Farmer Palmer's Farm Park Reopens! Summer 2020

Last month saw the reopening of one of the most popular attractions in Dorset, Farmer Palmer's Farm Park. We have been going there since Elliot was a baby and it's a brilliant day out.

They closed their doors back in March due to Covid 19 but have been keeping their visitors up to date with regular emails and social media posts, going into lots of detail about what's going on behind the scenes and the new changes that will be implemented on opening. We were really missing our visits so it was brilliant for them to keep in touch like that and I'm sure a lot of people appreciated still being able to visit virtually!

One of the most important changes to happen has been the booking system - currently visitors are unable to just turn up, they must pre-book tickets online.There are two slots - morning 9am -1pm and afternoon 2pm-530pm.

The booking system is really straightforward - we have annual passes so I just logged into my dashboard on the website and then picked a date and time slot.

On the day of our visit the kids were so excited to return! We arrived at our allotted time and check in was quick. It looks a little different as the front desks have plastic screens up and there weren't any timetable leaflets. However there was a large poster with all the information you'd need including what was open and what time we could see the animals, I just snapped a photo on my phone for convenience. 

Although the indoor play areas (soft play and the play barn) aren't open, there is still lots to do at Farmer Palmers and the kids couldn't wait to explore. They spent ages in Straw Mountain, they like to pile the straw onto the bottom of the slides and slide into it and we always end up covered in straw! We noticed that Erin's actually grown since our last visit and she was able to clamber up to the higher slides with a bit of help from Elliot. 

The tractors are still very popular and this area looks a little different. The bouncy castle has been removed and instead, the tractor area has been expanded with a one way system in place. Most kids seemed to be sticking to this! 

Some of the animal encounters have stopped due to Covid but we were still able to see lots of animals on our walk around the pens. We spotted a Goat Talk on the timetable and this was held in the big animal barn which we've not been in before. The worked out really well because there was lots of space for social distancing and all families had their own little section to stay in. We were also allowed to hand feed the goats which was fun! 

The go-karts are still open and there is a member of staff on hand to sanitise after every go. Speaking of sanitising, there are hand gels available all around the park which is great to see. 

The sand & splash zone and outside play area are both open and we spent lots of time in these. We followed the Trim Trail down to the Maize Maze and we ventured in, hoping not to get lost. (luckily there's no chance of that at the moment as the maze is on a one way system to follow social distancing regulations!)

The Hen House is now take-away only, but there is lots of extra seating around in the park, including the old animal barn which has been repurposed and is now the "Grazing Barn". The menu looks to be sightly smaller than before but don't panic, you can still get those yummy chips! We didn't get a meal but we did get drinks and a huge slab of the famous chocolate cake. (It's worth noting that FP's are taking part in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme so you can get half price food on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout August)

Overall, we had a fab visit and I was really impressed with all the extra measures in place. Visitor numbers are limited and this worked in our favour because it felt lovely and quiet, even in the popular sections like the tractors and playground. The staff are so friendly in the park and they really made sure all visitors were enjoying themselves. It's great that families can have a little slice of normality in this strange time! 

For more information and to book tickets, visit the Farmer Palmer's website

Schleich Farm World Starter Set - Review

One of my favourite brand of toys for Elliot is Schleich and we have actually reviewed some of their figures on the blog last Summer. Schleich believe in educational play and I covered this in detail in my last review which can be found here.

Since our last review we have been adding to our Schleich collection, Elliot's most recent purchase being a dragon! However when we were offered some new farm animals to review, we didn't need asking twice and Elliot asked everyday when they would arrive :)

We were sent the Farm World Starter Set and included in this were a cow, lamb, rooster and donkey. Elliot was over the moon with this selection, he has alot of animal figures already but no roosters so this was a big plus point for him!

As with all Schleich figures, the quality is outstanding. The figures are handpainted and the attention to detail is second to none. I would say that the Schleich brand is easily recognisable with the weight and the feel of the figures.

