Backpacking by train with a wheelchair

Mary lives with secondary progressive MS (SPMS) in the Pennines, West Yorkshire. Recently, she and her husband took a trip around Scotland by train. In this blog post, she tells us about their adventures and her experiences of travelling by train with a wheelchair.

I keep hearing of friends heading across Europe and enjoying travels by train these days. We all seem to have reached the age of freedom from work and want to make the most of it. 

My husband and I are always up for an adventure (regardless of my MS!) and this has sounded very appealing to us too. But I’ve been slightly apprehensive about how we could manage with a wheelchair in tow. 

I’ve had MS (now secondary progressive) for twenty years now and am a part-time wheelchair user. 

An equally great concern has been how would we (meaning I!) cope with very limited luggage. I’d only be able to carry more of a day sack, leaving my husband to carry one large rucksack for all our needs.

Exploring Scotland 

We decided to experiment with something closer to home, and a few weeks ago bought Spirit of Scotland passes (discounted thanks to my Disabled Railcard). 

We planned to explore up the west coast of Scotland as far as the Isle of Skye, then across to Elgin and Aberdeen and down the east coast. We had a marvellous time! 

The scenery was beautiful as well as being varied. Although we’re very familiar with parts of Scotland, we explored new places thanks to the flexibility of the travel pass. 

Friendly, helpful train staff

As I can step up onto a train myself, I appreciate that I didn’t have the full wheelchair train experience, but everywhere we found staff friendly and always offering to help. Particularly with ramps, which we did sometimes use. There was always space for the wheelchair in the disabled carriage. And one member of staff specifically came to find me to tell me where I could register as a disabled user with Scotrail if I wished. 

Skye by ferry

Skye was perhaps the trickiest as there wasn’t a bus to meet the ferry when we arrived. Fortunately, a taxi driver was passing, and we gladly took a ride! 

Also, as houses are dotted more widely on the island, we found that our self-catering accommodation was a little further out from the village than expected…And, for my husband, there was an unwelcome incline that he had to push me up whilst carrying the rucksack (and our just-purchased food shopping)! 

Once we arrived everything was fine, and we used the regular bus service for a good tour of Skye. The travel pass was valid for the buses on the island which was a bonus. Another day I was wheeled along a road that took you into the heart of the awesome landscape.

Cities and coastal paths

In Glasgow, we used the hop on-hop off bus to explore the city. In Elgin, we toured the impressive ruined cathedral. In Aberdeen, the Maritime Museum was fascinating, and at Stonehaven, Montrose and Dunbar we had great blasts of sea air along coastal paths. 

We booked accommodation close to the centre of wherever we stayed. This made things easy, with the stations also being so central. 

I even coped with the limited clothing options – we became adept at washing through clothes when needed. We felt like proper backpackers!

We did have to use a replacement coach service down the east coast from Edinburgh, but we were still mainly able to enjoy the scenery. However, for a full-time wheelchair user I’m not sure how feasible the coach would have been to access.

Next stop Europe?

As ever with MS, we’re all experiencing it differently. But if you have a little mobility and reasonable energy levels it’s worth a go…and we’re now considering the possibility of Europe by train!