Thanks to funding from Dorset Council’s Community & Culture Fund, Swanage Railway delivered the first monthly ‘Brief Encounters’ reminiscence session for people living with dementia and their carers on Tuesday 15 September 2026. The trip involved 22 people and their carers. Purbeck CRP were happy to support and take part in this initiative. This fits with our Travel with Confidence programme we are currently undertaking with our partner Community Rail Network.

The group consisted of people from a care home and day centre as well as individuals approached because of living with dementia. This all started at Swanage Station before catching the train to Corfe Castle. During the journey, we used a range of simple reminiscence activities to stimulate memories, conversation and discussion. At Corfe Castle Station, we enjoyed some light refreshments before catching the train back to Swanage, where we continued with activities and enjoyed a quiz. The initial feedback from the group and their carers was very positive and they all fully enjoyed their day out and train experience.

Anne Brown (Learning & Community Engagement Manager) and project co-ordinator recruited volunteers to help support these sessions by joining the train and assisting with the activities. We each had a small group of around four to six people, mainly chatting, listening and helping participants take part in the simple activities.