Elliot adores playing with animal figures and he couldn't wait to take these new ones down to his Grandparent's house where they have a whole host of animal figures and farms. As you can see from the photos below, it didn't take the animals long to settle in!

Playing with toys such as these ones really fires up Elliot's imagination and he spends ages acting out life on the farm, complete with voices! The animals are easily recognisable for children of a pre-school age and it's a great introduction to Farm Life.

The Schleich figures are suitable for children aged 3-6 but I would say both younger and older children would enjoy playing with them too. The toys are very well made and sturdy and will last and last so I'm sure when baby Erin is 3/4 years old, Elliot will enjoy playing with them again!

The full collection can be found at www.schleich-s.co.uk and the price for the Farm World Starter Kit is £14.99.

*Disclosure - We were sent a selection of schleich figures for writing this honest review - as always, all thoughts are my own. And we genuinely love Schleich toys! 

A SUNNY MORNING AT ABBOTSBURY CHILDREN'S FARM, DORSET

Despite living in Dorset my whole life, I've never visited Abbotsbury! Most people have heard of the Swannery but Abbotsbury has so much more to offer. 

The three main tourist attractions are the Children's Farm, the Swannery and the Subtropical Gardens. You can buy separate tickets for these attractions but you can get a passport ticket which covers all three and saves you lots of £££ (I'll go over prices at the end of the review). I've decided to do separate blog posts for each, our first visit was the Children's Farm. 

The Children's Farm

The children's farm is located in Abbotsbury village and is well signposted. Parking can be a little confusing as there is no parking at the farm however there is a large free carpark at the swannery which is just over half a mile away or there is a carpark in the village which is £3.50 for all day parking. We parked in the village carpark and it was a 2 minute walk down a big steep hill to get to the farm - the views are beautiful as you walk down! Watch the kids though, Elliot started running and almost couldn't stop...had visions of him ending up in the pond! ;)

Entrance is via the gift shop and we were given a leaflet of activities for the day. Elliot was itching to explore and he dragged me straight to the barn. The Ancient Tithe Barn is a kids paradise and full of activities to keep them occupied. There's a large soft play area, under 5's soft play, a big bouncy castle/slide, giant foam building bricks and even table football and table tennis. 

It was really quiet when we visited so we had the barn to ourselves and Elliot just couldn't decide what he wanted to play on - he was running from the soft play to the bouncy castle and back to the soft play! We even had a go at the table tennis but that was a bit of a challenge ;) 

Once I'd managed to drag Elliot away from the barn we decided to explore and see what animals we could find. Mr Impatient was on a mission, he'd look at the animal and say "Come onnnnn Mummy!" - so we whizzed round and then went round a second time, actually taking a bit more time to look!

There were lots of animals to see and we were able to get up close to them all. We loved the baby lambs and Elliot was able to help with the bottle feeding....those lambs were hungry!!

Another favourite were the guinea pigs, there were so many of them! We went into their enclosure and there were around 50 guinea pigs running around, Elliot was able to hold one of them and feed him some carrot - he loved that!

Other animals we saw included piglets, rabbits, birds, ponies, kune kune pigs, donkeys, pygmy goats and some very inquisitive alpacas!

The farm has it's own cafe serving hot and cold food but we had a packed lunch - it was actually really warm so we sat outside to eat it, felt like Summer! There are plenty of picnic benches scattered around plus lots of seating in the playbarn which would be useful on a cold/wet day.

After lunch Elliot had a play on the pedal tractors and outside play area and we noticed they were doing pony rides so he had to have a go! It was £2.50 a go (I think...it might have been £3.50, can't quite remember!) and Elliot was so excited to choose himself a hat and meet the pony. One thing I noticed about the farm is that the staff were so friendly and helpful - the man who took Elliot on his pony ride was very chatty and I could see him and Elliot chatting the whole way round the field!

