A NEW sensory walk encouraging people with disabilities to visit officially opened at a local national park.

The new walk, called 'Potter and Ponder' opened with a launch party at Croome Court, near Worcester.

Four local groups with wide ranging special needs and learning disabilities collaborated with the National Trust to create the new walk.

Rachel Sharpe, Croome's creative partnerships manager said: “Being a family is tough enough these days, but life with a child with disabilities is a totally different journey - you have to face situations and decisions you never dreamed existed.

“My son Stanley is wonderful, he is also one of the most profoundly autistic children in the UK.

"Life for him is very hard, he struggles with all aspects of the world, just travelling down the street is a massive battle for him and us.

"On the day Stanley was diagnosed we watched our world fall apart, and thought that was the hardest moment, but as anyone who has a child with disabilities will tell you, this is just the beginning.

"Our existence like so many other families, fell into a seemingly never ending spiral of hospital stays, terrifying diagnosis's, head scratching paediatricians and mile stones whizzing by, there comes a point where you realise you’re not just a square peg in a round hole you're not even a peg.”

“In the midst of this, you are also trying to find something you can do, somewhere you can go and be a family, this is where the idea came for the sensory trail. I'm incredibly lucky to work in one of the most beautiful places in the world, with some of the most imaginative people.

During the walk you will experience many different sensations such as sound, touch and smell.

“It has been a wonderful experience to work with the children to create the ‘Potter and Ponder’ map and joyous to see their faces light up as they experience the different sensations.” said Katherine Alker, Croome’s garden and park manager.

“We’re encouraging people to see the 18th century parkland in a very different way and I hope that people enjoy the map that we have created together.”

Three local schools, Sunfield, Fort Royal Community Primary School, Regency High School as well as Acorns Children’s Hospice were chosen to collaborate on the project as the children have a wide range of special needs and learning disabilities.

The children were also asked to choose their favourite artist to design the map from a selection of artists from Outside In, an organisation for artists who themselves have learning or physical disabilities.

The children chose William Hanekom who created images to represent the different sensory experiences around the parkland.