'Wonderful' summer fete with Downton Abbey actor raises funds for Aylesbury care home

A Downton Abbey actor opened a fete raising funds for a care home in Aylesbury.

An event held at the Chestnuts in Aylesbury raised over £300 for the home in Bucks.

Officially opening the fete was actor Peter Egan, who is best known for his time on the beloved ITV series Downton Abbey.

The Chestnuts celebrated the return of its annual fete last Wednesday (23 August). Ambient Support, a national charity which runs the Aylesbury site, organised the event.

Among the activities that guests and residents could enjoy were hook-a-duck, lucky dip, a tombola, a hot dog stand, an ice-cream van, cake and a Pimm’s stalls. The Bucks Goat Centre, brought goats and ferrets for people to pet and hold.

Residents of the care home as well as their friends and family attended, plus members of the public who live nearby.

Peter said: “It’s wonderful to be here today. My brother is here, he’s a resident at this wonderful care home, the Chestnuts, and they look after all of their guests here really beautifully. I’m very, very happy and feel very lucky that he is here. Big round of applause for everyone here today, have a great day.”

The Chestnuts has the capacity to home 64 people and can care for 48 residents with specific dementia care needs. More details of its services can be found online.

Manager Simone Cotter added: “It was a joyful celebration, and we are incredibly thankful to the families and staff who donated gifts, baked cakes, and gave up their time to create such a fantastic event. We work extremely hard to provide a friendly, supportive, and welcoming home from home environment at the Chestnuts and believe that everyone deserves to live a meaningful and full life regardless of age and through this event we’ve not only raised money for the people we support but given them and their families memories to cherish.

“It was wonderful to see different family members mingle together and talk about their experiences of the care home, we received some really good feedback about how lovely the Chestnuts is which is always good to hear, especially as the staff teams go above and beyond on a daily basis.”