Commuters are being asked to briefly surrender their sight at Waterloo station in an effort to raise awareness about the everyday challenges of blindness.
Members of the public will put on a blind-fold and journey through a five-metre “sensory tunnel”, which has three different textures underfoot, including grass and a cushioned material. On the walls are materials such as wooden fencing and bricks and the sound of traffic and birds tweeting will be played. The tunnel, at the station all day today, was created by charity Guide Dogs.
Jayne George, director of fundraising and marketing, said: “The tunnel is a way of demonstrating to people what life is like for those who cannot see and how difficult it is for them to go about their day-to-day business. It takes a lot of time and investment to provide people with dogs, so we also want to encourage people to volunteer for us and even donate.”
One commuter who tried the tunnel, Channelle Sharp, 22, from Greenwich, said: “It is an interesting thing to go through and is quite terrifying. It is amazing how much you rely on touch and sound and how quickly you do so.” Another, Greg Armfield, 40, from Wimbledon said: “It made me appreciate how lucky we are to have sight and how difficult it must be to be without it.”
Guide Dogs’ latest advertising campaign, Destinations, aims to help the two million blind people in the UK reach their full potential.
Go to www.guidedogs.org.uk