Blind Fold Walk

20 Dec 2007

Barnett Hill has enjoyed a partnership with Guide Dogs for the Blind Association for five years now.

Guide Dogs for the Blind is an association that works to transform the lives of thousands of blind and partially-sighted people on a daily basis by providing guide dogs, mobility and other rehabilitation services to those that need them.

Tim Hall, General Manager at the property, recently participated in a Blind-Fold walk around Guildford town centre. Having been approached by a contact at the association to take part, Tim was lead by Golden Retriever - Basil for forty minutes without the use of his sight.

Tim recalls the walk as a "... heightened sensory experience. You become acutely aware of the many sounds and smells around you and of the presence of the dog guiding you forward. However, contrary to what I initially believed, the dog does not do all the work as you continually need to support the dog with the decisions it makes on your behalf. The dog acts as a second pair of eyes and you need to be in tune with subtle changes in the dog's movement to enable it to guide effectively, in essence it is a partnership between you and the dog. Like all dogs, guide dogs respond very well to reassurance and it was important to keep talking to Basil and encouraging him as he guided me around the town centre. Even in such a short amount of time, I eventually became aware of the way in which a guide dog moves and how this translates into information for the handler especially when approaching obstacles or road junctions. It was a unique experience that gave me a brief insight into what it is like to be visually impaired and made me realise how vital this second pair of eyes can be."

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association also work alongside Barnett Hill employees, conducting visual impairment awareness training. This involves training staff at the property to raise awareness of the various types of visual impairment and gain perspective on how it feels to rely solely on another person for guidance. The aim of this is to support the staff in raising their confidence in being able to assist visually impaired clients.