A COLWALL woman who is visually-impaired has set up a new holiday company offering guided walking holidays in the Malvern Hills for the blind and partially sighted.

Dee Jones has set up a new holiday company, Sense Adventures, aimed at offering the kind of holiday she had been looking for but could not find – small-group weekend breaks walking, going to restaurants, and enjoying the countryside with like-minded people.

And now she is looking for sighted people to act as guides for her holiday clients.

She said: “While there are tour companies who will, on request, accommodate people who are blind or visually impaired, there is little out there that caters for us specifically. It’s a source of frustration that I must be reliant on someone else accompanying me and I cannot be the free-spirited traveller that I long to be.

"Sense Adventures gives back that sense of freedom, and blind and partially sighted adults who want to enjoy time in the countryside can do so, without needing to rely on friends and family. We take care of everyone in a relaxed and friendly manner.

“But we can’t operate without guides and Sense Adventures offers a fabulous opportunity for enthusiastic walkers who want to explore our beautiful Malvern Hills, gain a new and valuable experience, enjoy our wonderful countryside and take their own interest to new heights by sharing it with others.”

Mrs Jones was brought up in London and trained and worked as a chartered accountant and financial analyst She moved to the Malvern area 30 years ago with her young family and fell in love with the hills, exploring them with her three children.

She was diagnosed with rod and cone dystrophy thirteen years ago and her sight is continuing to deteriorate. She is constantly learning an awareness that what she sees is changing and how to live differently.

She attended the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford, where she trained as a massage therapist and now has a successful business working from home offering a range of therapies, and at the Clover Mill Retreat on Cradley.