November 20, 2024 • 18 mins
As a wheelchair user, Melissa rarely has the opportunity of spending time on the beach with the rest of her family; and an activity for them all in the water together was unimaginable.
But an ‘adaptive surfing for families’ session in South Shields in the North East, changed everything.
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Production:
Host: Claire Hickinbotham
Producer: Katy Kelly
Sound Design: Jesus Gomez
Discover More:
Find out more about South Shields Surf:
southshieldsurf.co.uk
Learn about Team England Para:
Adaptive/Para - Surfing England
If you’d like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at: podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
https://ntpodcasts.org/Video
[Ad] Open the door to more with a National Trust membership. As well as free entry and parking at over 500 places we care for, you’ll receive:
• Access to our online Members’ Area, full of exclusive member-only content,
• A yearly handbook packed with visit inspiration,
• And our award-winning member magazine 3 times a year. Now also available digitally.
Become a National Trust member:
nationaltrust.org.uk/become-a-member.
For a taste of the digital magazine, visit nationaltrust.org.uk/historic-recipes, or if you're a member and you'd like to switch, look for My Account on the website.
Production:
Host: Claire Hickinbotham
Producer: Katy Kelly
Sound Design: Jesus Gomez
Discover More:
Find out more about South Shields Surf:
southshieldsurf.co.uk
Learn about Team England Para:
Adaptive/Para - Surfing England
If you’d like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at: podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (00:39):
Hello and welcome to the National Trust
Podcast. I'm Claire Hickinbothamand today we're visiting the
South Shields coast in the northeast of England. Once known for
its coal mining and shipbuildingindustries, Sand Haven Beach has
been described as one ofBritain's best beaches.
But it's not just the scenerythat makes this place special,
it's also the adventure andadrenaline fuelled experiences
(01:01):
on offer that's turned onefamily's pipe dream of surfing
together into a reality.
KAREN HALTON (01:13):
Melissa and my husband and son were racing in.
You know, Nick would dragMelissa out and ride the waves
out. And then they'll all justtake a turn riding the same wave
back in.
She was giggling. We werelaughing, and I just can't tell
you, I can't explain the feelingand how much it meant to us as a
family to have an experiencethat we could all do at the same
(01:33):
time.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (01:37):
Just 13 miles from Newcastle city
centre, with the mouth of theRiver Tyne to the north and the
National Trust's SouterLighthouse to the south, Sand
Haven Beach is a beautifulstretch of coastline.
Evidence of the area'scoalmining past is still visible
at times, and pieces of coalstill wash up on Sand Haven
(01:58):
Beach from the former West HoColliery, but a clean up of the
coastline after the collieryshut in 1993 has resulted in the
beach now having won awards.
NICK JONES (02:12):
We had the coal mine and then there's the quarry at
the end, which the pier wasbuilt out of. That was actually
the old landfill. The mine usedto go out a mile undersea, so
you get lots of coal popping upand you can still collect it.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (02:22):
Nick Jones spends his life on the beach.
He's from South Shields Surf.
NICK JONES (02:26):
Now you've got this- just this fabulous mile of
golden sands. You got waves, yougot rock pools. You've got
glorious like little nooks andcrannies down through the cliffs
to go exploring, and it's allaccessible to everybody.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (02:40):
The beach and coastline are now at the
heart of the local community.
NICK JONES (02:45):
We celebrate it ourselves. We have an annual
beach festival, and we get asmany local organizations who are
involved in the beach and thecoast down here. And we get them
down and we just have- Yeah, agood time.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (02:59):
But Nick believes it's the sea that
brings the biggest benefit topeople.
NICK JONES (03:04):
The sea’s kind of special because it's immersive
and so you're fully in it and itis restorative on multiple
levels. You physicallyrefreshed, and that helps you be
mentally refreshed. Just theNorth Sea is cold you know like
that element of it too.
But then it's like an enforcedstate of meditation, and state
of flow that you fall into whenyou're surfing because you’re
(03:24):
concentrating on waves, you’reconcentrating conditions, you're
concentrating on seeking outthat good feeling from catching
a wave.
