It’s the first day of autumn! A time of hot chocolatey mornings, and toasty marshmallow evenings, and, best of all, leaping into leaves! – Winnie The Pooh (A. A. Milne)

Yeats’ season of autumn mists and mellow fruitfulness is upon us as the nights draw in and the mornings are getting darker. This transition of seasons into a colder and darker time of year can sometimes have negative connotations – but this does not always have to be the case. Autumn is beautiful, and joyful and has many positives about it. The ever-changing colours of the leaves on the trees provide a beautiful canvas just outside our windows. Exploring the outdoors and nature, during autumn, brings the opportunity to forage for autumnal fruit and nuts – whether its blackberries, hazelnuts or even conkers, the positive mental reward this brings can be massive.  A simple autumn walk can be transformed into something more special and mentally stimulating. The darker nights and darker mornings give us the opportunity to rest physically and align ourselves more with our body’s natural rhythms – as getting to sleep that little bit earlier helps us rebalance and helps restore much-needed reserves of energy. We tend to spend more time indoors as winter draws in as there is more opportunity to nestle in and settle in. Yet, autumn is also a great time to start a new hobby too, whether that is crafting or painting indoors as well as a time to reorganise and tidy.

Autumn is a season of change and is also a metaphor for our lives. The spring of life – is a time when we transition to young adulthood while autumn is another time of change and transition as we move towards retirement – a time to walk briskly and kick the colourful piles of leaves and to find joy in the change! The multi-award-winning retirement communities operated by LifeCare Residences provide the perfect environment for retirees to embrace and enjoy this change in the seasons.

Nothing says autumn more than a hearty bowl of soup! The LifeCare Residences communities of Battersea Place in London and Grove Place in the heart of the Hampshire countryside offer residents (and their guests) a delicious range of heart-warming soups, as well as full Sunday roasts with all the trimmings. The communities also provide tea and coffee stations where residents can mingle and chat with a friend over a hot toddy, or even a warming Irish coffee at the bar. As the weather turns colder, some residents prefer to stay on-site and enjoy meeting friends at the chef-led restaurants where food is produced fresh, every day with an emphasis on local produce, natural flavours, and balanced nutrition.  Room service is also provided should residents wish to remain tucked up in their own apartments. The Head Chef at Grove Place is proud to create a seasonal menu for the residents to enjoy using the freshest produce from local farms and their own kitchen garden.  The team at LifeCare Residences recognises the importance of good nutrition in retirement and this is even taken into consideration as winter draws in and Vitamin D, the ‘sunshine vitamin’ is in less ready supply. As fish is rich in Vitamin D and many other nutrients, the chefs at both Battersea Place and Grove Place ensure that there are delicious fish dishes on the menu regularly.

As the weather turns colder, the risk of catching colds and flu increases too – so it’s vital to stay fit and healthy to combat these viruses as much as possible. As well as ensuring residents have the best quality food on offer, the team at LifeCare Residences also recognises the importance of staying physically active for the wellbeing of their residents. Their communities offer a wealth of opportunities for residents to exercise both indoors and outdoors with easy access to outside space. Despite being situated in the heart of London, residents at luxury retirement community Battersea Place can simply step over the road to enjoy the beauty and 200 acres of wide-open space of Battersea Park for a brisk walk or gentle stroll in the lovely autumnal gardens or a spot of tennis, boules, bowls, or croquet. Grove Place provides access, not only to spectacular grounds, but also borders the beautifully wild New Forest, a haven for dog walkers and nature enthusiasts alike. Residents at Grove Place can enjoy almost unlimited access to 27 acres of beautifully designed grounds. At Somerleigh Court in Dorchester, Dorset, residents are right on the doorstep of Borough Gardens, a beautiful 19^th century park laid out to the design of William Goldring – who was the brain behind Kew Gardens. Residents can access the adult fitness equipment at the park as well as the four tennis courts which are open all year round.

Owning and maintaining a home is a big task for anyone, so it’s no surprise that many retirees often find the maintenance involved more taxing as they age – especially as autumn sets in and gutters get clogged with falling leaves and the windows rattle in the chilly wind.  The communities owned and operated by LifeCare Residences are meticulously cared for throughout the year which is reassuring for residents who have moved from larger, drafty family homes to warm purpose-built, contemporary apartments. All the maintenance is taken care of by the LifeCare Residences team which frees up the time of the residents to enjoy the many activities on offer. A resident of award-winning retirement community Battersea Place, Virginia Darbyshire agrees, “I had lived in my last house for about 40 years, and quite simply, it had become too big … I knew I wanted a property that required less maintenance, which would enable me to invest in more time in my interests.”

This year, more than ever, the cost of heating is a big concern as energy and gas prices continue to rise. However, residents at Battersea Place in London can be reassured by the measures put in place to reduce energy consumption, including an optimized glazing design to improve the use of natural ventilation and a combined heat and power plant to feed the hot water system to all the apartments and amenity spaces and the use of LED lighting in all the apartments and community spaces.

Additionally, autumn is a fantastic time for communities and families to get together, whether it’s snuggling up indoors or enjoying the plethora of local events on your doorstep. Grandparents at LifeCare Residences can enjoy a varied range of local autumnal half-term activities with visiting family members and grandchildren. October is an exciting month, with Halloween and half term to look forward to. There are a great deal of attractions and events taking place a stone’s throw from the LifeCare Residences communities at Battersea Place, Somerleigh Court and Grove Place. Residents at Somerleigh Court in Dorset could take their grandchildren on a ghostly visit to Dorchester Prison where visitors get to use ghost-hunting equipment. There is also a free ghost hunt in Brewery Square with fantastic Halloween goodies up for grabs. At Shire Hall in Dorchester there is more family fun to be had with pumpkin carving and slime making workshops!  Additionally, there are several pumpkin patches in Dorset – choosing your own pumpkin to carve makes the perfect half term activity for all the family. For residents at Grove Place in the heart of the New Forest in Hampshire there are plenty of local autumnal activities to get stuck into with all the family, including wicked fun in the woods at the nearby beautiful Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, where there will be pumpkin soup and wand-making around an open fire. There is also the ‘Owl-O-Ween’ event at the Hawk Conservancy Trust with ghostly storytelling and you can marvel at the owls as they put on a majestic flying display against the backdrop of the moonlit grounds. Additionally, there is nothing like embracing the majestic autumnal colours on display in the New Forest and observing the wild ponies who roam freely there. Residents in Battersea Place have all the entertainment London has to offer, right on their doorstep. Closer to home is the beautiful family-orientated Battersea Park which boasts a Children’s Zoo which is hosting a raft of Halloween and half-term inspired activities with meerkats, otters, and lemurs. Battersea Park is also home to a challenging treetop adventure for older kids as well as cycle tracks, a boating lake and enormous playground.

It’s time to appreciate the beauty of autumn and the change of seasons – the crisp air, the leaves and even the conkers!

If you would like to learn more about our offering and how we can enhance the ‘every day’ please call 0800 009 6950. For those who are unable to visit in person, we are also able to offer virtual tours of our communities at your convenience.

www.lifecareresidences.co.uk.

LifeCare Residences. We care about living life.