The boat that we have all come to know from the Lotto ad, the Lough Ree Access for All wheelchair accessible boat, made a rare visit to Coosan Point on Lough Ree recently for a event organised by the Athlone branch of the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland (IWAI ).
The event was arranged between the IWAI and St Hilda’s special School in Athlone. St Hilda’s has been providing education to children with intellectual disabilities in Athlone since 1966.
The sun shone, well it shone in between the showers, and about fifty-six passengers enjoyed trips onboard Lough Ree Access for All around the inner lakes and Coosan Lough.
Events like this are enormously important and the stimulus they can provide to the passengers can be enormously beneficial. The Athlone branch of the IWAI plan to run a similar event at Coosan on 21-October-2022 and once again the Lough Ree Access for All boat will be in attendance.
Even though the boat has only been running for just over a year now it has been an outstanding success. It has introduced the waterways to so many people who, up until it’s launch had no opportunity to get out on the water.
The roll on-roll off nature of the boat ensures that all passengers can board and disembark with dignity and often independently.