When surfers get good waves andthen they've had a good session,
they often say, I feel stoked.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (03:36):
When Nick first set up, he offered
standard surf lessons. But afterlots of requests from community
groups and with the help of somefunding, South Shields Surf
School started offering surfinglessons to more people,
including children with learningdisabilities, wheelchair users,
veterans groups and adults whostruggle with their mental
health.
NICK JONES (03:56):
So I think everyone should be able to access the
good feelings of being in theocean. The only reason people
can't access it, if they've gota physical disability, is that
access hasn't been provided.
It's really important that wetake away those barriers that
are imposed on people.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (04:15):
One family who knows only too well the
challenges of getting onto thebeach are the Haltons.
Karen and Alan run a farm inBolton where they live with
their three children. Theirdaughters, Danielle and Melissa,
who are in their 20s, andteenager Thomas.
Melissa is a wheelchair userfollowing complications in the
days and weeks after her birth.
(04:36):
And it means holidays and familydays at the beach can be
challenging.
KAREN HALTON (04:41):
A day at the beach was just it wasn't going to
happen for us as a family.
We couldn't get Melissa'swheelchair onto the sand because
it sinks in the sand.
So what tended to happen was myhusband and son or my daughter,
my oldest daughter as well,would go off on the beach and
have a bit of beach time andclimb the rocks and go into the
sea paddling, while me andMelissa would just have to go
(05:02):
along the front.
The fronts are geared up lovelythese days. They are, they’re
nice and flat and we can strollalong, but we're always
separated.
We can't do a beach day as afamily. It's awful, really,
because I want to be on thebeach just as much as Melissa
wants to be on the beach, and mychildren and my husband want us
all to be together. But theareas just aren't geared up.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (05:25):
Like all parents, Karen and her husband
want to give their kids fun andmemorable experiences. And a
highlight each year is theirfamily holiday away from running
the farm. But organizing theirholiday isn't as simple as
hopping online or visiting atravel agent. It's a big
undertaking.
KAREN HALTON (05:42):
When we're trying to book a holiday, it becomes a
real issue from the get go. ForMelissa, we need to book months
and months and months inadvance, if not a year prior.
There's no such thing as aspontaneous holiday when you've
got a wheelchair user, becauseeverything books up so quickly
and facilities are so limited.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (06:02):
But when Karen was booking a recent
annual holiday, a post on socialmedia caught her eye.
KAREN HALTON (06:08):
We were lucky when we was going on holiday last
year. We've got a Facebook groupthat does holidays and
suggestions for people withdisabilities.
So we went on that Facebookgroup and tell them where I was
going, up the Durham area, andasked if anybody knew of
anything that was there.
And one of the suggestions wasthe surf school.
(06:29):
So I contacted Nick and he wasfantastic from start to finish.
He explained the whole process.He also suggested that we could
get the rest of the family in aswell at the same time as Melissa
doing the surfing.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (06:44):
So successful was this first trip
that Melissa, mum Karen and dadAllen have made the journey from
Bolton to South Shields againwith one of their other children
for another rare chance ofsurfing as a family.
KAREN HALTON (06:57):
Hi Nick!
NICK JONES (06:58):
Hi guys! It's lovely to see you again. Yeah, Hi
Melissa, how are you?
MELISSA HALTON (07:02):
Alright
KAREN HALTON (07:02):
Good, aren’t you?
NICK JONES (07:02):
You glad you came back?
KAREN HALTON (07:03):
Excited, aren’t you?
NICK JONES (07:04):
Remember we dunked you last time?
KAREN HALTON (07:06):
She doesn’t mind being dunked. You loved it
didn’t you? It’s half the fun!
NICK JONES (07:11):
Oh, yeah! Well it’s a little less exciting the last
time, isn't it?
KAREN HALTON (07:13):
Yeah. The waves aren't quite as good this time,
but I'm sure we'll still have ablast.
NICK JONES (07:16):
Yeah, we're still going to get in and have a bit
of a giggle out of the board.Right. Brilliant. Let's go get
your wetsuits on.
KAREN HALTON (07:22):
Perfect, come on off we go!
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (07:26):
At the water's edge, Nick gets the
family into position supportingMelissa on the surfboard.
NICK JONES (07:31):
And in case Melissa does, a little tippy-flippy! You
know, if you want to do atippy-flippy We'll, do
tippy-flippy all day long!Right, Melissa, let's get you
out there!
