I visited Webb Memorial Park in Weymouth for the first time a few weeks ago and highly recommend it as an accessible outing for everyone. The park is located at the tip of a peninsula on the South Shore with lovely views of harbor islands and Boston and is maintained by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). A wide stonedust path loops for almost a mile, with options to shorten the loop hike and avoid the few gentle hills to remain on level terrain if needed. There is even a bathroom there, not always the case at DCR's urban parks. If you use a wheelchair you'll be able to access the restrooms. The grab bars in the accessible stalls are not positioned to code which may be a factor for some. Otherwise, Webb Park offers a wonderful taste of nature and history!
My excuse to finally visit this lovely natural setting was to assist on a guided walk offered by DCR's Universal Access Program. I was to be a sighted guide for a blind man on an accessible outing for a group of people with visual impairments. It was a beautiful warm mid-October day when I arrived with Brenda Davies, the program leader.
Brenda has been facilitating outdoor recreation outings for people with disabilities in state parks as part of the Universal Access Program for at least 12 years. She combines her professional skills as an outdoor leader and and occupational therapist to provide exceptional guidance and accommodations on the spot for anyone who ventures out in her programs. In the warmer months she leads a hiking program - of which this outing was one - that visits numerous parks around Massachusetts from the Berkshires to the Boston Harbor islands. In the winter she can be found at the Weston Ski Track sharing her love of cross country skiing, snowshoeing and kicksledding. Brenda's playful personality and her community spirit inevitably lead to an enjoyable day for everyone. To find out more about program opportunities in state and urban parks, including those facilitated by Brenda (Stavros Outdoor Access), visit
www.mass.gov/dcr/universal_access
As we waited for our six participants to arrive via personal transportation or The Ride, I met Jessica and Eva, our park interpreters, who were collecting items from the nearby beach to share. Different types of shells and plants were placed in a bag for people to pull out and describe as part of the introductions to come and to stimulate our interest in learning more about the place. Jessica's role was to share with us some of the history associated with the islands and Eva was soon to captivate our attention with her love of wild plants and plenty of tactile and olfactory opportunities.
Soon we were gathered in a circle, sharing our impressions and introductions. Our five participants were individuals who had met a few years before while learning how to adjust to their loss of vision at the Carroll Center for the Blind. Two women had seeing eye dogs, two men used canes, and two other women were able to travel without these, making for a complete mix of navigational styles. I was matched with David who preferred a person to be his sighted guide so he could focus more fully on the experience. After learning about salt marsh grass, crabs, and other natural life in the area through our objects and interpreter comments, we started our walk.
A moderate breeze was felt by all as we departed the picnic area and strolled northward on the east side of the peninsula. We could smell the salt water and hear waves gently lapping a small rocky beach to our right. Soon we passed a memorial - there are several on this walk and it was a treat to get a dose of some local history as I have not spent much time on the South Shore. The first memorial was to a Weymouth resident who had given up his spot on the lifeboat to a younger man when the ship he was on sank in the Arctic ocean during WWII. Even those of us who weren't interested in history were impressed by this!
As we continued on, Eva collected plant samples and introduced us to sumac, rose hips, tansy, mugwort, mullein, and many other herbs growing wild on site. Her love of medicinal plants showed in the knowledge and perspective she shared. I was particularly impressed with her appreciation of poison ivy, which runs rampant on the Boston Harbor islands, allowing wildlife a safer haven from human activities. Even without an interpreter, those with sight will especially enjoy the colors and visual textures of the vegetation growing at Webb.
Jessica shared with us the story of the Grape Island Rebellion at the next memorial, an interesting configuration of circular brick with granite projections on a slight knoll with a view of the island just beyond a stone's throw to our north. Picture a huge bonfire lit to prevent the British from claiming a barn full of salt marsh hay during the Revolutionary War and you have another hint of the historical opportunities to learn more about in association with Webb Memorial Park.
We rounded the peninsula moving through diverse and protective sections of trees and shrubs alternating with open field habitat. Being a natural environment on the coast, birds were abundant and some could be heard calling softly in the underbrush out of the wind. Mockingbirds cavorted and sparrows in migration slipped across the path before us as we walked. At yet another memorial overlook, our group paused to enjoy the day further, with more stories and smaller conversations.
David asked me for a description of the clouds in the sky, which were thick to the west and approaching. It was the kind of sky that is clear and blue overhead, with just a cloud or two arriving like sheep, ahead of an incoming front. I knew as the afternoon progressed the clouds would eventually blanket the sky. Everyone was enjoying the sun's warmth before the end of the season, even though we were bundled up in defense of the cool wind.
We were standing in a high spot where the ocean had eroded the soil, so that there was a 50 foot drop off before us overlooking another rocky beach. I began to describe the antics of gulls to David and another woman named DeAnn who had joined us with her dog. A few herring gulls were walking on the rocks below us, picking at things with their beaks. As one flew upward with an object, I began a verbal report of its feeding behavior and paused in a timely fashion so that David and DeAnn could hear the gulls' age old repeated endeavor of dropping mussels, crabs and other hard shelled items to the beach to break them open. Each drop offered a different sound as the desired food items struck the rocks in various ways with or without success. David and DeAnn were delighted at this live listening opportunity and for several minutes we tallied the dining experience of these birds before rejoining our group and finishing our hike.
Back near the entrance, we pulled out our lunches and enjoyed conversation under a beautiful pavilion overlooking a small cove. Farewells were exchanged as transportation arrived and our brief exploration was soon over, leaving me wanting more. I would soon be back to this natural gem located at the end of River Street in Weymouth.
Other attractions nearby include the DCR parks of Stoddard's Neck and Abigail Adams Park easily found off the main road following the coastline. If the gate is unlocked and pushed open at Stoddard's Neck you can access this extremely popular park for another loop path that is level and much wider than at Webb, however you must be a dog lover to appreciate this location where canines often outnumber people. There are no restrooms here or at the much quieter Abigail Adams Park, where another shorter loop walk offers a trail of plaques with quote from Abigail's famous letters to her husband John. And if you are so inspired, as we were, to drive by Abigail's birthplace in Weymouth, it is just a few miles away at 180 Norton Street. It is only open in summer and not wheelchair accessible, but you can get a good view of the structure from your car as a nice finishing touch to an outing a Webb.
If you are looking for access to nature, visit a Massachusetts Audubon sanctuary. Several of Mass Audubon's nature sanctuaries have wheelchair accessible trails and they are well worth visiting. Nature centers at selected properties feature a visitor center which serves as a hub of community activity, offering classes to the public and a trail system through a protected property. The All Person's Trails are typically an accessible loop at the start of a larger trail system.
