{"id":177,"date":"2016-07-04T12:20:12","date_gmt":"2016-07-04T12:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/?p=177"},"modified":"2016-06-21T12:25:34","modified_gmt":"2016-06-21T12:25:34","slug":"take-the-kids-to-a-working-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/2016\/07\/take-the-kids-to-a-working-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"Take the kids to a working farm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you are from the town, city or a rural village, one of the most popular attractions to visit this year continues to be a working farm.\u00a0 The combination of cute animals, recognisable farm residents and play features means there is something for kids of all ages, even if the best part is the donkey ride!\u00a0 Here we look at some of the best around the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Noah\u2019s Ark Zoo Farm, Bristol<\/span><\/p>\n

Noah\u2019s Ark Zoo Farm is a great combination of farm animals and exotic zoo animals with the added benefit of play areas for the kids and even the chance of taking up the keeper experiences.\u00a0 It is notable for having the largest elephant habitat in the UK as well as primates, reptiles and birds.\u00a0 There are also plenty of familiar farmyard animals including cattle, donkeys, goats, sheep and horses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Folly Farm, Narbeth<\/span><\/p>\n

Folly Farm has been voted the best family attraction in Wales a number of times and is a good balance of farmyard animals, exotic animals, adventure playgrounds and even some exhilarating rides.\u00a0 It is found near Tenby in Pembrokeshire and has six different zones to explore.\u00a0 There is also the only giraffe in Wales to see as well as vintage fairground rides for the younger visitors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Warren Mill Farm, Cowbridge<\/span><\/p>\n

Just outside the village of Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan is Warren Mills Farm.\u00a0 The farm covers some 10 acres and is home to animals such as rare breed sheep, ponies, llamas and alpacas and even wallabies.\u00a0 Cute guinea pigs are available for a cuddle and even Red Squirrels can be seen.\u00a0 For those who like a spot of angling, there is also a fishery on the site.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cefn Mably Farm Park, Cardiff<\/span><\/p>\n

Cefn Mably Farm Park is just a 15-minute drive from the centre of Cardiff and is a great place to visit no matter what the weather.\u00a0 As well as the farm animals to see there is a touch and hold area and a conservation area with ponds.\u00a0 If the weather turns bad, there is 600 square feet of heated barn play area and another large undercover area as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vauxhall City Farm, London<\/span><\/p>\n

Finding a farm inside London is a little unusual but this is what is offered by the Vauxhall City Farm.\u00a0 The farm offers a range of animals from the tiny mice to rabbits and geese right up to sheep, cows and even three alpacas called Tom, Ben and Jerry.\u00a0 The farm is free to visit and works with local schools to help provide a glimpse of the countryside to city kids.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bocketts Farm, Leatherhead<\/span><\/p>\n

Bocketts Farm is near Leatherhead, Surrey and is a great combination of play areas and animals, both inside and outside to avoid weather problems.\u00a0 Kids can watch a pig race, ride a pony or take a trip on the tractor as well as feeding many of the animals and have a cuddle with one of the cute rabbits.\u00a0 The farm is a working farm so there are often baby animals to see as well while the play areas including two indoor play barns and a kids outdoor adventure<\/a> trail.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cotswold Farm Park, Cheltenham<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cotswold children’s Farm Park<\/a> is near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire and has over 50 breeds of animal living within its boundaries.\u00a0 These include cattle, goats, pigs, sheep and horses and also many rare breeds.\u00a0 It is run by Adam Henson, famous for his work on the BBC\u2019s Countryfile program.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wellsfield Farm Park, Stirling<\/span><\/p>\n

Just two miles from Stirling is Wellsfield Farm Park, offering animals and play area for kids<\/a> of all ages, as well as those with special needs.\u00a0 There are play areas for different ages and indoor ones as well as outdoors.\u00a0 Kids can enjoy pony rides as well as a bird hide, mini beast zone and even a nature trail to spot some of the local wildlife in their natural environment.\u00a0 After the animal spotting, there is also an assault course to use the last of their energy.<\/span><\/p>\n

East Links Farm, Dunbar<\/span><\/p>\n

East Links Farm is near Dunbar in East Lothian and allows kids to get up close with a number of different animals as well handling some in the small animal barn.\u00a0 The farm has various paddocks to explore as well as a four level Fortress play area, go-karts and a ball blast arena.\u00a0 Bigger kids can try the climbing wall while the little ones can make use of the soft play area and the pedal tractors.\u00a0 There is also a train safari to tour the site and animals to see including cattle, sheep, pigs, deer, rhea and even wallabies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Briarlands Farm, Stirling<\/span><\/p>\n

Briarlands Farm is near Blair Drummond, Stirling and is a great outdoor attraction to occupy the kids.\u00a0 There are plenty of chances to feed the animals that live on the farm as well as a toddler trike track and play frames as well as jumping pillows and even a tractor go kart area.\u00a0 Bigger kids can try the zip wire and the mazes while there is a craft area for when the weather turns nasty.<\/span><\/p>\n

Acorn Farm, Kirkby<\/span><\/p>\n

Acorn Farm is near Kirkby, Merseyside and offers a great selection to see and do.\u00a0 One of the most popular attractions is the small animal petting area, where kids can get close to a rabbit or guinea pig, hold a chick and even try milking one of the goats.\u00a0 There are also horse rides available and seasonal events meaning that it isn\u2019t just a summer visiting spot.<\/span><\/p>\n

Swithens Farm, Leeds<\/span><\/p>\n

Swithens Farm is near Leeds and combines a working farm and farm shops with a play barn.\u00a0 Depending on the time of year, animals to see include pigs and piglets, cows and calves, rabbits, ducks and even two micro-pigs.\u00a0 The play barn is great to run off energy and if the weather isn\u2019t so great.<\/span><\/p>\n

Church Farm, Stow Bardolph<\/span><\/p>\n

Church Farm is a rare breeds centre working on restoring rare breeds of farm animals such as the Swiss Valais Blacknose Sheep and the Suffolk Punch horse.\u00a0 There are also plenty of fun activities including pig racing and animal encounters such as feeding the young farm animals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sacrewell Farm, Peterborough<\/span><\/p>\n

Sacrewell Farm is near Peterborough and combines beautiful countryside, a range of animals and a new state of the art play barn.\u00a0 There are nature trails to follow where you may spot red kites and brown hares as well as famous Shire Horses that appeared in the film War Horse.\u00a0 The farm also works on rare breeds of pigs, sheep and goats.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether you are from the town, city or a rural village, one of the most popular attractions to visit this year continues to be a working farm.\u00a0 The combination of cute animals, recognisable farm residents and play features means there is something for kids of all ages, even if the best part is the donkey … Continue reading “Take the kids to a working farm”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,14,66,55,24],"tags":[54,71,87,64,98],"class_list":["post-177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activities","category-animals","category-fun","category-kids","category-outdoor-adventure","tag-activities","tag-children","tag-family","tag-ideas","tag-plan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177\/revisions\/178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}