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (07:50):
For Melissa to even be in the water, let
alone enjoying a surf lesson,was previously a pipe dream for
the family. Unimaginable in thedays and weeks after she was
born.
KAREN HALTON (08:02):
So Melissa was born in 2002. She was noted to
have breathing difficulties onfeeding within the first 24
hours. We then went obviously toneonatal.
It was only when she was inneonatal that we realized that
she actually had a heartcondition, but we wasn't sure of
the severity of it.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (08:24):
Melissa has been classed as having a left
hemiplegia cerebral palsy. Itwas shortly after her birth that
it was discovered she had acondition called aortic
stenosis, a narrowing of theaortic valve in the heart.
It was a critical condition, andMelissa was operated on when she
was just a couple of weeks old.But there were difficulties in
restarting her heart. A team wasbrought from Great Ormond Street
(08:47):
Hospital and they placed Melissaon ECMO a form of life support.
KAREN HALTON (08:52):
She was then on ECMO for a further six days.
Unfortunately, on the last daythey did a scan of her brain and
realized that they've been ableed to the brain and that
there was some brain damage.
Now, she literally only has theuse of her right hand, so it
affects every element of herlife. She can't walk, we need a
(09:16):
hoist to get her in and out ofthe bath. We have a turner to
get her onto the toilet, so thatmakes a lot days out very
difficult.
We have to make sure that she'sliving a full life so Melissa
comes first. Yeah. Quality oflife is what really matters. And
we make sure that every step ofthe way we can do that.
Melissa is very into activethings.
(09:40):
She loves anything with speed.She's like her Dad on that one!
Anything that's fast, Rollercoasters, a fast car, whatever,
she loves going and watchingmotor racing.
She’s a crackers character,she's brilliant to be around.
She's an absolute love. She'llbrighten anybody's day up. She
does attract people becauseshe's just such a lovely
(10:03):
personality!
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (10:11):
Finding Nick's surf school and getting
Melissa surfing with the wholefamily that very first time was
a dream come true for mum Karen.
KAREN HALTON (10:19):
When we got to Nick's surf school and
everything started going intoplan, it was like, this is
amazing. So we got Melissa intoone of the beach wheelchairs to
transfer down to the seafront.
We got to the front, we all waschanged into our wetsuits
because Nick said he wanted usall in as a family, which has
(10:40):
not happened since she wasprobably two years old.
You know, there was nostanderbys, you know, I was and
Melissa was in the whole familywas, and it was perfect.
She ended up being ditchedcompletely into the water. She
came up bobbing cause obviouslyshe had a life jacket and
everything else on.
She came a smiling her head off,laughing like there was no
(11:01):
tomorrow. Because it was justshe'd done something that surfer
dudes do!
She'd wiped out.!
It was lovely, you know, and shethought that was fantastic!
So Alan and Nick just got herback in the board he asked if
she was alright, she was like“yes, let's go again! ”
Well, at the time she wasabsolutely buzzing and she said
she's had the best day ever. Shesaid, “Mum, it's my 21st soon
(11:27):
can I go again? ” [
Montage of surfing] Keeppaddling amazing well done! [
GENERIC (11:41):
Montage of surfing]
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (11:47):
Nick's halfway through his surf lesson
with Melissa and can see she'shaving fun and feeling confident
and is enjoying finding thebigger waves. He believes
everyone should be given thechance to take risks if they
want to.
NICK JONES (12:02):
Dignity of risk is a really lovely phrase about risk
taking fair for everybody. Wedon't question often, able
bodied people having a go atsurfing.
So why would we question ifsomebody with additional needs,
you can understand the risksinvolved and we can moderate
those risks. Why can't we getthem in?
We love wiping people out likeit's a big part of surfing. If
(12:22):
you're getting in the sea andyou're going surfing, wiping out
is part of it.
So long as we can wipe outsafely, then there's no reason
why we shouldn't wipe outsafely.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (12:31):
There's another team of people on the
beach today who, when trainingsurfers, include techniques to
help overcome nerves and fear inthe water. So yeah, we've got
Team England para surfing heretoday.
NICK JONES (12:43):
They train with, best para surfing athletes in
the country. And they came forthlast year and the world champs.
