BayleafBarchester Healthcare

Activities at Bayleaf Care Home

Name: Bayleaf Care Home
Address: Sallowbush Road,, Huntingdon, PE29 7AF, GB
Telephone: 01480 802091

Our teams are trained to enrich the lives of residents through stimulating the mind, body and soul, and taking the time to learn about each person to ensure everyone receives support that adds enrichment to their life.

Activities are an integral part of life at our care home. We want to ensure that the people we support have as much fun as possible during their time with us, so it’s important that our activities programme is created with the interests of residents in mind. Our skilled Activities Coordinators bring a certain uniqueness to the home that can’t be found anywhere else, and which is reflected in the activities they organise.

Read our brochure ‘Life-enriching activities’ for more information about life in our care homes.

Read our brochure

Celebrating life at Bayleaf Care Home

A river cruise to remember

We had a truly stunning day yesterday as we took the residents out on a river cruise along the Great River Ouse.

It was an early start for our residents but it was definitely worth it. The sun was shining and spirits were high as we arrived. Once aboard the residents took their place on the boat and enjoyed the amazing views and the wildlife. There were lots of stories told about past river trips and even more laughter amongst the residents and staff.

We were then treated to a Fish and Chip lunch aboard the boat before we got back onto the minibus to head home full of memories from our special day.

An impromptu BBQ

We do love a bit of spontaneity here at Bayleaf so when the residents said it was BBQ weather, our brilliant Head Chef Stephane made it happen!!

Once we had arranged the outdoor tables and set them up for dinner the residents took their seats and were treated to an amazing array of meats and salad along with some refreshing cold drinks.

Tummies were soon full and that's when the stories and the laughter started. We love listening to our residents' stories and this was no different. It was the perfect way to end an impromptu lunchtime.

Intergenerational fun at Bayleaf

We were delighted to be joined by pupils from St John's CE Primary School, Huntingdon on Friday to do some creative drawings.

The children were so well behaved and took a great deal of pride in the drawings which will now be placed around the home for all of our visitors to enjoy.

A massive thank you to everybody at the school. Our residents absolutely love their visits from the children and we very much look forward to seeing them in the very near future.

National Gardening Day

Yesterday was National Gardening Day, which coincided nicely with the latest edition of our Gardening Club. It was a little chillier and windier than we have been used to lately but that did not stop Kath and Margaret from braving the elements and doing a phenomenal job potting and planting in the raised flower beds.

This is an on-going project which we are very much excited to see blossom and bloom (puns intended) into something special and we will keep you updated as our garden becomes more colourful over the next few months.

A day-trip to St Ives

We love nothing more than an outing on the minibus so when some of our residents said that they would like to go to St Ives we were more than happy to oblige.

Valerie, Andy and John had a lovely time walking along the Great River Ouse and crossing the famous Chapel Bridge before stopping to feed the pigeons and ducks.

The day ended with a well-earned coffee and hot drink before we boarded the minibus to go back to the home.

Parkinson's Awareness Presentation

We were very pleased to be joined by Beth Condie from Parkinson's UK who gave an excellent presentation on Parkinson's Awareness.

Whilst Beth was with us we were able to present her with the cheque for the money that our amazing team at Bayleaf raised by doing the 5k inflatable run at Huntingdon Racecourse on April 11th.

Parkinson's UK is an amazing charity that offers so many levels of support and we are very proud to have an association with such a worthwhile cause.

John the Octogenarian

John's Big Day!!

Bayleaf had it's latest birthday celebrations yesterday as John celebrated his 80th birthday in style with a trip out to the Boat Haven in Godmanchester followed by a special meal once we were back at the home.

John is an avid fan of birds so we were more than happy to gift John with a luxury bird feeder for him to have outside of his room so that he can enjoy his new visitors when they come and stop for a rest and some food.

Happy Birthday John. We hope you had an amazing day.

Animal Magic at Bayleaf

We spent a wonderful morning with Michelle's Animal Therapy & Petting Party where we got to spend some time with the most adorable cats, dogs (including a 10-week old puppy), cockerels, guinea pigs and even a gecko.

Our residents were absolutely transfixed with the animals and all took turns in carefully holding the animals.

Animal therapy plays such an important part of our lives at Bayleaf. There is something so therapeutic about animals and it is always very well received when we receive these special visits.

Grand National Fun

We couldn't let the Aintree Festival go without doing something with the residents so we all took part in a Grand National sweepstake for the big race on Saturday.

Each of the residents picked a horse at random and then sat and watched the race hoping that their horse would triumph.

We are very happy to say that our lucky winner was Clive with Joyce and John making up the top three. They each received a prize to acknowledge their win and were only too happy to pose for a celebratory photo with Lorraine.

Easter fun at Bayleaf

Our first Easter at Bayleaf was a very memorable day for all of our residents.

The day started with our very own Frederick who entertained the residents with his gospel songs. This was followed by the highlight of the day as each of the residents received their own Easter Egg, courtesy of our Easter Bunnies (Kay and Georgie).

The residents had a lovely time and we hope that they have enjoyed their eggs.

Thanks for everything, Rakesh

So the day that we were not looking forward to has arrived. We have said a fond farewell to our brilliant second chef, Rakesh, who has sadly left Bayleaf to move closer to his young family.

Since joining the Bayleaf team Rakesh has been a very popular member of staff who has played a big part in providing our residents with amazing meals whilst always making time in his busy day to sit and talk with the residents and their families.

The staff and residents were all keen to see Rakesh on his final day to wish him all the very best in his new adventure.

Thank you Rakesh. You have been a credit to Bayleaf and a credit to yourself.

A trip to the Garden Centre

Nothing says 'Summer is Coming' more than a gloriously sunny day and a trip out to the Garden Centre.

John, Freda and Joyce had a lovely time at the Blue Diamond Garden Centre looking at the different plants, seeing the fish in the aquarium and doing a little bit of shopping.

Once we had seen everything there was to see we sat down for a well earned drink and a snack before we headed back to Bayleaf full of good spirits.

The Amazing Team Bayleaf

Our amazing staff have taken part in a sponsored fun run to raise money for Parkinson’s UK.

The Huntingdon 5k Inflatable Run took place at Huntingdon Racecourse on Saturday 11th April and after weeks of preparation and training, the team lead by our brilliant manager, Katie passed the challenge with flying colours.

There was a lot of fun and laughter and the team were, rightly, so proud of their achievement.

A fascinating afternoon at Bayleaf

There was laughter and elegance in equal measure today as we hosted our Grand National celebration. It was a delight to see our residents dressed to the nines, showcasing beautiful fascinators that added a wonderful splash of colour to the day.

To make the occasion even more lively, we were joined by our entertainer, Charlie Chaplin. He has already become one of the residents’ favourites. Seeing residents, visitors and staff singing along together, waving to the music, and sharing such joyful moments was truly heartwarming.

To round off a perfect afternoon, we enjoyed a delicious selection of cheeses served with fresh fruits and crackers, sharing stories, laughter, and smiles.

The Big Bayleaf Easter Egg Hunt

Get ready for the 'Big Bayleaf Easter Egg Hunt'

Over the past few days we have been busy placing our colourful plastic eggs in various locations throughout Huntingdon.

If you are lucky enough to find one of the eggs, all you need to do is bring the egg, along with the message inside the egg, back to Bayleaf Care Home and you can then claim your free prize (the clue is in the picture!!!).

Happy hunting everybody!!!!!!