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Discover lots of gardens, historic houses, days out at the coast and more.
Working together for a dementia-friendly future
In 2019, we launched an ambitious three-year partnership with Alzheimer’s Society to make all of the 500 historic and countryside sites we care for dementia-friendly. In the largest collaboration of its kind bringing heritage and dementia together, we joined forces to unlock some of the nation’s best-loved history and heritage for millions of people affected by dementia.
This programme was paused during the pandemic, but we're now beginning to refresh our intentions and we'll have more to share on our partnership and dementia-friendly activity soon.
The power of historic connections
For people with dementia and their carers, historic spaces, collections and stories can prompt and stimulate discussion, encourage outdoor exploration, and offer a vital connection to the world around them.
Research from Alzheimer’s Society shows that day trips are one of the most likely and regular activities for people living with the condition and their carers. In comparison to other visitor attractions, people living with dementia also view heritage sites as ‘safe’ and familiar spaces*.
Visiting a heritage site can improve physical and mental health by helping people keep active. The importance of such venues increases as we get older, as a place to relax, recover and engage through multi-sensory stimulation of the space around us.
A quote by Jeremy HughesAlzheimer’s Society’s Chief Executive
How we're working together with Alzheimer's Society
The partnership will focus on:
- Upskilling staff and volunteers
- Improving the accessibility of National Trust places for all visitors
- Improving internal policies and processes to support members of staff and volunteers who may be affected by the condition.
It will also see improvements at some places, from improved signage, facilities and modifications to materials used on paths and car parks. We’ll also be developing a range of dementia-friendly services such as cafés, tours and social events. Hosting awareness-raising activities and making improvements for those living with the disease will also build the case for more dementia-friendly communities.
A number of our places are already offering great experiences for people living with dementia, and through this landmark partnership we aim to extend those benefits to many more people.
A quote by Tiger de SouzaNational Trust Volunteering and Inclusion Director
What we’re already doing
Among the work already under way to support those with dementia is the creation of reminiscence experience sessions at the Backs to Backs in Birmingham which offer monthly tours of the historic houses to recreate what life was like for families in the past.
Wimpole in Cambridge also hosts the Farming Memories group, which encourages former farmers and agricultural workers with dementia to meet up and take part in farming activities.
The growing impact of dementia
Research from Alzheimer’s Society shows that one in every 14 people in the UK aged 65 and over have dementia**, with someone developing the condition every three minutes.
There are currently 850,000 people in the UK with dementia and Alzheimer’s Society predict that those living with the disease will hit one million within three years.
* This emerged from interviews conducted as part of the study by Page, S.J., Innes, A. and Cutler, C. (2015) Developing Dementia-Friendly Tourism Destinations: An Exploratory Analysis. Journal of Travel Research. 54 (4) pp. 461-81.
**1 in 14 stat – Dementia UK: Update, Prince et al (2014), for Alzheimer’s Society.
Our partners
In 2019, we launched an ambitious three-year partnership with Alzheimer’s Society to make all of our 500 historic and countryside sites dementia-friendly.
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