They do incredible things andpart of their training is
getting people out into the surfand pushing their comfort zones,
making them feel less nervous.So they'll be negotiating those
sort of situations.
They're finding out wheresomebody is super comfortable
and then where can we start ifthey want to- I mean, want to
(13:05):
push it further, maybe getbigger waves or more potentially
hazardous conditions and morerisky maneuvers out in the surf
about looking at how can we makethat risk taking feel more
comfortable and then buildingtheir skills up with that So
that becomes part of theircomfort zone.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (13:20):
Suzanne Edwards is a beach lover and is
hanging out near where Melissais having her surf lesson.
SUZANNE EDWARDS (13:26):
I learned to surf when I was quite young. My
family- We spent a lot of oursummers in Cornwall and then I
went to university in Exeter.
So you spend a lot of time atthe coast surfing. So it became
quite a big part of my life. Andthen when I was 22, I was in
Morocco, I was working in a surfcamp and, had an accident where
I was standing on a balcony, therailing, gave way, and I fell
(13:46):
30ft and broke my back.
So my whole world kind ofchanged in an instant. I became,
paralyzed from the waist down, afull time wheelchair user.
Suddenly realized that thethings that I loved most in
life, which were, surfing andtravel, suddenly weren't really
possible anymore.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (14:03):
But Suzanne did get back in the water and is
now a para surfer and representsEngland. But there are still
times when she is apprehensive.So how does she overcome her
nervousness?
SUZANNE EDWARDS (14:15):
I think practice is a is a big thing of,
you know, sort of graduallybuilding up. Always got great
instructors and coaches with mewho I feel, you know, 1,000%
safe with.
Give surfing I go. You may notlove it, it may not be for you,
but you're not going to knowunless you try it. The ocean is
incredible. What it does foryou, how it makes you feel. I
(14:37):
think the power of it is soamazing.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (14:42):
Melissa, surfing lesson has come to an
end and she comes out of the seatired but happy.
NICK JONES (14:48):
I'm going to do the same in reverse into the chair.
GENERIC (15:11):
I’ll go grab the chair.
KAREN HALTON (15:11):
Was that not the best time ever?
MELISSA HALTON (15:11):
Yeah it is!
KAREN HALTON (15:11):
I thought it was!
ALAN HALTON (15:11):
You’ve enjoyed it and not drowned or anything?
MELISSA HALTON (15:11):
No, no! Sorry!
KAREN HALTON (15:11):
Daddy’s wet as well!
NICK JONES (15:11):
I started this and it was a regular surf school and
my aim was to have a fabuloustime by the sea.
I had a Tupperware box for cashand I had a written- handwritten
diary, and I was very happy.
But then you start working withdifferent community groups and
you find out different needs andyou find that you can work with
them. And then you slowly growand build into something which
you didn't know that you weremeaning to.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (15:33):
Melissa and her family are now warm and dry
and ready to head back home.Nick's been able to give
sessions like this because heoriginally partnered with the
National Trust Blue Scapesproject, offering activities on,
in and beside the water,including yoga, walking, cycling
and paddle sports, includingsurfing.
It was set up by Sarah Campbell,who, alongside Nick, initially
(15:56):
offered surf lessons forchildren with autism and special
needs, but it was feedback fromthose taking part that gave them
the idea to open up sessionsthat would allow whole families
to do activities together.
SARAH CAMPBELL (16:09):
The response has been overwhelmingly positive.
It's that time in the water, thesocial time as a family, and
that feeling of real, positivetime in nature. When I see,
participants coming out with thewater, I see absolute joy and
pleasure and also that reflectedin the faces of the family
around them as well.
(16:29):
Something that that you mighttake for granted on a daily
basis. Seeing this in action isreally powerful.
NICK JONES (16:39):
How was that Melissa?
MELISSA HALTON (16:40):
Really fun!
NICK JONES (16:41):
Okay. I'm pleased.
KAREN HALTON (16:41):
Yeah the best time.
MELISSA HALTON (16:44):
Yeah.
KAREN HALTON (16:44):
You can stop smiling at any time you like,
you know!
We've had an amazing time as afamily in the water together and
it's just been a wonderfulopportunity. It's going to make
memories that are going to lasta lifetime.
NICK JONES (16:57):
When we get people like Melissa into the water and
her family- tell you what wasreally exciting is just to
normalize access in the water.
