Poor eyesight dogged Linda Bennett all her life. 

Unable to see the blackboard properly at school and with difficulty reading, she spent her childhood branded lazy and badly-behaved after she got bored and distracted in class. 

As Linda grew older she battled constant criticism and was forced to endure taunts and bullying from people who didn’t understand. 

It was only at the age of about 40, with her eyesight continuing to deteriorate, that she made an appointment with an eye specialist and was told she had muscle deterioration. 

Four years later another specialist finally correctly diagnosed macular degeneration – which had probably begun in childhood. 

She admits that knowing what the problem was gave her an initial sense of relief, but then Linda began to question her future, her work prospects and how much of her sight she might lose.

“I’m now registered blind,” Linda, 59, explains, “but I went to the vocational college for the blind in Loughborough for six months, and learned braille and other things. 

“I got a day release job at Wenlo Riding for the Disabled Association and spent time working with horses again.” 

She had worked as a stable hand when younger, but had been forced to give it up after a nerve damage and her deteriorating eye sight left her too unsafe. 

After returning to Cumbria, where she was then living in Langwathby, Linda managed to get a work placement with the Calvert Trust in Keswick. 

She adds: “They were quite happy to have me and they asked me if I’d like to learn to drive a carriage and things. I learned from there and have even done a couple of competitions now.” 

Asked how much she can see while driving, Linda gleefully reveals: “Absolutely nothing. “I have very good ladies who sit beside me and say ‘left’, ‘right’, ‘steady’ or even just ‘go for it’. They’re brilliant.” 

While her time with the Calvert Trust was limited by her location – the buses from Langwathby to Keswick are just one a day – and with her eyesight continuing to worsen, Linda moved to the Harraby area of Carlisle a few weeks ago and is now hoping there might be a more regular connection to allow her to resume her volunteering. 

However for Linda the biggest boost to her welfare and to her independence has come in the form of her guide dog Unity. 

She says she had seen friends at the Royal College for the Blind with guide dogs, and decided to apply one for herself. 

Five months ago she was introduced to two-and-a-half-year-old Unity, a golden flat coat retriever, and she has never looked back. 

“Unity is brilliant,” Linda says. “She is a little darling and is my life. I can’t remember life without her. I’m not scared being out on my own now. Unity gives me the motivation to get up and go out every day. She’s a beautiful girl. 

“She has given me the confidence to go back out and to get around town. I even walk better, as I used to walk on tip toes and slowly, but now I trust Unity to steer me around any obstacles.” 

Unity goes everywhere with Linda – except in the carriages. 

“I don’t want her with me in case there’s an accident,” she says. “She just sits and watches me and wonders what on earth I’m doing.