Visually-impaired veterans in Renfrewshire are now able to climb their favourite mountains again, thanks to virtual reality (VR) technology.
Sight Scotland's hub in Hawkhead Road, Paisley, recently installed its first VR headset in its IT suite and it is already having a positive impact on its users.
Jason Turnbull, centre officer at the hub, has combined his passion for hillwalking and the new technology so that veterans can experience Scotland's great outdoors again.
He told The Gazette: "I had previous experience with VR headset, so I was very keen to try it at Hawkhead.
"I watched 360-degree videos on YouTube and thought to myself, 'I can do better than that'. So I bought a 360-degree camera and took it up the hills with me.
"I then began showing the veterans who are keen hillwalkers, and those who weren't the footage and there was a very positive reaction. They said it was 'like being back on the hills'."
Jason said that because the VR headset lenses are close to veterans' eyes, they can experience the video footage like those without vision loss.
He added: "I thought 'I am on to something here' so I have been going around as many Munros as I can so they can come with me.
"I am starting with the centrally located ones, in and around Crianlarich, like Ben More and Stob Binnein.
"I edit the footage and show the veterans when I come back, and they are saying it is absolutely unbelievable.
"It's reawakening something in them. It is so rewarding to watch them and see their reaction. Perhaps it has been many years since they've climbed that hill, but they realise where they are.
"The VR allows them to revisit somewhere that was special to them. It triggers all those memories and sparks positive feelings within them."
Noreen Smith, a former army nurse who has Macular degeneration and regularly attends Sight Scotland Veterans' Hawkhead Centre, used to be an enthusiastic hillwalker but had to give up her passion due to her vision impairment.
She said: "The VR is just wonderful, it is just like you are back there again, it brings back so many happy memories for me.
"I can see the whole landscape, all the tremendous views, it really is like I am walking up the hills again."
To find out more about support for veterans with sight loss, visit www.sightscotlandveterans.org.uk.
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