Just going for a surf with thefamily. Having a nice time in
the sea with the family. That'swhat it's about. And that's a
real privilege to then be partof that experience.
KAREN HALTON (17:13):
We'll be back. We’ll be back!
MELISSA HALTON (17:19):
When?
KAREN HALTON (17:19):
As soon as we can.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (17:33):
Thank you for listening to this episode of
the National Trust Podcast.
If you'd like to learn moreabout adaptive surfing, please
check out the links in ourepisode show notes.
To make sure you get newepisodes of this podcast, follow
or subscribe on Spotify, ApplePodcasts, or YouTube. We'll be
back soon, but for now from me,Claire Hickinbotham, Goodbye.
Hello and welcome to the National Trust
Podcast. I'm Claire Hickinbothamand today we're visiting the
South Shields coast in the northeast of England. Once known for
its coal mining and shipbuildingindustries, Sand Haven Beach has
been described as one ofBritain's best beaches.
But it's not just the scenerythat makes this place special,
it's also the adventure andadrenaline fuelled experiences
(01:01):
on offer that's turned onefamily's pipe dream of surfing
together into a reality.
KAREN HALTON (01:13):
Melissa and my husband and son were racing in.
You know, Nick would dragMelissa out and ride the waves
out. And then they'll all justtake a turn riding the same wave
back in.
She was giggling. We werelaughing, and I just can't tell
you, I can't explain the feelingand how much it meant to us as a
family to have an experiencethat we could all do at the same
(01:33):
time.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (01:37):
Just 13 miles from Newcastle city
centre, with the mouth of theRiver Tyne to the north and the
National Trust's SouterLighthouse to the south, Sand
Haven Beach is a beautifulstretch of coastline.
Evidence of the area'scoalmining past is still visible
at times, and pieces of coalstill wash up on Sand Haven
(01:58):
Beach from the former West HoColliery, but a clean up of the
coastline after the collieryshut in 1993 has resulted in the
beach now having won awards.
NICK JONES (02:12):
We had the coal mine and then there's the quarry at
the end, which the pier wasbuilt out of. That was actually
the old landfill. The mine usedto go out a mile undersea, so
you get lots of coal popping upand you can still collect it.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (02:22):
Nick Jones spends his life on the beach.
He's from South Shields Surf.
NICK JONES (02:26):
Now you've got this- just this fabulous mile of
golden sands. You got waves, yougot rock pools. You've got
glorious like little nooks andcrannies down through the cliffs
to go exploring, and it's allaccessible to everybody.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (02:40):
The beach and coastline are now at the
heart of the local community.
NICK JONES (02:45):
We celebrate it ourselves. We have an annual
beach festival, and we get asmany local organizations who are
involved in the beach and thecoast down here. And we get them
down and we just have- Yeah, agood time.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (02:59):
But Nick believes it's the sea that
brings the biggest benefit topeople.
NICK JONES (03:04):
The sea’s kind of special because it's immersive
and so you're fully in it and itis restorative on multiple
levels. You physicallyrefreshed, and that helps you be
mentally refreshed. Just theNorth Sea is cold you know like
that element of it too.
But then it's like an enforcedstate of meditation, and state
of flow that you fall into whenyou're surfing because you’re
(03:24):
concentrating on waves, you’reconcentrating conditions, you're
concentrating on seeking outthat good feeling from catching
a wave.
When surfers get good waves andthen they've had a good session,
they often say, I feel stoked.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (03:36):
When Nick first set up, he offered
standard surf lessons. But afterlots of requests from community
groups and with the help of somefunding, South Shields Surf
School started offering surfinglessons to more people,
including children with learningdisabilities, wheelchair users,
veterans groups and adults whostruggle with their mental
health.
NICK JONES (03:56):
So I think everyone should be able to access the
good feelings of being in theocean. The only reason people
can't access it, if they've gota physical disability, is that
access hasn't been provided.
It's really important that wetake away those barriers that
are imposed on people.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (04:15):
One family who knows only too well the
challenges of getting onto thebeach are the Haltons.
Karen and Alan run a farm inBolton where they live with
their three children. Theirdaughters, Danielle and Melissa,
who are in their 20s, andteenager Thomas.
