A NEW activity day for the visually impaired in Basingstoke was officially opened by the mayor and mayoress earlier this month.

Visualeyes is now offering a weekly activity day that means that those who are visually impaired or blind can still participate in sports and swimming at the Basingstoke Sports Centre.

Founders of Visualeyes, Les Fowler and Mandy Chant, know what a difference that regular exercise can make. They said: “We are about making a difference in people’s lives, whom are Visually Impaired or Blind.

“Sadly, losing your sight can often affect your confidence and you can feel very lonely.

“Often there is little or no information available to us and that alone can make it very frightening.

“We are there to show people, that if you put your mind to something, you can do the things you used to do, or always wanted to do even with little or no vision.”

Les himself is registered as severely sight impaired, and his guide dog Wag is his only way of getting out and about. As a result, he teamed up with his friend Mandy to form Visualeyes and introduce social activity to the visually impaired community.

Visualeyes hold weekly coffee mornings where you and your family or carer can socialise and make new friends. You can bring your lunch with you or visit the Rendezvous cafe.

These will be held on Fridays, in the Conference Room at the Sports Centre from 11.30am to 1.30pm. There will be a small charge of £2 per person for this.

If you want to swim, (if you need a carer, they go free), the pool is open to enjoy a stress-free afternoon, with private use, this gives a great escape from every day blues. Pool times are 2pm to 3.30pm this will solely be for the Visually Impaired.

For more information please call Les & Mandy on 07768176069.