When we first arrived at the farm I wondered whether there would be enough to keep us busy but there is lots of do here aside from the animals and soft play. There is a waterplay zone, radio controlled pirate boats, bouncy cows, walk in aviary, swing seats, a cow to practice milking on (don't worry..it's not real!), sandplay, outside play barn, giant quoits and even a hay bale mountain and slide which is open from May onwards.

Before we left, Elliot had to have one last go in the soft play and the only way I could lure him out was the promise of a look in the gift shop! One packet of tractors later and we were on our way. 

We had a lovely morning exploring the farm in the sunshine and it was an unexpected surprise finding all the play equipment in the barn. Elliot really enjoyed meeting all the animals and he says he wants to go back so he can play in the soft play again! 

Prices

• Adult: £10.50
• Child (5-15 years): £9.00
• Super Saver Family Ticket (2 adults and up to 3 children) £43 – Includes entry to the Swannery, Children’s Farm and Subtropical Gardens
• Passport Tickets (one visit to each of the three attractions – a real holiday treat!)
• Adult –  £17
• Child (5-15 years) – £14
• Family (group up to 5 with a maximum of 2 adults) – £43

We went on to visit the Swannery so look out for that write up coming very soon :) 

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Open Farm Day - Dorset

Sunday 7th June 2015 saw hundreds of farms across the UK opening their doors to the public, giving us a chance to meet the farmers and see what goes on at our local farms . Although Open Farm Sunday has only been going since 2006, I remember going to similar days out when I was a child and have fond memories of fresh milkshakes and tractor trailer rides!

There were several options for us in Dorset but we decided to visit Middlebere and Hartlands Farm which is located in the Purbecks, not far from Corfe Castle. Entry is free so it's a cheap day out!

When we arrived we were a bit miffed to see that it wasn't actually a traditional farm as such, but one that sits within a nature reserve. It did state this on the website but we didn't actually read that bit, oops!

The first thing we spotted were some woolly pigs but they were situated next to the amazing smelling bbq which we thought was a little unfair ;) Resisting the food (it took will power of steel to resist!) we made our way over to the tractors where Elliot had lots of fun clambering on and pretending to drive. We soon saw that there were lots of little stalls offering environmental fun and info, and also some Dorset produce for sale.

There were lots of activities for Elliot to get involved in and he planted a seed, coloured in a butterfly, took part in a wildlife quiz, made a badge, pinned the tail on the cow and made a bumblebee!

Guided walks around the farm were available but we decided to go on a tractor trailer ride. These were around 20 minutes long and totally free and looked to be very popular with every ride full up. There were longer tractor rides available but these were £1pp and had to be pre-booked. The ride took us round the pretty farmland and it was interesting to hear the farmer talking about the land and the cattle that were grazing in the field.

Our last activity for the day was a spot of welly wanging! Harder than it sounds and Elliot definitely need a bit of help throwing the wellies!

Whilst it wasn't quite what we were expecting, we had a lovely (and free!) afternoon at Open Farm Sunday and we will definitely return again next year.


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A Day Out in Portland, Dorset

Sundays for us generally mean doing something together as a family. My husband works long hours in the week and Saturdays are normally football orientated so when Sunday rolls around we always like to have a nice day out. And especially as the weather has been amazing!

Last weekend we decided to visit Portland which is the southernmost point in Dorset. And if you're looking at a map of the UK, its the bit that sticks out like a little foot!

As you've probably guess from my previous posts, Elliot is a big fan of anything animal related and most of our days out centre around something animal-y! This time we decided to visit a place called Fancy's Farm which is a community farm and free to get in (they rely heavily on donations). We weren't really expecting too much from a free entry location but actually, we were pleasantly surprised!

The first animals we spotted were some horses, including a friendly shire horse who was being fed grass through the fence by some passersby. We grabbed some handfuls of grass and let him take it from us and he was so cute, he'd eat the long grass and then stamp his foot as if to say "more please!". I'm not usually a fan of horses (they scare me a bit!) but this one was very friendly.