Melissa is a wheelchair userfollowing complications in the
days and weeks after her birth.
(04:36):
And it means holidays and familydays at the beach can be
challenging.
KAREN HALTON (04:41):
A day at the beach was just it wasn't going to
happen for us as a family.
We couldn't get Melissa'swheelchair onto the sand because
it sinks in the sand.
So what tended to happen was myhusband and son or my daughter,
my oldest daughter as well,would go off on the beach and
have a bit of beach time andclimb the rocks and go into the
sea paddling, while me andMelissa would just have to go
(05:02):
along the front.
The fronts are geared up lovelythese days. They are, they’re
nice and flat and we can strollalong, but we're always
separated.
We can't do a beach day as afamily. It's awful, really,
because I want to be on thebeach just as much as Melissa
wants to be on the beach, and mychildren and my husband want us
all to be together. But theareas just aren't geared up.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (05:25):
Like all parents, Karen and her husband
want to give their kids fun andmemorable experiences. And a
highlight each year is theirfamily holiday away from running
the farm. But organizing theirholiday isn't as simple as
hopping online or visiting atravel agent. It's a big
undertaking.
KAREN HALTON (05:42):
When we're trying to book a holiday, it becomes a
real issue from the get go. ForMelissa, we need to book months
and months and months inadvance, if not a year prior.
There's no such thing as aspontaneous holiday when you've
got a wheelchair user, becauseeverything books up so quickly
and facilities are so limited.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (06:02):
But when Karen was booking a recent
annual holiday, a post on socialmedia caught her eye.
KAREN HALTON (06:08):
We were lucky when we was going on holiday last
year. We've got a Facebook groupthat does holidays and
suggestions for people withdisabilities.
So we went on that Facebookgroup and tell them where I was
going, up the Durham area, andasked if anybody knew of
anything that was there.
And one of the suggestions wasthe surf school.
(06:29):
So I contacted Nick and he wasfantastic from start to finish.
He explained the whole process.He also suggested that we could
get the rest of the family in aswell at the same time as Melissa
doing the surfing.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (06:44):
So successful was this first trip
that Melissa, mum Karen and dadAllen have made the journey from
Bolton to South Shields againwith one of their other children
for another rare chance ofsurfing as a family.
KAREN HALTON (06:57):
Hi Nick!
NICK JONES (06:58):
Hi guys! It's lovely to see you again. Yeah, Hi
Melissa, how are you?
MELISSA HALTON (07:02):
Alright
KAREN HALTON (07:02):
Good, aren’t you?
NICK JONES (07:02):
You glad you came back?
KAREN HALTON (07:03):
Excited, aren’t you?
NICK JONES (07:04):
Remember we dunked you last time?
KAREN HALTON (07:06):
She doesn’t mind being dunked. You loved it
didn’t you? It’s half the fun!
NICK JONES (07:11):
Oh, yeah! Well it’s a little less exciting the last
time, isn't it?
KAREN HALTON (07:13):
Yeah. The waves aren't quite as good this time,
but I'm sure we'll still have ablast.
NICK JONES (07:16):
Yeah, we're still going to get in and have a bit
of a giggle out of the board.Right. Brilliant. Let's go get
your wetsuits on.
KAREN HALTON (07:22):
Perfect, come on off we go!
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (07:26):
At the water's edge, Nick gets the
family into position supportingMelissa on the surfboard.
NICK JONES (07:31):
And in case Melissa does, a little tippy-flippy! You
know, if you want to do atippy-flippy We'll, do
tippy-flippy all day long!Right, Melissa, let's get you
out there!
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (07:50):
For Melissa to even be in the water, let
alone enjoying a surf lesson,was previously a pipe dream for
the family. Unimaginable in thedays and weeks after she was
born.
KAREN HALTON (08:02):
So Melissa was born in 2002. She was noted to
have breathing difficulties onfeeding within the first 24
hours. We then went obviously toneonatal.
It was only when she was inneonatal that we realized that
she actually had a heartcondition, but we wasn't sure of
the severity of it.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (08:24):
Melissa has been classed as having a left
hemiplegia cerebral palsy. Itwas shortly after her birth that
it was discovered she had acondition called aortic
stenosis, a narrowing of theaortic valve in the heart.
