Category: Blackhall

Having a hoot at Strachan House!

Strachan House care home, in Blackhall, celebrated International Owl Awareness Day with a visit from some beautiful owl species from Owl Adventures UK.

Residents, family, and friends of Strachan House Care Home were delighted to see their new feathered friends flying around.

They enjoyed holding, feeding, and learning about several species, including a majestic barn owl and an impressive great horned owl. Owl Adventures UK, founded in 2011 by Ryan Stocks, prioritizes the welfare and conservation of birds.

The group rescues birds of prey after accidents in the wild and encourages support for endangered birds of prey in the UK.

General Manager Fran Fisher said, “Our residents have really enjoyed their unusual visitors today. We knew the birds of prey would bring fun to everyone, especially those who cannot join many minibus outings.

“We are always looking for new activities, and today we saw how much enjoyment and therapeutic value animals provide.”

Resident Rosemary was very excited by the birds from Owl Adventures UK: “Today was very enjoyable, and it was wonderful that the owls were free to roam amongst us.

“They are beautiful birds, and it was such an honour to hold and stroke them.”

Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals.

Strachan House provides residential, nursing, and dementia care for short and long-term stays.

Hops, Happiness, and Heart: Strachan House celebrates International Beer Day!

You better beer-lieve that residents at Strachan House care home in Blackhall were more than hoppy to raise a glass, and sample some top craft ales, bitters and lagers, in celebration of International Beer Day.

The Activities team at Strachan House set up ‘The Rolling Bar’ drinks trolley for an exciting mobile bar experience and brought in a range of brew-tiful British and International ales for residents to sample. 

Residents and their visitors enjoyed a beer tasting in the comfort of their home whilst they sampled the different craft ales, bitters and lagers.

Fran Fisher, General Manager at the home, said: “We love socialising and celebrating all kind of events, it is wonderful to be able to invite family and friends to come and join us for occasions like this. International Beer Day is a day that the residents really enjoy, who doesn’t love a cold beer on a hot summer’s day!”

Tom Brown, a resident at Strachan House, commented: “I didn’t realise we had so many wonderful local ales, it was fantastic to be able to enjoy a cold beer in the garden with my friends.

“We had a really special time and the beers were great!”

A varied life enrichment programme keeps Strachan House residents active and provides a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities.

The care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering high-quality care across its care homes and hospitals. 

Strachan House provides nursing care, residential care, and Dementia care for short and long-term stays.

Local care home residents enjoy canal cruise

Residents from Strachan House care home in Blackhall, Edinburgh, were delighted to visit Ratho Canal for an afternoon with The Seagull Trust Cruises.

Residents were able to engage in some nature spotting and enjoy a brief history of the canal, including its bridges and famous aqueduct.  Residents were able to spend the day cruising along the canal, and enjoyed an incredible afternoon tea provided by the home’s hospitality team.

Fran Fisher, General Manager of Strachan House, said: “Our residents have enjoyed their day out on the water.

“Trips out in the homes’ mini bus are a regular event for the residents, and we always ask for ideas on where they would best like to go. The day was so much fun. Residents were delighted to see such a diverse range of wildlife. ”

Strachan House Care Home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides residential, nursing and dementia care for short and long-term stays.

Section of Queensferry Road will be closed TONIGHT

Queensferry Road will be closed in both directions between Drumbrae North and Clermiston Road North from 10pm on Thursday, 19 June until 1am on Friday, 20 June, 2025.

The closure is to allow for a collision reconstruction as part of enquiries into a crash which happened on Tuesday, 8 April, 2025.

Diversions will be in place and motorists are advised to avoid the area if possible.

Police Scotland thank the public for their patience and their understanding.

Shining light Reg dresses to impress for 97th birthday

Festivities have been in full swing at Strachan House Care Home, as one of its residents celebrates his 97th birthday in style.

Reg Lacon was joined by staff, relatives, friends and other residents as he was piped in to celebrate his birthday. A buffet and beverages were available to all celebrating with Reg at Strachan House, and guests enjoyed a special birthday cake made by the home’s chefs Ross and Paul.

Reg, looked the part as he dressed to impress, proudly wearing his Northern Lighthouse Board uniform. Reg, served with The NLB for many years. He had an adventurous career, with great memories. Staying in service as long as he could before retiring, Reg moved into Strachan house Care Home in August 2024, where he is enjoying a new chapter of his life, making new memories with friends.

The birthday boy said: ‘I have had a truly wonderful day, it’s been wonderful to see everyone and to have such a great piper was exceptional!’

Fran Fisher, General Manager of Barchester Strachan House, added: “We’re delighted to be celebrating Reg’s birthday. He is such a popular resident, who always has an interesting tale to tell about his travels and his career with the Lighthouse board.”

Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides Residential, Nursing and Dementia care for short and long term stays.

Blackhall Bookbug’s Back on the Bus!

Bookbug is returning to the bus!

We will be running outdoor sessions on Wednesdays at 11:30am every fortnight that the bus is available, starting from next week, Wednesday 21st May.

As this will be outdoors please be prepared with hats, sunscreen etc, and that it may be cancelled at short notice if it is raining. We look forward to seeing you there ☀

Strachan House Care Home celebrates Easter in style

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Strachan House care home in Blackhall celebrated Easter with a whole host of different activities including an Easter egg hunt, Easter bonnet competition, egg and spoon race and a bunny colouring competition!

