Before Cramlington House was built, the land used to be home to a well-known local pub called The Railway Tavern. The Tavern was a key part of the local Cramlington community before it closed its doors in 2009 and now, years later, we have decided to recreate the pub within the care home!
Thanks to the hard work of the team, we turned an unused room in the Daisy unit into our very own bar which residents are loving. The bar comes with all the features you’d expect to see in a traditional alehouse including a darts board, a slot machine, a TV, a bar and some wider space to relax.
Our activities manager at Cramlington House, Kim Stubbs, said: “The bar is absolutely wonderful and really helping to lift spirits during the current pandemic.
“The tables have been made from old barrels and the dart board is a dementia friendly one with plastic tips so it’s safe for all residents to use.
“The drinks aren’t real alcoholic drinks of course but the residents enjoy the refreshments nevertheless which include tea and juice.
“The detail that has gone into the recreated pub is really amazing and, as the weeks go by, we are adding more features to it as more residents use it.
“It’s been great to see the response to our very own pub by residents. They’ve enjoyed a relaxing moment, catching up over a drink or two, playing darts and generally appreciating being in a pub environment again – something I bet we are all looking forward to once the pubs are safe to open again!”
We’ll share more updates on the pub’s features as and when they’re fitted. We’re very fortunate to receive some great memorabilia from a resident’s daughter who used to run a pub years ago. This has been really in helping us to recreate a real-life experience of popping to the local.