Jolly time was had by all!

Age UK Plymouth’s Jolly Elders group has recently had the opportunity to get out of the city and travel on two local scenic railways lines, thanks to a collaboration with the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, a non-profit partnership who support branch lines in the South West including the St Ives Bay Line, Tarka Line and Atlantic Coast Line.

The Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership was founded in 1991 has been nationally recognised with 30 awards from the Community Rail Awards since its inception in 2005. The Jolly Elders Programme was formed just 12 months ago as part of the charity’s active living project and has gone from strength to strength ever since.

The group is for those over 50 who want to get together, meet new people and enjoy different themes and activities each week. Initially just one group met at Manadon Sports & Community Hub on Fridays but the group was quickly running at capacity. Keen to make Jolly Elders as accessible as possible across the city a second group was launched at Central Park Community Hub on Monday afternoons.

At the end of 2022 a third group was launched at the charity’s Mount Gould HQ, which gave the opportunity to make this a lunch club, with catering provided by the team at Age UK Plymouth.

Many have found Jolly Elders a lifeline with one regular saying, ‘the club saved my sanity after two years of being shut away. I could not mix with anyone. Lisa and Abi have been doing everything, we think they are wonderful!’

Abigail Young, community support manager at Age UK Plymouth said: “As a charity one of the things we’re here to champion is wellbeing in the city of Plymouth. It’s amazing to be a part of supporting our Jolly Elders, an outing like a day’s round train trip to Looe can make a huge difference to someone’s wellbeing and helping them love later life.

“Our Active Living programme has been a huge part of the charity’s focus over the past year to reduce isolation in the community. We look forward to our weekly groups knowing that they are making a real difference to people. The psychological impact of lockdown has been huge on those who found themselves grouped as vulnerable people. It’s amazing the effect of groups like Jolly Elders has in supporting people in leaving their homes and reducing that loneliness in the community.”

With the generous donation of free tickets, thanks to Great Western Railway, the Jolly Elders took their first ever trip, visiting Looe. The sun was shining as the group enjoyed a classic Cornish Fish ‘n’ Chip lunch and a walk along the sea front before making their way back to Plymouth Station along the Looe Valley Line.

For their second trip in December the group headed along the Tamar Valley Line where they enjoyed mince pies on the way and were greeted by children from Delaware Primary School who boarded the train singing Christmas carols.

The next step for Age UK Plymouth is to continue to grow the Jolly Elders Lunch Club which meets every Tuesday at The William and Patricia Venton Centre in the heart of Mount Gould.

The centre can be accessed by the number 23 and 24 buses direct from Royal Parade and the sessions include a hot cooked two course meal, activities and regular visits from guests including live singers.

For more information about Jolly Elders or any of the work of Age UK Plymouth visit www. ageukplymouth.org.uk.

To find out more about working in partnership with Age UK Plymouth or to talk about how groups or organisations can work with or support the charity please email enquiries@ ageukplymouth.org.uk.