Feeling fine and sandy – Banbury care home surprises resident with seaside trip

Heather Collings, a resident at Care UK’s Highmarket House, in North Bar Place, missed the sounds and smells of the sea and wanted to enjoy fish and chips at the seaside - so the team organised a special trip to Bournemouth to celebrate her 88th birthday in style.

Along with two other residents at the home, Mrs Collings, who visited the seaside with her husband regularly in their younger years, was able to walk along the pier and even dip her toes in the sea. To top things off, the home team treated her to a much-awaited fish and chip lunch with a view of the sea front.

She said: “It was a lovely day out, the scenery was wonderful, I really enjoyed the fish and chip lunch and the walk along the pier, although it was quite windy.”

Alessandra Knaggs, Home Manager at Highmarket House, said: “Our day trip to Bournemouth was one for the books, and there’s no doubt we’ll still be talking about it for weeks to come.

“Heather loves the seaside and has shared countless stories from her beach holidays with her husband over the years – so when she made a wish to have a full fish and chips experience by the sea, we knew we had to make it happen.

“It was incredibly rewarding for the team to see just how happy she was to be near the sea again; she had a smile on her face all day. Happy birthday Heather we’re delighted we could make your wish come true!”

Highmarket House provides full-time residential, dementia, nursing and short-term respite care. The 73-room home has been designed to enable residents to live active lives, while also promoting independence. The care home incorporates space for hobby and leisure activities and includes its own cinema, hairdressing salon and café.