A Steam Train Adventure for The Oaks Care Home!
Myley, in partnership with Sandstone Care Group, organise monthly trips out with The Oaks Care Home in Newtown, Wales.
Residents were taken to Llanfair Light Railway to go on a steam train! ‘It was amazing,’ says Cheryl Morris, Activities and Wellbeing Coordinator at The Oaks. ‘We had the trip from the home [in the bus] to the railway station in Welshpool where we travelled to Llanfair on the train, had a spot of lunch and then travelled back to Welshpool. It was a very sociable afternoon, people were chatting at the station, on the train to others on the carriage, the staff at the station were really helpful.’
The trip was especially important for one of the residents who used to be a steam train driver! Jane Jackson, another of the fantastic Activities and Wellbeing Coordinators at The Oaks said, ‘He loved the experience, wore the hat and met the driver. It was particularly meaningful to him, a ‘person-centred’ trip for him.’ The trip helped him to reminisce about his own life and chat away to the staff about how he started on the railways and his background.
Reminiscing about life events or familiar activities helps older people keep their cognitive abilities active which stimulates their neural connections, improving memory recall, attention span, and overall cognitive function in those with dementia. Being able to connect with their past and recount it to others also helps them reconnect with their personal history and achievements, which in turn helps them to regain a sense of purpose and feel valued.
These tours with Myley help people reminisce about their lives in a positive way which has an enormous impact on their wellbeing. Cheryl told us, ‘It generates a spark of something that they used to be… the last trip we went on to the canal, a lady came with us, she grew up by a canal so that ignited a lovely memory and chatter. We saw lots of flowers that day, one of which was a Forget-me-knot, and one of our residents of 98 could recite a lovely little poem about Forget-me-knots, so that was beautiful, from just seeing that flower on the canal side sparked that memory.’
Jane says, ‘Myley trips are really social, the residents love to get out and about! And the good thing about Myley trips is that they do location assessments for us… whether it’s suitable for the residents, wheelchair accessible, prices etc. It takes a lot of the work out for us and the residents love it because it’s so easy for them as the trips have already been assessed for their needs. This means [on the day] we can just think about the residents and don’t need to focus on any risk assessments.’
One of the most important aspects of a Myley trip is the relationship built between our Tour Leaders, who drive our buses, and our clients and their residents. In the case of The Oaks Care Home, they have Alan at every trip and this continuity has allowed them to form a bond, enjoying the experiences with someone familiar whom they feel at ease with.
Jane continues, ‘Myley provide our lovely driver Alan, he has a wonderful connection with the residents, he comes month after month, they know him and look forward to seeing him each time. This makes it more of a social thing because everyone is chatting and he brings his own life experiences and there’s a lot of lovely banter, Alan also takes part in the activities with the residents. Very much a part of the experience.’
‘Myley trips give the residents access to places we probably wouldn’t be able to provide without a wheelchair transport bus, and a driver!’
We are thrilled that this day was such a success for The Oaks Care Home residents and look forward to sharing more of their outings with you later this year!