Our in-home elderly care services provide exceptional carers to look after your loved ones. Part of our service includes taking our clients out to participate in hobbies, visit places they enjoy and inspire them to live their best life.
As people get older, getting out and about, being sociable, having fun, getting exercise and relaxing plays a vital part in their wellbeing and helping them live a long and happy life.
We asked some of our Care Assistants for ideas on where to take your elderly loved ones for enjoyable and accessible days out.
- Go out to a local farm shop or farmers market, visit a garden centre or, when the weather is nice, take a picnic to the local park or National Trust property.
- Try some gentle physical activities, including walking, cycling (electric bikes have revolutionised accessible cycling), water aerobics, or ballroom dancing.
- Relaxation can help improve mental and physical health, why not join a yoga class together, visit a meditation centre or a spa for a soothing massage.
- There are many accessible museums and centres all over the UK, depending where they live, if your loved one is interested in art why not try Jupiter Artland near Edinburgh, for the motor enthusiast there’s Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, and for animal loves you can visit the Seabird Centre in North Berwick.
- There are plenty of stately homes and gardens, you can visit courtesy of the National Trust and Heritage England, but there are also lots of privately run and accessible places to visit such as Branklyn Garden in Perthshire, The Sculpture Park in Surrey and Abbotsford House and Gardens in Melrose.
- A day at the beach may bring back fond memories for your loved ones, perhaps where possible include other family members, take a picnic and make it into a proper get together.
- A night out at the cinema, followed by a late supper afterwards to talk about the film you just watched. If getting tired is an obstacle, visit a matinee showing and go for lunch instead.
- For something a bit different or to celebrate an occasion, why not try a day at the races, share an afternoon tea at an up-market hotel, go wine tasting or take a river boat cruise.
Our top tips on activities and days out for the elderly
Before visiting a new location with your elderly loved one, you may want to consider doing a little research to find out about parking and admission costs, public facilities, café or restaurant opening times, if guide dogs are welcome and/or if the location is accessible for the deaf or hard of hearing or wheelchair users, if required. It is always good to be prepared and try to foresee any potential obstacles to the outing running smoothly.
Try looking on local notice boards or research on-line for a suitable group or exercise class your loved ones could join, such as singing, dancing, walking, Men’s Sheds or Pilates, or something a little more sedate like playing a game, or attending a book group.Â
If your loved ones have mobility issues and are no longer able to get out and about, why not explore activities you can do together at home. You could try baking, making greetings cards, painting or drawing. Ask them to teach you how to knit, sew or crochet, bring the grandchildren around and play on a Wii together, organise an arts and crafts day and invite some other local elderly people.
You could encourage independent activities by helping your elderly loved one make local friends through Age UK. Each local branch has a unique timetable of clubs and classes, for example arts & crafts, bridge groups, tea dances, coffee mornings, men in sheds, photography clubs, and quizzes.
Voluntary work for the elderly can be extremely rewarding. Giving them a sense of purpose and helping them to make friends.Â
If you live far from your elderly loved ones or need support to provide the care they need, we can help. Our companionship care provision means we are ideally suited to help loved ones continue doing the activities they love by putting the right in-home elderly care services in place.
Resources
For those based in Scotland, we have some further days out ideas and here are some days out ideas for those based in England.
We’ve also shared our top tips for those whose loved ones have dementia.
Get in touch
If you would like to know more about the companionship care and in-home elderly care services we offer, our team can talk you through the options available, please get in touch.
If you would like to join our team providing in-home elderly care services, please get in touch.
