Wednesday June 11th 2025
Grassy Riggs, Woodburn Community Hub
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Grassy Riggs, located in Dalkeith’s Woodburn Community Hub, is an over 65 drop in service supported by Midlothian Community Action who provide a welcoming environment, activities and a friendly place to chat every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Open from 10:30am to 2pm, Grassy Riggs is welcoming to anyone over 65, offering a community hub to socialise and take part in activities, alongside providing meals and hot drinks at a small fee. With no set activities, the drop in centre is a comfortable place for older people to make new friends and socialise with people of similar age.
Creating a small community, Grassy Riggs staff also offer outreach work, helping members with issues in day to day life outside of the community hub. With a varied turn out, staff make an effort to reach out to anyone who hasn’t turned up, creating a sense of care for the community they’ve built.
Yvonne Hutchison, Grassy Riggs manager, explained, “People can be ill or sleep in but they always phone us. But if they don’t phone us, we’d phone them. We have a good relationship with everybody here and that’s built up over time. If anybody needs help with anything, we will do our best to help them”.
Making their own way there independently, Grassy Riggs isn’t a care facility but a community group for older people. Offering activities such as, quiz’s, knitting classes, walking groups and more, they provide an entertaining environment for their members.
Yvonne said, “We do various things, nothing set in stone. We could say ‘today we are doing this’, and they will come in and say they can’t be bothered and we will do something else”.
“They love quizzes on a Tuesday and every second Tuesday we will have one of our members, Marie Allen, who does Braw Blether. What she does is take a trip down memory lane with old stories, old songs, and reminises. So, about 8 of them go into the back room and do some reminiscing”.
Through their knitting activity every Wednesday, they have donated various things over the years, such as knitted bags for hospitals, clothing for people in Ukraine and recently, mittens and toys for local children.
On days full of activities, they still offer drop in’s for anyone just looking to socialise, allowing people to socialise without taking part, such as staying behind at the centre when the walking group leaves. Friendships have been made between the members, meeting on days when Grassy Riggs isn’t on and going on holiday trips together.
Grassy Riggs offer a well-needed space for over 65’s to socialise, providing an essential service that targets elderly loneliness.
“We have created really good friendships and a community”, Yvonne explained, “People are living longer now. 65, 10 years ago, may have been seen as being old. Now someone at 65 needs somewhere to come and socialise.”
“We are different from a daycare and they provide a great service but for the more needy. We provide life for the more mobile who aren’t quite ready for daycare. We are in the middle. I believe the type of service that we provide should be everywhere because 65 isn’t old now and people are living longer.”
Supported by Midlothian Community Action, Grassy Riggs takes place within Woodburn Community Hub, allowing the drop in centre to use the community hub’s renovated facilities, such as disabled toilets and a modern kitchen. The food they offer is not free but is offered at a supplemented discounted price, offering a varied menu alongside tea and coffee.
Speaking to members of Grassy Riggs, the appreciation for the social space was clear, with almost everyone saying they would be lost without the service. With the newest member attending for over a year, the people at Grassy Riggs have created a small community that brings more entertainment and friendship to their lives but also gives back to the community through their activities.
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