Nestled between the tourist hub of Bournemouth, the coastal harbour of Lymington, with the ancient priory town of Christchurch on our doorstep, the range of things to do here is diverse.  Horse riding, flying a light aircraft, cycling in the New Forest, water skiing, and horticulture–just some of the activities that people we support have experienced.

And that’s the most incredible aspect of living where we live.  There is something for everyone, activities both active and passive.  Oceanarium, tree canopy walks and zip lining, fun fairs, picnics at music festivals such as the annual jazzy Stompin’ on the Quomps, the Air Festival with planes old and new cutting through the skies above us.  Gentle strolls through deer-filled forest or along the beach.  From achieving dreams to simply enjoying time to be, to breathe sea air and sit a while looking out over the ocean to Old Harry’s Rocks and beyond.

Perhaps nothing reveals so much about individuals as how they choose to play – how they invest their time and energy for leisure time.  Leisure is that time free from demands or activities of daily living.  Everyone needs regular recreation that develops skills, promotes good health, relieves stress, facilitates social interactions, and provides a general joy for living. ––Regina Cicci, Ph.D. [Developing Recreational Skills in Persons with Learning Disabilities]

Nature Garden Creation, Third and Fourth Sessions:

“Sessions 4 and 5 saw a continuation of the process of creating a footpath through the garden to ensure everyone has access. It was heavy work, but the end results were noticeable and made the efforts worthwhile. One highlight was digging round the fallen tree and in doing so starting the process of turning this once magnificent tree into a marvellous seat.

The team also noticed that, like many pop bands before, they now have their own fan club, although instead of screaming fans the team have a devoted following of local Robins who take great delight in investigating the team’s hard work for food.

Session Six:

Session 6 was relatively short in the garden due to the unpredictable English weather (RAIN !!). However, we did manage to clear all the loose foliage from the area where there are bird bath stands. We also removed a lot of dead branches from around the large tree at the back of the garden (you could say we spent our time getting rid of a lot of deadwood) which we intend to make the centre piece of our future bird neighbourhood.

Although rain halted play in the garden, we diverted our efforts into researching actions/steps we could undertake to attract more wildlife.

Sessions Seven, Eight and Nine:

Sessions 7, 8 and 9 of our nature garden creation project were spent clearing a path to the area that will become the BBQ/Quiet area. The team worked very hard and uncovered many unexpected items such as the large rocks pictured in the first picture below. We also started work on clearing the foliage from the rockery as we have now also decided to overhaul the Sensory area and add to the hard work carried out several years ago.

To be continued! Please check back here soon.” — David Dellow, Redcroft.