Lambing season joy for Brampton Manor residents

Residents from Brampton Manor care home, part of Boutique Care Homes, visited South Angel Farm on Thursday 16th April to experience the magic of lambing season, continuing a friendship with the farm that began last autumn with a pumpkin-picking and alpaca experience.

The trip was made possible thanks to the ongoing generosity of Fairstead House School, who provided their minibus and their time to make the outing possible. Without that support, getting residents out into the community in this way simply would not happen.

For one resident in particular, the day held special meaning. Jill has always been open about her love of animals, and from the moment the team at Brampton Manor got to know her, it was clear that a return trip to South Angel Farm was something to work towards. She arrived at the farm, was immediately welcomed back by Zoe and the team, and went straight back to where she left off last autumn, sharing memories of her previous visit on the bus ride home.

“Jill has always said she has more patience for animals than people,” said Valda, Head of Lifestyle and Wellbeing at Brampton Manor. “Watching her there, you completely understand it. There’s a calmness and a joy that just comes over her. Getting her back to South Angel Farm this spring was something we really wanted to make happen, and it was worth every bit of the planning.”

The morning included a hands-on lamb feeding session, close encounters with goats, and a quiet, wonderful moment that the team won’t forget in a hurry: residents and children sitting together in a circle, each gently holding and comforting guinea pigs and rabbits. Two very different generations, entirely at ease with each other, united by the same small, warm animals.

Throughout the visit, residents looked out for one another, holding hands and guiding each other across the farm. It was a reminder, as one member of the team put it, that friendship does not have an age limit.

Family members joined on the day too, including daughters accompanying their mothers for what became a proper shared experience rather than just a visit. Sally, Jill’s daughter, was among those there, and the team noted how moved she was to see generations from either end of life simply sitting together, enjoying the same small moment. That kind of connection was felt across the whole group throughout the day.

Danny, Admissions Manager at Brampton Manor, added, “Days like this are exactly what our Life Enrichment Programme is about. We want our residents to have a full life, not just a comfortable one. Coming back to somewhere they have visited before, building on a memory rather than just making a new one, that matters enormously.”

The trip sits within Brampton Manor’s broader commitment to connecting residents with their local community and to the six pillars of the Boutique Care Homes Life Enrichment Programme: Connect, Feel, Move, Grow, Reflect, and Contribute.

Brampton Manor plans to continue its relationship with South Angel Farm throughout the year.