Memory Activities for People with Dementia: Inspiration from Scotland’s Outdoor Dementia Centres

Memory Activities for People with Dementia: Inspiration from Scotland’s Outdoor Dementia Centres

At Grace Consulting, we know that caring for a loved one with dementia is both an act of love and, at times, a source of great challenge. Families often tell us they are searching for ways to create more joyful, meaningful moments together, moments that cut through the daily demands and remind them of the person they cherish. One way to do this is through memory activities for people with dementia: small, nurturing practices that spark recognition, connection, and comfort.

Recently, Scotland has given us a beautiful example of how memory rich environments can transform lives.

Scotland’s ‘memory gardens’

An increasing number of care homes supporting people with dementia are creating themed environments to help stimulate memories. In the Cairngorms – and Lauriston Castle in Edinburgh – new outdoor dementia resource centres are showing what can happen when care meets creativity and the outdoors.

Unlike residential settings, these centres are places where a family member or carer can bring someone living with dementia to spend time together. They are filled with nature, familiar landmarks, and gentle activities designed to awaken the senses.

A red phone box, an old-style bus stop, a summerhouse with wide glass windows – each detail is carefully chosen to feel both familiar and reassuring. The Cairngorms site, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, also offers crafts, trails, and cycling with all-ability bicycles.

Families who visit often describe both centres as magical: places where they can spend a morning or afternoon connecting with others who share similar experiences. They are spaces where conversation flows more easily, laughter rises naturally, and carers find a much-needed sense of ease.

Why familiar sights, sounds and scents can be beneficial

Dementia affects memory in complex ways, but emotional and sensory memories often remain strong. The smell of lavender, the sound of a favourite song or the feel of a well-worn photo album can unlock long buried memories and emotions. These triggers can bring comfort, even if only for a moment and help people living with dementia feel more grounded in themselves.

This is why outdoor dementia centres are such a good idea. But you don’t need access to one of these settings to introduce the same ideas into everyday life.

Ways to spark memories at home

• Daily rituals - Most of us follow a routine in the morning and a pot of tea at the same time each afternoon or listening to the radio after breakfast, for someone living with dementia create structure and feelings of security.
  

• Boxes of treasures - Now and again, fill a small box with postcards, costume jewellery, a cricket cap, old tickets or family photographs. Exploring it together can encourage conversation and smiles.
  

• Music from younger years - Create playlists from your loved one’s teens or twenties. Music often reaches parts of memory that words cannot and it can lift spirits in an instant.
  

• Familiar touches around the house - A framed bus timetable, an old telephone, or a favourite mug can and spark recognition.
  

• Crafts and creativity - Pressing flowers, making scones, painting stones or making collages with old magazines are simple ways to engage hands and minds together.
  

• Moments outdoors - Whether it’s sitting in the garden, feeding the birds or a taking a stroll in the park, being outside can soothe and restore. Putting a bird feeder on the window by a person’s chair can lift the person’s spirits with the anticipation of a bird’s arrival and then watching it carrying on it’s daily business.
  

• Herbs on the windowsill - Rosemary, mint and lavender are easy to grow and instantly recognisable by their scents. Brushing past them or making tea with them can be a small but powerful memory cue.

Remembering carers too

These activities are not just for the person living with dementia. They can also help carers, creating moments of connection that soften the harder days. Sharing a song, laughing at an old photograph or planting seeds together can remind carers that their role isn’t only about managing needs, but also about preserving bonds of love and joy.

How we help

Scotland’s outdoor dementia centres remind us of what’s possible when care environments are designed with memory and wellbeing in mind. But the real lesson is that comfort can be found in the ordinary details of daily life.

If you’d like to talk through ways of supporting a loved one with dementia - whether that’s introducing memory activities at home, exploring care options or understanding what funding might be available - our Grace Care Advisers are here to help. We offer a listening ear, clear advice and practical guidance so you can feel confident in the choices you make for your family.