Berghaus has revealed details of individuals who will be joining the brand’s initiative to make the outdoors accessible to more people who are living with physical disabilities, Berghaus Adapts.
Launched in February, the project invited members of the public to request bespoke changes to clothing and equipment that will help them get into nature. Berghaus has now selected an Adapts collective for 2025 and its product team will work with them to support their specific needs.
There are 16 million people in the UK living with a disability and lack of access to suitable kit is a barrier that prevents many of them from spending time in nature. For the last five years, Berghaus has used its resources to adapt kit for adventurers such as Ed Jackson and Mick Fowler, who have specific accessibility needs. Ed is a recovering quadriplegic who is committed to overcoming adversity surrounding disability, and Mick is one of the world’s most respected mountaineers, who now climbs with a colostomy bag after treatment for cancer. Through Ed, Berghaus has also been adapting kit for beneficiaries of the charity Millimetres 2 Mountains (M2M), which helps those who have suffered physical or mental trauma to reconnect with the outdoors.
Mark Hawkes explains his kit needs to Berghaus Adapts team
For 2025, the company has launched the wider Berghaus Adapts programme, based in its global headquarters in Sunderland, and led by the in-house product team, working with designer and campaigner Alice Sainsbury. Following an open application process, a Berghaus Adapts panel of experts selected an initial group of six individuals of different ages and backgrounds, who between them face a wide range of kit related challenges that prevent them from properly accessing nature. They have made their first visit to Sunderland, to meet the Berghaus Adapts team and begin the process of identifying how to adapt the kit that they need to explore the outdoors.
2025 Berghaus Adapts collective and their stories
William Kay, 25, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent
William loves to get outdoors, playing football or cycling and walking when he can. But having Down’s syndrome makes finding the right outdoor kit a challenge. The main obstacle which William comes up against is that while clothing in typical outdoor sizing should work perfectly for him, the arm and leg lengths prove to be a tricky fit, especially in waterproof garments. As a result, William usually sticks to generic leisure wear that has none of the features that outdoor specific kit has. This in effect has restricted William’s ability to access the outdoors. Berghaus Adapts wants to look at Berghaus kit and see what solution can be put in place to provide William with outdoor clothing that is as comfortable and functional as possible for him.
Sarah Bowdidge with Femke Vesters from Berghaus Adapts
Sarah Bowdidge, 25, from Bridgend, Wales
When she was born, Sarah’s family were told that there was only significantly low chance of her living past the age of one. Despite the odds, Sarah now has a job that she loves, plus a first-class honours degree. She has issues with her legs and low platelets caused by thrombocytopenia-absent radius (TAR) syndrome and her postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) diagnosis, which means that her heart beats at a faster pace than normal even at rest. Getting outdoors with her grandad is Sarah’s favourite thing to do, and she has hopes of one day climbing Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). Berghaus Adapts wants to make this easier for Sarah by adapting garments which will support her in the struggles she faces from TAR syndrome, making her favourite activity as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
Hannah Baldwin, 32, from Devon
Following a climbing accident at the age of 12, Hannah has been unable to use her right leg. Things were made harder at 13 when Hannah was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, resulting in the majority of her time across her teens and twenties being spent in and out of hospital, unable to walk. Fast forward to 2014 and Hannah rediscovered her love for climbing, learning to climb with one leg alongside battling Crohn’s. By 2017, climbing had given Hannah her life back and she had started to compete in paraclimbing.
However, in 2020, Hannah landed in hospital once again, needing two life-saving surgeries for her Crohn’s. At the time, she had already spent three years in intensive physical rehabilitation, working to rebuild strength and function. But it wasn’t until she received a gifted knee-ankle-foot orthosis (KAFO) during her recovery from surgery that things truly began to shift. To say it changed her life would be an understatement. In 2024, Hannah was taken on by Millimetres 2 Mountains (M2M) as a beneficiary and hasn’t looked back. Today, Hannah continues to navigate the practical challenges that come with wearing a KAFO daily — including the simple, but persistent issue of how to wear trousers comfortably over or under it. Berghaus Adapts is now working closely with her to co-create a solution, one designed to ease pain, restore comfort, and support her active lifestyle with dignity.
Mark Hawkes, 39, from Whitstable
Mark suffers from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), resulting in him now living with a stoma. Mark has always loved being in the outdoors and finds that nature is one of the biggest things that has helped his mental health through his diagnosis. To provide a solution for Mark, Berghaus Adapts wants to create easily accessible pockets throughout his garments for his stoma bag, to reduce the anxiety around leakages and lessen the need to delay so often when enjoying time outdoors.
Will Weston, 43, from Durham
In 2006, Will experienced a life-changing diving accident that resulted in him breaking his neck and becoming a full-time wheelchair user. Prior to the accident, Will was very active and enjoyed participating in a wide range of sports. Nature has always been a cornerstone of his life, and he strives to spend time outdoors every day. Now a father of a nine-month-old daughter, Will dreams of sharing his love for the natural world with her as she grows up, just as he explored it during his own childhood. He also aims to create new memories with old friends on Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), a place he cherished before his accident. In 2025, Berghaus Adapts will work on innovating and tailoring its kit to best suit Will as a wheelchair user. The ultimate goal is to help him return to the summit of the mountain that holds a special place in his heart.
Wendy Wright, 63, from Lossiemouth
In 1985, Wendy was bitten by ticks in the Scottish Highlands. As Wendy was not diagnosed with Lyme disease until 15 years later, it had had a lot of time to progress through her body. Unfortunately, the damage to Wendy’s brain was not reversed and has left her with mobility issues. Wendy was a keen hill walker, caver, and glider pilot, but all of that had to stop. It’s only now that Wendy is trying to get some of this back, but she has to fight her age too. The effects of Lyme disease have changed Wendy’s accessibility needs drastically, and because of this, Berghaus Adapts will work alongside her to make sure she has a full set of kit that works specifically for her.
Designer and Berghaus Adapts consultant Alice Sainsbury comments: “We’re really excited to be working with William, Sarah-Beth, Hannah, Mark, Will, and Wendy. Meeting them in person for the first time felt like the start of something really special – a space for honest conversations about how we can work together to remove barriers and create better access to the outdoors.
Berghaus Adapts – the 2025 collective
“Berghaus should be recognised for the care it’s taken in selecting such a diverse group of individuals, each with very different lived experiences and needs. Everyone involved in Adapts is up for the challenge of designing meaningful, person-centred adaptations – and the passion and openness that each of them has already shown is a huge source of inspiration.”
Find out more about the Berghaus Adapts initiative at www.berghaus.com/adapts.list.