We have been following BBC Radio Scotland’s week of conversations around ‘Isolation and Loneliness’. We have been having a lot of our own conversations around these topics and a recurring theme that often crops up is about community and ‘where you stay’.

Isolation and loneliness can affect us all, and we can all experience it in different ways. We have been talking about this with people who live in rural areas as part of our ‘Rural Wisdom: Older People Shaping Rural Communities’ project. One common issue discussed is a lack of suitable transport. This can often make it difficult to get out and about in rural areas making it much harder to regularly see others and stay connected.

We are hearing that a small change can make big difference to the lives of people in rural communities. What works for some, might not work for others so it’s important to have a range of ways to stay connected to people and places.

We heard about some great community activity that’s supporting people to stay connected, healthy and happy at the Rural Wisdom Get-Together we held in Perth. Here are the notes from our last Rural Wisdom Get-Together.