Beach Wheelchairs Portobello hire beach wheelchairs from our storage container that has been decorated with designs created by the P4’s at Towerbank Primary School located beside the carpark for Edinburgh Leisure Tumbles soft play and gym.
Our x8 All terrain power wheelchair is now here! This wheelchair is perfect for exploring the sand along the beach in Portobello but should not be chosen by anyone wanting to paddle or sea swim. We have five manual beach wheelchairs on the site for those who prefer to paddle and are just looking to chill out on the beach!
We have a portable manual hoist that you can use but you must bring your own sling. The hoist takes loop style slings. You will need to attach the sling to the hoist. Our volunteers are able to lift and lower the hoist to assist you.
How to Book
Please book in advance to use our beach wheelchairs. You can
call our Portobello project on 0300 666 0990
email us on info@beachwheelchairs.org, or
send us a PM through our Portobello facebook page.
Please note that these are all manned by volunteers and we may not be able to respond straight away. Please leave a message and we will reply as soon as we can.
Where to find us
Our container is beside the car park at Tumbles in Portobello on the Seafield end of the promenade at 20 Westbank Street, EH15 1DR. There are a number of blue badge spaces within the carpark but unfortunately none of these are reserved for our use. Please take care in the Tumbles carpark. Our volunteers have seen unattended children and dogs in this area, driving by customers that is too fast for the car park, selfish parking and individuals going the wrong way around the one way system.
There are more blue badge spaces available on the area of parking on the map below at Bridge Street.
Please note that parking in the whole of Portobello can be very difficult during periods of nice weather.
What you need to know
We will be show you how to use the wheelchair, we'll check your photographic ID and ask you to sign some paperwork and then off you go! We can look after your wheelchair/ mobility aides for you. You will need someone who is of good overall health and fitness to push our manual wheelchairs. Please leave extra time for hires of our power wheelchair. We will show you the controls and go through a driving test with you to ensure you are competent. We will also complete a safety briefing with you.
The x8 All Terrain Power Wheelchair
We now have our x8 All Terrain Power Wheelchair in place at Portobello. This is powered by our brand new, shiny solar panels!
The x8 Power All Terrain Wheelchair is a fantastic wheelchair that gives the user a huge amount of independence and freedom. It can also be used by a carer through the attendant controls. This will allow more people to get back on the beach; those who might not have previously been able to do this as they haven’t a carer able to push them. It also is suitable for users up to 182kg (about 28 stone). Please note you should be accompanied whilst using our x8 at all times. Unfortunately our insurance will not allow us to hire out for independent users to ensure high levels of safety.
The x8 is an amazing wheelchair with safety features, great manoeuvrability and comfort – it just can’t go in the water! You must also take extreme care on the ramps and look out for obstacles on the beach.
To hire the x8 please call us as normal. We will ask you a few additional questions about previous power wheelchair use, whether controls are for left or right handed use and an indication of your height for the footplate.
Prior to your first hire you will be taken through the controls of the wheelchair by our volunteers and will undergo a quick driving test prior to first use. This is to ensure your and other beach users safety. As with all our wheelchairs you must follow all instruction given by our volunteers to ensure your safety.
deBug
An adult's deBug. Our deBug has a head rest, leg and foot rests and arm rests which can move to the side to assist transfers. The footplate is fixed which can make transfer more difficult for some people. It has a four point chest harness of needed.
The Sandcruiser
This is our new manual wheelchair. It moves really well on the sand and is very comfortable. The arm rest lifts up to allow for transfers. The leg and footrest can be elevated but unfortunately can’t be removed for transfers. This wheelchair has a simple lapstrap.
Please see our YouTube video to find out more about the Sandcruiser
Hippocampe
We have a large and small Hippocampe wheelchair suitable for children and small adults. The Hippocampe is low to the ground, so perfect for getting close to the sand and sea. However, the fixed front wheel may make it more difficult for some people to transfer and steer. Our hippocampes have arm rests, leg rests, lap strap, chest harness and head rest.
Please see our YouTube video to find out more Hippocampe
The Beach Wheelchair
This wheelchair is very basic and is currently on long term loan. It has fixed wheels so is very tricky to manouevre but does have the advantage of the footplates moving to the side to help with standing transfers.
The DeBug Walker
This is the newest addition to our fleet the DeBug walker. This is a walker specially designed to go off road! There is also an inbuilt seat on the walker. Please note you should not try and push someone sitting on the walker.
More information can be found here https://www.johnpreston.co.uk/debug-beach-walker