It was a critical condition, andMelissa was operated on when she
was just a couple of weeks old.But there were difficulties in
restarting her heart. A team wasbrought from Great Ormond Street
(08:47):
Hospital and they placed Melissaon ECMO a form of life support.
KAREN HALTON (08:52):
She was then on ECMO for a further six days.
Unfortunately, on the last daythey did a scan of her brain and
realized that they've been ableed to the brain and that
there was some brain damage.
Now, she literally only has theuse of her right hand, so it
affects every element of herlife. She can't walk, we need a
(09:16):
hoist to get her in and out ofthe bath. We have a turner to
get her onto the toilet, so thatmakes a lot days out very
difficult.
We have to make sure that she'sliving a full life so Melissa
comes first. Yeah. Quality oflife is what really matters. And
we make sure that every step ofthe way we can do that.
Melissa is very into activethings.
(09:40):
She loves anything with speed.She's like her Dad on that one!
Anything that's fast, Rollercoasters, a fast car, whatever,
she loves going and watchingmotor racing.
She’s a crackers character,she's brilliant to be around.
She's an absolute love. She'llbrighten anybody's day up. She
does attract people becauseshe's just such a lovely
(10:03):
personality!
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (10:11):
Finding Nick's surf school and getting
Melissa surfing with the wholefamily that very first time was
a dream come true for mum Karen.
KAREN HALTON (10:19):
When we got to Nick's surf school and
everything started going intoplan, it was like, this is
amazing. So we got Melissa intoone of the beach wheelchairs to
transfer down to the seafront.
We got to the front, we all waschanged into our wetsuits
because Nick said he wanted usall in as a family, which has
(10:40):
not happened since she wasprobably two years old.
You know, there was nostanderbys, you know, I was and
Melissa was in the whole familywas, and it was perfect.
She ended up being ditchedcompletely into the water. She
came up bobbing cause obviouslyshe had a life jacket and
everything else on.
She came a smiling her head off,laughing like there was no
(11:01):
tomorrow. Because it was justshe'd done something that surfer
dudes do!
She'd wiped out.!
It was lovely, you know, and shethought that was fantastic!
So Alan and Nick just got herback in the board he asked if
she was alright, she was like“yes, let's go again! ”
Well, at the time she wasabsolutely buzzing and she said
she's had the best day ever. Shesaid, “Mum, it's my 21st soon
(11:27):
can I go again? ” [
Montage of surfing] Keeppaddling amazing well done! [
GENERIC (11:41):
Montage of surfing]
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (11:47):
Nick's halfway through his surf lesson
with Melissa and can see she'shaving fun and feeling confident
and is enjoying finding thebigger waves. He believes
everyone should be given thechance to take risks if they
want to.
NICK JONES (12:02):
Dignity of risk is a really lovely phrase about risk
taking fair for everybody. Wedon't question often, able
bodied people having a go atsurfing.
So why would we question ifsomebody with additional needs,
you can understand the risksinvolved and we can moderate
those risks. Why can't we getthem in?
We love wiping people out likeit's a big part of surfing. If
(12:22):
you're getting in the sea andyou're going surfing, wiping out
is part of it.
So long as we can wipe outsafely, then there's no reason
why we shouldn't wipe outsafely.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (12:31):
There's another team of people on the
beach today who, when trainingsurfers, include techniques to
help overcome nerves and fear inthe water. So yeah, we've got
Team England para surfing heretoday.
NICK JONES (12:43):
They train with, best para surfing athletes in
the country. And they came forthlast year and the world champs.
They do incredible things andpart of their training is
getting people out into the surfand pushing their comfort zones,
making them feel less nervous.So they'll be negotiating those
sort of situations.
They're finding out wheresomebody is super comfortable
and then where can we start ifthey want to- I mean, want to
(13:05):
push it further, maybe getbigger waves or more potentially
hazardous conditions and morerisky maneuvers out in the surf
about looking at how can we makethat risk taking feel more
comfortable and then buildingtheir skills up with that So
that becomes part of theircomfort zone.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (13:20):
Suzanne Edwards is a beach lover and is
hanging out near where Melissais having her surf lesson.
SUZANNE EDWARDS (13:26):
I learned to surf when I was quite young. My
family- We spent a lot of oursummers in Cornwall and then I
went to university in Exeter.
