Nadia's travel dream realised

A young woman with cerebral palsy took the journey of a lifetime to a destination once deemed '˜inaccessible' to her and thousands of other travellers with accessible travel needs.

Nadia Clarke, 24, who lives in Halifax, uses a wheelchair and has spoken through a communication aid for more than 19 years. Despite this, her passion for travel has been unsupressed and she has already ventured worldwide.

Her dream has always been to experience India’s ‘Golden Triangle’ tour and in April, her dream became a reality when a travel company began a mission to make it happen.

India can often be inaccessible for people with disabilities as a lack of adapted vehicles can make areas unreachable for disabled travellers.

But Travel Counsellors worked with reps on the ground for months to ensure Nadia’s requirements could be catered for, including a modified van and hotel rooms with wheelchair access.

A number of bespoke excursions were also organised and Nadia was able to enjoy an elephant trek in Jaipur and a sunrise trip to the Taj Mahal - without having to worry about the limitations of her condition.

Nadia said she never thought a trip to India would be possible and thanked Travel Counsellors for making it happen.

Richard Thompson, a specialist in worldwide accessible travel organised the trip.

He said: “It has been an absolute pleasure working with Nadia to organise this trip. She really is an inspiration to other disabled people and doesn’t let anything get in her way.”

The holiday was funded by Travel Counsellors along with TWX, its destination management company in India.