Winchester care home resident fulfils wish to ride Watercress Line

Residents from Brendoncare Park Road spent a day on the Watercress Line.

Staff and residents started the day at Alresford Station and ended their journey at Alton. They enjoyed a picnic on the train and had a tour around various stations, speaking to staff members on board and learning interesting facts from volunteers.

Bob, resident at Brendoncare Park Road, is a train enthusiast and was one of the residents who went on the trip.

A former model locomotive builder, Bob has made 10 model engines in total and was eager to visit the railway line, so the caring staff at Brendoncare Park Road made it happen.

He said: “I’ve known of the Watercress Line because I used to go past in my caravan, to see this train chuffing above our heads as we went through.

"We found out later that there was a railway track there, so we often stopped at the convenient toilet near Alton and spent a long time watching the engines going by.

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“So of course I had to have a ride on them, and eventually the chance came to go and have a ride on the Alton track. I am very happy that older people like me, who have made these things, can have a ride.”

Lois Matthews, care assistant, attended the outing with the residents on her day off.

She said: “I thought it went really well. It was really nice to get the residents out, especially since they really liked the trains.

“I thought it would be really nice to come even on my day off, because I know that they love it so much and I know that the people that went really wanted to visit. It wasn’t a problem for me to come and it was nice to be able to do something that the residents really liked.”

“I enjoy working at Park Road. A memorable moment was when I was with a resident and they told me that I was like a daughter to them. It was really nice and it really sticks with me – it’s nice to know that you have that kind of effect on someone.”