Activities at Washington Grange Care Home
Our group and individual activities are designed to mentally and physically stimulate those we care for. We try to organise a mix of activities and events that reflect the interests and capabilities of residents for anyone and everyone to participate in. Our evenings of afternoon entertainment is enjoyed by residents and their families, who are all encouraged to sing along and dance. We try to involve our local community; members of the clergy often visit to hold lovely afternoon church services for residents. It is essential that our team are dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for those we support through person-centred activities, and that everyone has a fun and active time here at Washington Grange.
Read our brochure 'Life-enriching activities' for more information about life in our care homes.
Read our brochure
Activities and Events Partnerships
As part of our bespoke life-enrichment programmes, we host a number of live virtual events in the home on a regular basis through a number of partnerships with places of interest and world class performance companies
Life at Washington Grange Care Home
The future with robots!
We enjoyed a wonderful virtual introduction to the world of robots with V&A Dundee Curator, Kirsty Hassard.
Kirsty talked us through the history of robots and their early beginnings, the presentation traced the fascination of all things wired and wonderful and considered what the future might hold for our relationship with a multitude of mechanical machines.
It was absolutely thrilling to learn what robots can do now and what they might be able to do in the future.
Blenheim Palace
We had a lovely time exploring the amazing gardens of Blenheim Palace through a virtual talk, hosted by the Historian - Antonia Keaney.
We enjoyed a virtual look at how the gardens at Blenheim have developed over the past 300 years - from the formality of Henry Wise through to the ‘natural’ landscape created by Capability Brown and beyond.
Everyone was very impressed by the many jewels hidden within the 150 acres of beautiful gardens.
A walk on the wild side
We were able to virtually dive into the impressive wildlife of Dartmoor Zoo.
We explored its grounds and learnt about the unique history of the park from the zoo’s educational team. The culmination of the tour was the live tiger training demonstration, which was wonderful to see and enjoyed by all.
Our residents were delighted to see amazing photos and short videos of the animals and take a peek inside their home.
Chicks hatch at local care home
Staff, residents and their guests at Barchester’s Washington Grange care home are celebrating the birth of baby chicks this week at the home.
There was a lot of egg-citement at the home as 10 chicks hatched throughout the week. Residents were able to pet and feed the chicks as they found their footing in their new home.
General Manager Paula Joicey said: “It was an eggs-cellent day when the eggs finally hatched! Residents at Washington Grange, as well as our team were all very excited about the new-borns, we’ve named the chicks George, Charlotte and Louis after the royal princes and princess. For anyone who would like to come for a visit of our chicken coop and have a tour of our home our doors are always open.”
Icelandic Puffin Sanctuary virtual visit
We took a wonderful virtual trip to Iceland’s Puffin Rescue Centre at the Beluga Whale Sanctuary.
We were able to virtually meet some of the rescued Atlantic Puffins and to learn interesting facts about their care and unique lives. We took a peek into their lives in the wild, the Puffling rescue program in the Westman Islands, and how SEA LIFE Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary’s team takes care of these charismatic little birds each day.
It was a very exciting experience, enjoyed by all.
WW2 talk with Blenheim Palace
Ahead of Armed Forces Day, we were transported back in time for a World War II themed talk and tour of Blenheim Palace, hosted by Antonia Keaney, the Palace’s social historian and author.
Entitled ‘Evacuees and Espionage,’ Antonia’s wartime themed talk focused on how the Marlborough family, estate staff and the Palace itself played a full and energetic part in the war effort.
The talk and tour told the story of how the Palace prepared for the worst, survived the onslaught of 400 boys being evacuated to Blenheim and kept the secrets of MI5.
It was a lovely experience, enjoyed by all.
