Angus Drummond on his ambition to transform travel for disabled people

I’m really keen to campaign about improvements in the law and better rights for disabled people. The current law is woefully inadequate.
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‍Meet the man who founded Limitless Travel, providing disabled-friendly holidays in UK and abroad, after the life-changing discovery of his own disability.
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Angus Drummond was 23 when his easy-going, action-packed life was torpedoed. Small room, consultant, diagnosis. “You have Muscular Dystrophy.” In his immediate devastation, he buried it. “It caused me great mental anguish. I very much internalised everything. I didn’t talk to anybody. I didn’t tell my friends something was wrong.

Then, considering his next step, he thought why not make it a great leap instead. “I decided to quit my job and travel the world. I travelled to 35 different countries, from South America, to India to South East Asia with my then girlfriend now wife, Lucy. I’d always loved travel but this was particularly incredible. The most challenging thing was was discovering how hard it can be travelling as a disabled person and how unsafe and vulnerable I felt.

“So when I was told: ’Don’t worry, it’s completely accessible,’ of a boat to one of the Galapagos Islands, nothing could have been further from the truth. Yes, it was easy to board from the pier but this was just the little boat to another bigger vessel that we somehow had to clamber on while it heaved in very choppy waters in middle of The Pacific Ocean. I got my leg stuck between the two boats at one point. It was really scary and to add insult to injury I was then terribly seasick.

“But in the end my travels were a transformative experience. Yes, I had my disability to deal with but people in other parts of the world had very much tougher circumstances and still lived very positive lives. I came home with a whole new perspective.

“I had this vision of wanting the transform the experience of travel for people with disabilities. To enable anybody with any disabilities to go on holiday. I believe that is an absolute right. That was my mission. It took took me a few years but that’s how Limitless Travel was born. I realised the biggest challenge for disabled people was not the disability itself but their lack of confidence in travelling and the lack of support offered to them if they tried.

“I believe our customers & their carers deserve nothing but the best. Life is so hard every other time. So I wanted to create small group holidays supported by team of qualified professional carers to and 5star level of service. People who are solo travellers can travel with confidence. Also people travelling together, say a husband and wife, can enjoy holiday together as couple, not a carer to someone cared for. They want to have a nice time, be romantic together, have a bit of me time.

“It took a while to build the business but I always had drive, always believed in myself. I had an incredible mother. She had brought four of us up on her own from when I was about 10. My dad, he was an alcoholic and then he had dementia from when I was quite young. I had a good relationship with him but I think it was the resilience that my mum put in to us that gave me the passion to succeed.

My condition is progressive. I was told when I was 23 that in 10-15 years I’d need to be using wheelchair some of the time - but I’m now 36 and I fight very hard to keep my mobility. I maintain a very positive active lifestyle. Having two kids keeps me busy. Lucy is wonderful. I make sure I have as much fun as I can. Work, family, health, fun are my 4 pillars. And fun is anything from cooking, reading, friends, clubbing. I used to be a DJ so I’ve always loved music and dancing.

I’m also really keen to campaign about improvements in the law and better rights for disabled people. The current law is woefully inadequate. The ‘Reasonable Adjustment’ criteria is so vague, anybody can circumvent it easily. The rules need to be proscriptive. If you’re left on a train then the operator should be fined £1000 and the person should have that in compensation. Why don’t hotels provide a least 1 hoist if they have over 50 rooms. You’re excluding people with the highest level of needs. On an aeroplane if you equipment gets broken, why should the airline not have to pay for them. Mandating minimal levels of service - that’s what I’d really love to work towards. That’s a really personal passion project of my own.

I use our experience at Limitless to advocate on behalf of disabled people in the wider travel industry. I still come up against suppliers who don’t or won’t provide services for disabled people, who don’t really want disabled people there. But disabled people are just like everyone else. They still want restaurants, nice bars, a relaxing time and, yes, accessibility. You have to find out what they need and cater to them. So what the travel industry and society in general has to be aware of is this: no matter your situation now it’s extremely likely that either you or someone close to you will become disabled in your lifetime - so this is an area you ought to focus on.I’m disabled but I still live my life in the best possible way. The irony is I’ve probably lived a much fuller life following my diagnosis.

‍Thanks to Angus from Stepping Out for epitomising our motto: Every Adventure Begins With the First Step. And for the reminder: “I want to give disabled people and their carers the confidence to know they can still do things.”