Residents from two Auchinleck care homes enjoyed a day at New Cumnock Outdoor Swimming Pool.

The outing, part of a partnership between Glennie House and Nightingale House, is one of a series of trips to the outdoor facility. The visits started after one of the residents at Glennie, Eileen Kelso, said she wanted to swim again like she did in her youth.

This week’s visit to the pool saw 91-year-old Eileen and her fellow resident, 86-year-old Tom, brave the water, while the other residents watched.

Jenny Karimlar, deputy manager at Glennie House, told the Chronicle: “It came from Eileen saying that’s all she wanted to do again was to swim. She grew up swimming, her family all swam, and she wished she could do it again, but she’s not been able to.

“We’ve been to New Cumnock Pool a couple of times. She gets to go swimming again. Because the other residents have seen pictures of her in the pool, they’ve now been saying ‘I want to do that too’.

“That’s the first time Tom’s been. He’ll tell you he didn’t enjoy it but with a big smile on his face. He’s keen to go again. He said that in retrospect it could be a game that he would possibly enjoy.

“It’s nice and it’s good exercise for them. The staff are fantastic there with them. It’s not just going swimming; it’s being able to lie back and look at the clouds.

“It’s just nice. It’s quite exciting for us to take them and for the pool to accommodate us.”