So you spend a lot of time atthe coast surfing. So it became
quite a big part of my life. Andthen when I was 22, I was in
Morocco, I was working in a surfcamp and, had an accident where
I was standing on a balcony, therailing, gave way, and I fell
(13:46):
30ft and broke my back.
So my whole world kind ofchanged in an instant. I became,
paralyzed from the waist down, afull time wheelchair user.
Suddenly realized that thethings that I loved most in
life, which were, surfing andtravel, suddenly weren't really
possible anymore.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (14:03):
But Suzanne did get back in the water and is
now a para surfer and representsEngland. But there are still
times when she is apprehensive.So how does she overcome her
nervousness?
SUZANNE EDWARDS (14:15):
I think practice is a is a big thing of,
you know, sort of graduallybuilding up. Always got great
instructors and coaches with mewho I feel, you know, 1,000%
safe with.
Give surfing I go. You may notlove it, it may not be for you,
but you're not going to knowunless you try it. The ocean is
incredible. What it does foryou, how it makes you feel. I
(14:37):
think the power of it is soamazing.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (14:42):
Melissa, surfing lesson has come to an
end and she comes out of the seatired but happy.
NICK JONES (14:48):
I'm going to do the same in reverse into the chair.
GENERIC (15:11):
I’ll go grab the chair.
KAREN HALTON (15:11):
Was that not the best time ever?
MELISSA HALTON (15:11):
Yeah it is!
KAREN HALTON (15:11):
I thought it was!
ALAN HALTON (15:11):
You’ve enjoyed it and not drowned or anything?
MELISSA HALTON (15:11):
No, no! Sorry!
KAREN HALTON (15:11):
Daddy’s wet as well!
NICK JONES (15:11):
I started this and it was a regular surf school and
my aim was to have a fabuloustime by the sea.
I had a Tupperware box for cashand I had a written- handwritten
diary, and I was very happy.
But then you start working withdifferent community groups and
you find out different needs andyou find that you can work with
them. And then you slowly growand build into something which
you didn't know that you weremeaning to.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (15:33):
Melissa and her family are now warm and dry
and ready to head back home.Nick's been able to give
sessions like this because heoriginally partnered with the
National Trust Blue Scapesproject, offering activities on,
in and beside the water,including yoga, walking, cycling
and paddle sports, includingsurfing.
It was set up by Sarah Campbell,who, alongside Nick, initially
(15:56):
offered surf lessons forchildren with autism and special
needs, but it was feedback fromthose taking part that gave them
the idea to open up sessionsthat would allow whole families
to do activities together.
SARAH CAMPBELL (16:09):
The response has been overwhelmingly positive.
It's that time in the water, thesocial time as a family, and
that feeling of real, positivetime in nature. When I see,
participants coming out with thewater, I see absolute joy and
pleasure and also that reflectedin the faces of the family
around them as well.
(16:29):
Something that that you mighttake for granted on a daily
basis. Seeing this in action isreally powerful.
NICK JONES (16:39):
How was that Melissa?
MELISSA HALTON (16:40):
Really fun!
NICK JONES (16:41):
Okay. I'm pleased.
KAREN HALTON (16:41):
Yeah the best time.
MELISSA HALTON (16:44):
Yeah.
KAREN HALTON (16:44):
You can stop smiling at any time you like,
you know!
We've had an amazing time as afamily in the water together and
it's just been a wonderfulopportunity. It's going to make
memories that are going to lasta lifetime.
NICK JONES (16:57):
When we get people like Melissa into the water and
her family- tell you what wasreally exciting is just to
normalize access in the water.
Just going for a surf with thefamily. Having a nice time in
the sea with the family. That'swhat it's about. And that's a
real privilege to then be partof that experience.
KAREN HALTON (17:13):
We'll be back. We’ll be back!
MELISSA HALTON (17:19):
When?
KAREN HALTON (17:19):
As soon as we can.
CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM (17:33):
Thank you for listening to this episode of
the National Trust Podcast.
If you'd like to learn moreabout adaptive surfing, please
check out the links in ourepisode show notes.
To make sure you get newepisodes of this podcast, follow
or subscribe on Spotify, ApplePodcasts, or YouTube. We'll be
back soon, but for now from me,Claire Hickinbotham, Goodbye.
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