Caroline assisted by human guide and by cane

I experienced a completely different perspective on the city this week.

Invited by Guide Dogs staff, I took part in a walk to try and understand some of the challenges that blind and partially sighted people face in Brighton & Hove on a daily basis.

Wearing a blindfold and aided first by a human guide, then by a white cane, and finally by a guide dog, I attempted to navigate a stretch of pavement and then the busy Seven Dials roundabout.

I didn’t go far at all: a walk that would normally have taken two minutes on this occasion took me ten, such were the challenges involved.

I felt extremely vulnerable and disorientated.

In particular, it was immensely hard to judge where sound was coming from - I stood waiting to cross a side road for ages because I was convinced the traffic noise indicated cars on the side road, when in fact they were on the main road, a little distance away.

It was an inspiring and humbling experience and it made me think a lot more deeply about the experience of blind and partially sighted people in Brighton.

It also made me more aware of the impact of street clutter, and Guide Dogs staff told me about their campaign ‘Streets Ahead’, which encourages businesses to rethink the positioning of boards and street furniture.

For more on this, and on the organisation’s other work, see http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/.