West AbbeyBarchester Healthcare

Activities at West Abbey Care Home

Our Activities Coordinators are constantly striving to mentally and physically stimulate those we support by organising group and individual activities for anyone and everyone to participate in. There are regular outings in the minibus to nearby places of interest, as well as visits from the Donkey sanctuary, musicians and entertainers. We also host evenings such as our Cheese & Wine evenings and BBQ's in the summer, that we encourage relatives to come to. Activities are one of the most important aspects of a care home, so it is essential that our team are dedicated to ensuring that residents are entertained. We encourage our residents to participate in any way they can. We also encourage relatives to join with activities and events as often as they can to ensure that life at West Abbey is fun and active for all.

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

Read our brochure

Nikki Griffee

Activities Coordinator

Hi, I'm Nikki and I originally came to work at West Abbey in 2018 and have worked in various roles supporting our residents.

What I enjoy about my job is that no two days are the same and most of all, I thoroughly enjoy everyday activities with the residents including 1-2-1 room visits all the way to professional singers visiting us. A firm favourite of mine and the residents at West Abbey is using our mini-bus weekly and visiting local nature hot spots! I look forward to welcoming you to our home.

Celebrating life at West Abbey Care Home

VE Day celebrations!

On May 8th 2025, we mark the historic 80th anniversary of VE Day, with the people, families and communities of our great nation coming together to unite and celebrate 80 years of peace since the end of World War II in Europe that so many millions paid the ultimate sacrifice to achieve.

VE Day 80 is not only a tribute to those who fought for the freedom we all enjoy today, but also a powerful reminder of the resilience and unity that have defined our country ever since.

We honoured the day by coming together to enjoy a street party-style lunch with an amazing performance from the ‘D-Day Dollies’. A truly wonderful time had by all!

Gardening Club

The sunshine was on our side today at West Abbey. On our memory lane we decided to do a little weeding and gardening to get ready for our plants to be planted in the raised beds we have.

Gardening engages cognitive functions like problem-solving, planning and decision-making. Gardening can improve sleep patterns, but it can also provide a good form of exercise, keeping individuals from interacting with others and feeling a sense of belonging.

After all the exercise, the residents were ready for refreshments and a sit down.

Community Gardening

This week Stanchester Academy and Preston Academy came together and assisted our gardener with our gardens.

Both schools worked so well, and they all enjoyed the gardening they had achieved so much. They should be so proud of themselves.

We were impressed by how the young men and young ladies worked in our gardens. A big thank you to both schools. We are looking forward to welcoming them back soon. Well done!

VE Day

On May 8th 2025, we mark the historic 80th anniversary of VE Day, with the peoples, families and communities of our great nation coming together to unite and celebrate 80 years of peace since the end of Word War II in Europe that so many millions paid the ultimate sacrifice to achieve.

VE Day 80 is not only a tribute to those who fought for the freedom we all enjoy today, but also a powerful reminder of the resilience and unity that have defined our country ever since.

We honoured the day by coming together to enjoy a street party style lunch with an amazing performance from the ‘D-Day Dollies’.

Walking Club

Here at West Abbey our residents love getting outside and exercise is so important to our residents and colleagues. Our Life Enrichment team have a weekly walking group where we stretch our legs and admire the local greenery. We’re so lucky to have great areas around our home to explore, so that’s exactly what we did. The sun was shining, birds were singing and so were we!

Montague House

This week the ladies took us off to Montacute house and its beautiful gardens for our mini bus trip. Montacute House is a late Elizabethan mansion in Montacute, South Somerset. Montacute House was built in about 1598 by Sir Edward Phelps, whose family had lived in the Montacute area since at least 1460. We are so lucky that we have so many places that we can visit , practically on our door stop. The ladies enjoyed their refreshments, and then proceeded to have a look round the gardens.

St Patrick's Day

Here at West Abbey we have celebrated St Patricks Day by marking this special date with a party, doing what we do best - dancing, singing and having fun! A tipple of Baileys followed by Chocolate Guinness cake went down a treat and the music was so wonderful as always, a huge thank you to professional performer Jan McNeil.

Gentleman's Club

We have started a gentlemen's club, every 2 weeks the men get together and go on a outing of their choice.

This week the gentlemen went to visit a local pub to reminiscence over working careers and raising families. It was fantastic and the residents are thoroughly looking forward to the next trip out.

Trip to the seaside

Oh we do love to be beside the Seaside! We were off again on one of our regular minibus outings, this time we headed to West Bay in Dorset. We had the weather on our side with beautiful views of the harbour and ocean, whilst enjoying some delicious fish and chips! The residents all had a great time and have already asked to go again, keep an eye out for our next adventure!