Bamburgh surfing school gets funding to provide lessons for disabled

NE Surf, owned and operated by Emily Grimes and Chris Churchill, has received backing from UnLtd to provide surf therapy and adaptive surfing lessons.

The pair are convinced surfing can be a really positive therapy, both physically and mentally.

And they are delighted to be able to further improve accessibility for all at Bamburgh following the introduction of beach wheelchairs last year.

Emily said: “The funding and support has already made a huge difference in enabling us to achieve our social aims.

"The funding has meant that we have been able to get five of our instructors their adaptive surf instructor qualification which will greatly increase our knowledge and ability to deliver fully inclusive surf lessons.

"We also have some budget to use on adaptive surfing equipment which will be amazing for the disabled community in Northumberland.

"We are so excited to be able to offer surf lessons to users of the newly housed beach wheelchairs at Bamburgh.

“The business support from Unltd has helped us develop NE Surf Society, a constituted charity, through which we can focus solely on our social aims of using surfing to benefit the community.

"We already have some funding and projects in the pipeline which will enable us to offer surfing and surf therapy for free or heavily subsidised to those who need it most and would not ordinarily be able to access it.

“We’re so stoked to share our passion with even more people and see the joy on their faces as they discover the magical free playground on our doorstep.”

The average price of a surf lesson in Northumberland is between £30-£35 and there is currently no adaptive surfing equipment in the whole county.

This lack of affordable access and adaptive equipment puts Northumberland way behind other coastal regions, where surf therapy and adaptive surfing are more readily available.

UnLtd, the UK’s foundation for social entrepreneurs, is currently working hard with partners from both the public and private sectors to deliver social impact by harnessing the huge potential of social entrepreneurs to solve society’s biggest challenges.

For more information on NE Surf contact: [email protected] / 07962166486.