The farm had lots of animals for us to see and they actually sell food for a £1 so we could feed most of them. The goats were funny - they came running over as soon as they spotted a cup of food!! Elliot was a bit unsure at first and most of his food ended up on the floor but he soon got the hang of it and found it hilarious when the goats tickled his fingers whilst nibbling the food!

Whilst looking at the baby goats inside the barn there was a bit of a commotion as a sheep was herded in, followed by one of the farm workers holding a lamb that had just been born!! We've never seen a lamb that new so that was definitely an experience..although Elliot seemed more interested in the chicks. (The feathered variety!)

There were lots of sheep to feed plus chickens, peacocks, wallabies, donkey, rabbits, pigs, ducks, geese...plus a friendly farm cat which Elliot took a shine to!

We spent a good hour and a half wandering around looking at the animals and the views are amazing being that it's the highest point on Portland.

After resisting the temptation to buy a bacon roll (pigs reared onsite!)  we drove a few minutes down the road to Portland Bill, one of three lighthouses on the island. We had a picnic and had a nice little walk around the lighthouse. We would have liked to have gone up it but it cost £7 per adult which was a bit pricy so we admired it from the bottom!

We couldn't go home without having an ice cream so Elliot decided on a mini milk..but after scoffing that he made a start on my Mr Whippy!

It was a lovely day out and Elliot slept like a log that night after all that fresh air :)

 

Farmer Palmers Farmyard Fun

Today promised to be a gorgeous sunny day so we spontaneously decided to visit our local farm, Farmer Palmers here in Dorset. I have blogged about it before (see here), but it's such a great place - we have annual passes and not a week goes by when we don't pop in!

My husband decided to come along today so this was a real treat for Elliot - he couldn't wait to show his Daddy all his favourite animals. We had a quick picnic first and then decided to go on the deer safari. This costs £2 per person (under 3s free) and takes you on a tractor trailer ride past all the outside animals and into a field of red deer. You're then allowed to get off the trailer and hand feed the deer! It's a brilliant experience and the deer are so tame....and so hungry!! We also got to see one of Elliot's favourites - Dave the stag! Dave shed his antlers this week so we didn't spot him at first but there was no mistaking his alpha-male stance amongst his female companions. Elliot was a bit wary of feeding the deer at first - he was reluctant to hold any food in his hand and was just launching a handful onto the ground!

After the deer safari had finished we made our way over to the Animal Barn where it was Trotter Time and we got to meet Peppa, a very friendly Kune Kune pig and her 9 piglets. The piglets were born in february and are very cute! Elliot couldn't wait to have a stroke and he even said "I want a pig!"

We decided then to go on the Woodland Walk - I've been to Farmer Palmer's a million times (probably!) and we've never found the time to do this so it was nice to be able to finally tick this one off. There were a few other families walking around but it was lovely and peaceful with the stream trickling on past. There were things to climb on scattered round the walk and Elliot loved climbing up into the shoe and whizzing down the slide!

Elliot was beginning to flag at this point because he'd not had his afternoon nap so we took a slow walk up to the outside animal enclosures where we saw goats, alpacas, chickens (lots of varieties!), piggies, sheep and Alan the Barn Owl. I'd thought the other piglets from earlier were cute but we found another litter of baby pigs that took cute to a whole new level!!! These little fellas were born at the beginning of April and the poor mum has 13 of them to look after! (I can't imagine having 13 Elliots!!) . Elliot was fascinated and kept asking if he could have one....maybe if they stayed that size but the mummy pig was rather large, can you imagine having that in your back garden?!

After a quick play in the playground and an ice-lolly stop we decided to call it a day, Elliot was almost asleep on his feet!

It was another lovely day at our favourite local attraction and I'm sure we will back soon!