During the two-week Dementia Action Week, which began on Monday, 13 May and ended on Sunday, 26 May, friends of the Bentham Line carried out two visits and participated in a special event.

The 75-mile Bentham Line is also known as the Leeds-Morecambe Line.

The meeting at Headingley Rugby Stadium was organised by Leeds Older People’s Forum and enabled the Leeds-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership (CRP) to make new contacts to co-operate with when ensuring the Bentham Line remains dementia-friendly.

One of the visits saw members of Low Bentham Institute’s Wednesday Lunch Club travel to the Brief Encounter Bistro and Heritage Centre in Carnforth on Wednesday, 15 May.

Bentham and District Dementia-Friendly Community took part in the second trip, also to Carnforth.

The aim of the trips was to help organisations from communities along the Bentham Line that carry out dementia-related work to enjoy a day out by train.

Indeed, the Leeds-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership is proud that the line was the UK’s first to be designated dementia-friendly.

If other groups in the area would like to arrange a day out, they are invited to email them via [email protected].

We had lovely day out and thank you so much for arranging the event and for your support on the journey.  We would also like thank Northern for providing a ticket for the group.

Andrea Touchy, the organiser of the Lunch Club

We are pleased that we are able once again to assist so many people to have a good day out and to evoke memories of past times. Carnforth Heritage Centre has many artefacts and displays that help those living with dementia to reminisce about their youth and it was obvious that they all enjoyed the trip.

The CRP would be pleased to help organisations from communities along the 75 miles of our route to enjoy an activity day.  We already are arranging trips for the Skipton Dementia-Friendly Community and elsewhere but have capacity to do the same for other groups of 8 to 30 persons.  A variety of activities and destinations are available along the whole of the line from Morecambe and Lancaster through to the Aire Valley.  We invite organisations to get in touch with us if they have a group that could benefit in the same way.

Rod Tickner,  the Vice Chair of the CRP