Making Memories at The Beach

22/07/2026

In the last year alone our wonderful service Neighbours Connect Southmead has matched more than twenty new participants with volunteers. Volunteers visit our participants regularly to keep them company at home, accompany them out and about, and help with tasks and social activities. Without our dedicated volunteers our participants would otherwise feel isolated or alone.

Part of the service is a bi-weekly Monday Lunch Club here at our Greenway community hub – everyone meets up for a tasty food and fun activities. This lovely group also gathers for daytrips out together, and last month they enjoyed a wonderful visit to Clevedon Pier.

Our Neighbours Connect Manager Simone writes:

We had an amazing time taking our group of older disabled people out to enjoy fresh air and beautiful surroundings. We were lucky to have a lovely sunny day which made the visit even more special. For a couple of our members, it was the first time they had ever been to Clevedon. Others reminisced during our bus ride that decades ago, when they were younger, they would visit Clevedon with boyfriends for a romantic day out!

We had a delicious fish and chips lunch at Glass Box restaurant which is on the pier itself, with a port hole looking out to sea! We spent time strolling along the historic pier, taking in the stunning coastal views, and eating ice cream! Everyone enjoyed chatting, relaxing, and making the most of the warm weather.

A highlight of the day was quite comical – we had to push the rollators at a zig-zag angle to avoid the holes in the old pier’s wooden boards – making us all laugh!

The trip was a great success, giving everyone the chance to get out, socialise, and create happy memories together.

Many of our older residents remember holidays at Severn Beach before the huge bridge overshadowed the resort. Below you can click to read a story from our community magazine The Mead’s archive, written by Marion; it is a wonderful memory of trips to Severn Beach. What are your beach memories?

You can catch Simone and the team at ‘Southmead-on-Sea’ this Saturday in the Seaside Memories Hut at Southmead Festival. With thanks for support from St Monica Trust, older residents will be invited to share their seaside memories, bring old postcards, and make new ones for a seaside memories postcard line. Of course, there will be cups of tea and biscuits – no seaside trip is complete without those!

The team cannot wait to welcome you to the Seaside Memories Hut, and to the Festival itself, this Saturday 25th July, 11am – 4pm. Wear your seaside garb, even if that is a knotted hanky hat!

If you know an older person living in Southmead who is looking for company, do ask them to pop by and see us on Saturday so we can share details of our Monday Lunch Club.

Visit the online Southmead Festival programme >here

Read Marion’s memory of Severn Beach >here

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