Isle Of Wight ‘Blindfolded Bimble’ Is Huge Success

A blind veteran from the Isle of Wight was joined by 30 walkers to take on his second blindfolded fundraising walk to raise money for Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for vision-impaired ex-Service men and women, which has turned his life around after sight loss.

Ian Summers, 45, and from Shanklin, organised and led the ‘Ultra Blindfolded Bimble’ on 29 June in response to Blind Veterans UK’s Armed Forces Month campaign, which called on people to organise activities to celebrate and commemorate key dates in the month of June while raising vital funds to support its work.

For the second year running, Ian challenged walkers to pair up and walk under blindfold while guided by their partner on the coastal path between Shanklin and Sandown.  He was joined by 30 walkers, six of whom were under blindfold for the duration of the challenge.

Ian and those under blindfold successfully racked up a combined 100km. When added to the walking distance of the rest of the group they far exceeded their 102km challenge (the distance as the crow flies from Ian’s home in Shanklin to the Blind Veterans UK Rustington Centre in West Sussex and back again.)

Ian says:

“I led my first ‘Blindfolded Bimble’ last year and was inspired to go bigger after I joined a group of blind veterans to take on the South Coast Ultra last autumn. We walked a range of distances from 25km to 100km.

“My own sight loss has had a huge impact on my life. Everyday activities like taking a walk, preparing a meal and spending time playing with my two daughters became difficult.

“With this walk, I wanted to raise awareness of the personal impact of sight loss and of the charity Blind Veterans UK which has supported me since 2018 and has turned my life around.

“The walk took place on a very warm day and the promenade was exceptionally busy; the support we had along the way was amazing.

“I was out in front walking with my white cane and leading the bimble. When we finished, I asked those who took part blindfolded how they found it and the overwhelming response was ‘horrible’.

"They fed back that it was particularly scary when we came to walking along the road and I told them I hate that too. It was definitely eye-opening for them.”

Ian served with the 2^nd Battalion Royal Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment and carried out tours in Iraq, Kuwait and Northern Ireland.

He lost his sight suddenly in 2017. He says:

“My life changed overnight but discovering Blind Veterans UK turned things around.

"They helped me learn to use a cane so that I could walk safely unaided, provided equipment like a talking microwave to help me prepare food and enabled me to meet and spend time with other blind veterans which helped me to imagine a life for myself beyond sight loss.”

Ian says:

“The Bimble was an opportunity to come together to celebrate the efforts of our Armed Forces and thank them for their sacrifice, and those of their families, as well as raise vital awareness and funds for Blind Veterans UK.

“I want to ensure that other veterans like me can receive life changing support for years to come and that is why I want this to become an annual event.”

If you would like to make a donation to support Ian with his fundraising for Blind Veterans UK please visit his Just Giving page: JustGiving.com/page/ultrablindfoldedbimble

If you are inspired by Ian and would like support and resources to help you plan your own 'blindfolded bimble' walk visit: blindveterans.org.uk/walk

Blind Veterans UK supports thousands of blind veterans across the country, but knows there are many thousands more who still need its support to rebuild their lives after sight loss.

If you, or someone you know, served in the Armed Forces, including National Service, and are now struggling with sight loss, then please get in touch. Call 0800 389 7979 or visit blindveterans.org.uk/support