Residents at Strachan House enjoyed an eggs-tensive range of Easter activities, from designing and showcasing Easter bonnets to cheering on the unit staff for the egg and spoon race! Residents also tucked in to a delicious Easter meal of a roast dinner prepared by the home’s head chef Paul.

General Manager, Fran Fisher said: “As always, we’ve all been looking forward to Easter. It’s such a lovely time of year – the residents loved designing all of the colourful Easter eggs, and had a great time during the Easter egg hunt with family and friends. It’s really been an eggs-cellent few days!”

Marion, resident at Strachan House said: “It has been so lovely to spend time with our families this Easter, though like every Easter, I think I’ve eaten too much chocolate! It was so wonderful to see everyone go to so much effort.

“I really enjoyed the whole day; the bonnet competition was hilarious!”

Strachan House Care Home’s varied life enrichment programme keeps residents active, and provides a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities.

Strachan House Care Home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering high-quality care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides Residential, Nursing, Dementia, and Respite care for short and long-term stays.

Edinburgh opticians invest £30,000 in Craigleith Retail Park store refit

THE partners at Specsavers opticians and audiologists within Blackhall Sainsbury’s have made a five-figure cash commitment to the local area as they continue to invest in the store and colleagues.

Led by directors Stuart Miller and Adam Gordon, the store has recently undergone a £30,000 refit, which included the shop floor and consulting rooms being freshly painted and installing a variety of new lit frame displays for children’s glasses, sunglasses, and designer brands such as Vivienne Westwood and Hugo Boss.

Located within Craigleith Retail Park, Specsavers is the only dedicated opticians in the park, with the store currently having two optometrists qualified as independent prescribers with an additional two optometrists currently training to achieve this level of qualification, with an aim of easing pressure on the NHS.

Specsavers Blackhall’s recent overhaul is another positive piece of news for the retail park, which has already seen an exciting start to 2025, with the addition of beloved retail giant ‘The Range’ joining the lineup of businesses.

Stuart, retail director at Specsavers Blackhall, said: ‘Our store refit has been warmly welcomed, not only by our customers, but also the team as its equally important that they have a nice environment to work in – they were thrilled when they saw the design plans.

‘As a team, we aim to offer the best possible customer experience to all who visit the store, however, as directors, Adam and I are also committed to helping our staff members progress in their careers. So, we are delighted that we not only have two members of the team on their way to becoming independent prescribing optometrists, but we will also have a fully qualified dispensing optician by the summer.

‘We’re looking forward to customers, current and new coming to visit the store and seeing what’s new.’

Craigleith has a vast array of businesses that call it home, including Lidl, Starbucks, Superdrug, and PureGym. It’s the closest retail park to the city centre and is easily accessible by bus as well as having plenty of parking available.

To book an appointment or speak to a member of the team at the Specsavers Blackhall store within Sainsbury’s, visit:

 https://www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/blackhallsainsburys

or call 0131 334 8241 to speak to a member of the team.

Wild Encounters!

RESIDENTS FROM LOCAL CARE HOME RECEIVE A VISIT FROM ZOO-LAB

Residents from Strachan House care home in Edinburgh were filled with joy as they received a surprise visit from Zoo-Lab. Residents were able to see animals from all around the world in person, and had a chance to enjoy holding giant African snails, snakes and all manor of creepy crawlies.  

Residents were able to spend time getting to ask questions at an informative session led by an enthusiastic and encouraging Zoo-lab Ranger, and learnt interesting facts such as ‘cockroaches are potentially more than 280 million years old!’

Fran Fisher General Manager of Strachan House said: “Our residents have really enjoyed their day meeting different creatures and learning all about them. We had a lot of fun, residents were able to pet certain animals on the day which was quite therapeutic!”

Strachan House Care Home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides Nursing, Residential, Dementia and Respite care for short and long-term stays.

Local Care Home to host free Fall Prevention Talk

STRACHAN HOUSE CARE HOME – SATURDAY 26 APRIL 11am

Barchester’s Strachan House Care Home in Blackhall is hosting a free Falls Prevention Talk on Saturday 26th April from 11.00 am and is inviting members of the community to attend.  

Staff and physiotherapist, Kirsten Macleod BSc Hons who are specially trained in Falls Prevention from Strachan House will deliver the talk which will cover topics such as learning valuable tips and techniques to reduce the risk of falls and promote safety for yourself and your loved ones at home.

Our expert team will guide you through practical exercises and offer advice. There will be plenty of time for Q&A during and at the end of the session.  Please come along to Strachan House, 93 Craigcrook Rd, Edinburgh EH4 3PE on Saturday 26th April, if you would like to attend.

General Manager, Fran Fisher says: “We want to help and support relatives, friends and members of our local community to better understand fall prevention.

“We are inviting everyone to come along and listen to our talk to raise awareness and to help give people some information and coping strategies.  Please RSVP to StrachanHouse@Barchester.com if you would like to attend.”

Strachan House is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering high-quality care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides dementia care, nursing care and respite care. 

For more information, please contact StrachanHouse@Barchester.com