Eden Community Access Centre held its inaugural Active Travel Seniors seminar at the Eden Fishermen’s Club on Tuesday, with guest presenters from Twofold Travel and SoulQuest giving seniors the rundown on a range of travel options.

The centre’s manager, Clare Whiter, is also distributing surveys at a number of Seniors Week events with the aim of better catering for their needs on a year-round basis.

“Seniors Week is a pretty full week for seniors, and then I often wonder what happens for the rest of the year,” Clare said.

“We have a series of questions aimed at finding out what seniors like to do, what they would like to do if they could, and the things they don’t like to do, as well as any barriers like access to transport.

“As the Access Centre, we’re not saying we can solve all the problems, but we can liaise with other groups and organisations that may be able to help facilitate new groups and overcome any barriers.

“We’re all inspired to go travelling; there may not be anyone left in town next week.”

He may not be leaving next week, but Broadwater resident Tony Robinson has certainly caught the travel bug.

The 91-year-old has already clocked up an impressive 17 trips to Canada and several European river cruises, and will depart for his latest adventure in July.

“I’m going on another river cruise, starting in Paris and finishing in Budapest,” Tony said.

“I’d like to go to Scandinavia as well; it’s got a small population and I’m fascinated by the documentaries I’ve seen.

“I very much like the cold atmosphere, because I’ve had enough of the tropics after sailing along the equator in a coal-fired steamer with the first shipping company I joined; I spent 38 years at sea.

“The seminar has been enjoyable and informative, and it’s interesting to see just how many old people are interested in travel.”