Events & Entertainment | Posted on March 11th, 2026 | return to news

Care home residents set to Race Across Dorset

Residents from Heathland House in Ferndown are preparing to take on Race Across Dorset 2026.

On 18 March, four teams of residents from the Cinnamon Luxury Care Home will compete to reach a series of Dorset landmarks, including Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes Museum and the Tank Museum at Bovington, within a set time and budget.

The Race Across Dorset challenge is a twist on the BBC series ‘Race Across the World’ but with wheelchairs, walking sticks and lots of determination.

Deborah Holmes from Heathland House came up with the idea. She said: “Our Race Across Dorset is all about creating a fast-paced, laughter-filled, memory-making adventure.”

Competitiors will need to collect video and photographic evidence at each stop in their race against the clock. The combined ages of the residents taking part is 249 years; Leonard Symonds, aged 88, is the oldest competitor. He said: “I never thought I’d be doing anything like this at my age. It’s exciting, a bit mad and brilliant!”

The winner of Race Across Dorset will be awarded a ‘special prize’ from world-record-breaking endurance adventurer Louis Alexander. Louis is also an ambassador for the Cinnamon Care Collection. He said: “Race Across Dorset is such a great way for the care home residents to have an adventure. Just because you’re old in years, you can still be adventurous in spirit.”

Members of the public are invited to ‘An Audience with Louis Alexander’ after the competition at 5pm at Heathland House. Here, he will share the physical and mental challenges behind his achievements, such as being the first and only person to complete seven marathons across all seven continents and swim a marathon distance in all seven seas.

Booking for ‘An Audience with Louis Alexander’ is essential. To reserve a free place, call 01202 078127 or email heathland.enquiries@cinnamoncc.com.