorious countryside. The Genny is a brilliant way to achieve that,’ she said.

‘My business is the advertising of holiday accommodation so being able to show people with disabilities that we have not only got accessible accommodation for them, but also the means to go out and enjoy the countryside independently is a really important development.’

Paralympian Matt Sealy, who plays wheelchair basketball and was a member of TeamGB at London 2012, came along to test drive the Genny.

He said: ‘It’s brilliant! It’s really easy to control. I was a little worried at first as you naturally expect it to be hard to balance, but of course it isn’t like that at all. I have watched all sorts of people with varying degrees of disability get on the Genny today and instantly feel confident enough to start driving it around off road.’

Lisa sees this as the start of a much larger project, as she is pleased to announce that her company, Dartmoor Accommodation, will be organising an annual ‘Accessible Dartmoor Day’ as part of the Dartmoor Walking Festival which is planned for August 27 to September 4, 2016.