PEOPLE took to Prestwick Beach for an assisted walk for Dementia Awareness Week last week.

On Thursday, June 7, Dementia Friendly Prestwick organised and launched the event, which will be regular dementia friendly health walks along the Prestwick Promenade – each walk will be for either 30 minutes to one hour.

Julie Twaddell from Dementia Friendly Prestwick said: “It’s great to have the beach back to its best and our walks with people living with Dementia will help to support them to get back out into their own communities.

“We want to remove barriers which prevent people from enjoying things they used to do, and as older people can feel the cold more significantly than younger people, we’ll be offering the use of specially heated clothing to make sure people enjoy the experience.”

The walk along the promenade also debuted “heated wearable technology” which was provided by Scottish company Feel the Warmth, with the rechargeable, heated clothing able to be wrapped around people’s core – this keeps people warm from the inside, feeling like a “ray of sunshine on their back”.

Councillor Ian Cochrane added: “We’re happy to support Dementia Friendly Prestwick for the first of their assisted walks and hope to see these become a regular fixture as more people return to the beach in the months ahead.”

There are plans to hold similar walks every Monday at 11am from June 18.