SoutherndownBarchester Healthcare

Activities at Southerndown Care Home

Name: Southerndown Care Home
Address: Worcester Road,, Chipping Norton, OX7 5YF, GB
Telephone: 01608 433 042

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.

Our specialist activities staff are committed to organising a mix of activities and events for residents and the local community to get involved in, including trips out to local places of interest in our minibus and visits from entertainers and musicians. It is important to us that each individual who we support can get as much from these as possible, so we try our best to arrange activities that reflect their interests and capabilities as best as possible, and encourage them to participate in any way they can. We also encourage relatives to join with activities and events as often as they can.

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

Read our brochure

Stacey Davies

Activities Co-ordinator

I have worked at Southerndown since 2013. I enjoy providing various activities for our residents with the team, such as gardening groups, trips out in the mini bus around the Cotswolds, quiz days and entertainment performances. Amongst the many things we enjoy doing, part of my role within the home is to ensure all residents are provided the purpose in life to fulfil day to day stimulation, whether that be together, or creating individual activity to those that prefer.

Celebrating life at Southerndown Care Home

Southerndown Celebrates Nutrition & Hydration Week in Style

We’ve had a fantastic time at Southerndown celebrating Barchester’s Nutrition and Hydration Week!

The week was filled with delicious food, refreshing drinks, and plenty of opportunities to enjoy trying something new. From tasty treats to keeping hydrated in fun and creative ways, everyone got involved and made the most of it.

It’s so important to focus on good nutrition and staying hydrated, and we loved coming together to celebrate this in such a positive and enjoyable way.

A visit from Lottie

We’re very lucky here at Southerndown to have a wonderful Pets As Therapy dog who visits us every week.

Meet Lottie, a gorgeous 6-year-old Cavapoo, who comes to see us with her owner Sally. Their visits are always looked forward to and bring so many smiles, cuddles, and special moments for our residents.

Lottie and Sally are really becoming part of the Southerndown family, and we absolutely love having them with u

A Very Special Visit from Chrissie's Owls

We recently had the absolute pleasure of welcoming Chrissie and her beautiful owls to Southerndown.

She brought along a majestic tawny owl and a stunning barn owl, and we were all enchanted by their calm nature and striking features.

It was a wonderfully relaxing and informative session — there’s something so peaceful about being in the presence of these incredible birds. Owls really are the most delightful visitors.

Visit to Oxfordshire art week at Kingham Lodge

We had a wonderful morning exploring the stunning gardens at Kingham Lodge as a part of Oxfordshire Art Week.

The perfectly manicured grounds provided the ideal setting for a diverse range of sculpture displays – some beautifully abstract, others strikingly true to form. The visit brought back so many fond memories for us, and we especially enjoyed the creative displays from the local schools.

It truly was a joyful and inspiring experience from start to finish.

Hosting a car boot sale

Residents at the home got stuck in to help raise funds for these very important causes, by holding a car boot sale.

Residents had their own stall and any proceeds they made would be given to their chosen charities.
Taking part in fundraising and holding the Car Boot Sale for the Chippy Villager Bus and The Branch has been a huge amount of fun and everyone at the home has been behind us all the way.

It is for such important causes, which are very close to our hearts here at Southerndown. We are very glad to be able to do our bit to raise further awareness and money for the charities. Southerndown residents raised a grand total of £100 by holding the car boot sale, which will be donated to their chosen charities.

Fosseway Garden Centre

We enjoyed a lovely trip out to Fosseway Garden Centre

We headed there for a spot of lunch and, as always, it didn’t disappoint! A delicious meal, plenty of chats and lots of smiles all round.

After lunch we had a wander around the plants – so many beautiful colours and spring blooms to admire. It’s always such a joy strolling through the garden centre, taking our time and picking out our favourites.

Feeling Festive

We’re feeling really festive here at Southerndown and who doesn’t love a photo by the Christmas tree, all dressed up in our Christmas jumpers.

The excitement is building as the countdown to Christmas is well and truly in full swing.

Movie Night Magic

We had an unforgettable movie night for our lovely residents, featuring Elvis (1973) and they absolutely loved it!

Our lounge was transformed into a cosy cinema, complete with comfy seating, dimmed lights, and a big screen to bring the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll to life. We served all the classic movie snacks, popcorn, candies, hot dogs, burgers, and refreshing drinks.

To add to the fun, our Head Housekeeper Sasha Mereu dressed up as a classic movie usherette, which brought big smiles and plenty of laughs to our Residents.

It was a beautiful evening filled with singing, clapping, and a lot of happy memories. We love creating these special moments for our residents.

Picnic in the park!

We decided to make the most of the sunshine and head out for a good old-fashioned picnic in the park.
The weather was gorgeous, the food was delicious, and the company was even better.

Such a fun and relaxing day full of laughter, fresh air and a lovely change of scenery. We made some fantastic memories that we will be smiling about for a long time. What a perfect day.

Celebrating International Nurse's Day

We celebrated in style with a fantastic party to honour our incredible nurses – the true heart of our team.
With live musical entertainment from Vintage Ruby, it was an afternoon full of joy, laughter and well-deserved recognition.

Thank you to our amazing nurses for your compassion, dedication, and hard work every single day. You truly make a difference, and today we celebrated you.

Elvis comes to Southerndown

Southerndown was all shook up today as we were joined by Elvis himself — the very talented Andy Luke!

We had such a fantastic afternoon filled with all things Elvis, from the music to the memories, with lots of smiles, singing along and toe-tapping fun.

We were also delighted to be joined by friends and family along with members of the local community, making the afternoon even more special.

A huge thank you to Andy Luke for an amazing performance that was enjoyed by everyone. What a brilliant afternoon!

Hawaiian Beach Day

What a fabulous Hawaiian Themed beach day we had. The sun may not have been shining for us, but we certainly had beams of smiles on the faces of our Residents.

Everyone helped make the event a success, from the hospitality team putting on an delicious BBQ and themed food, to the activities team providing the props and setting the scene.

Scroll through the photos to see all the smiles!

A Special ‘Rainforest’ Visit!

Yesterday we had an unforgettable afternoon thanks to a visit from Zoolab, who brought the rainforest right to our doorstep! From slithery snakes to giant snails, curious frogs, and friendly millipedes.

We were absolutely fascinated by this hands-on experience. It was an incredibly interesting and fun session, and held creatures we never thought we’d get the chance to see up close — including snakes!

Mental Health Awareness Week

Staff and residents have been marking Mental Health Awareness Week by having a peaceful outing to Wychwood Wild Gardens. With only the sounds of bird song and ducks on the water, we embraced the calm and tranquillity of the outdoors.

Our morning included some gentle tree bathing, a scenic walk along the water, and plenty of fresh air. It was a truly serene experience that left us all feeling refreshed and uplifted. It's always a treat to hop on the minibus and reconnect with nature.

VE Day celebrations!

Southerndown celebrated the 80th anniversary of VE Day in true street party style!

We enjoyed a lovely lunch together with plenty of party food, good drinks, and even better company. With our favourite music playing, it was a joyful day filled with laughter, memories and celebration.