On our journey to the Lake District, we spotted Greenlands Farm Village about 5 minutes away from our cottage. The words “open farm” and “indoor soft play” immediately caught out attention, so on Day 3 of our holiday we decided to drive down the road and see what was on offer.
After a very quick explore of the shops (the girls can never take too much window-shopping) we paid our entry fee (£18 for a family of 4)and went into the Open Farm. They really weren’t kidding when they called it “Open”. There were literally animals roaming wild around the farmyard. There were a couple of goats, a turkey ( that Mini Mess DID NOT like), there was even a random owl chilling in the greenery.
There were even more animals in the reptile house (which there was no way I was going in) and the barns, which had lots and lots of baby piggies! They were all so unbearably cute – look at the chunchy little back legs on this one lying down having his lunch!
There was also a small animal handling area, where the kids could hold and stroke various fluffy friends. If I’m being honest the set-up made me feel quite uncomfortable. For long periods of time there was no handler in sight and rabbits and guniea pigs were just running around the barn unsupervised. Some of children were chasing the small animals and screeching and their parents didn’t seem inclined to intervene. In the end, I said we had to leave as I couldn’t bear the thought that one of the animals was going to get trodden on.
After a good look around the farm, we decided to check out the indoor play barn. As we’d been in the famr we got discounted rates to enter the play area – I think it was £2.50 per child instead of £5. Miss Mess in particular is a huge fan of soft play and once she was in, we basically didn’t see her for a couple of hours.
I settled down with a latte and Blogosphere magazine and had some chilled time while the girls burnt off some steam. The soft play was brilliant, one of those that has lots of exciting areas for the kids to explore, but still big enough for the grown-ups to move around comfortably if a child needs assistance.
Mini Mess took a little bit of encouragement to go into the main area, but eventually discovered the slide and was very happy. Miss Mess, on the other hand, disappeared for the full 90 minutes, although I would occasionally hear her shouting orders and commands at the other children – she can be something of a dictator. She finally re-emerged 90 minutes later, bright red in the face and desperate for a drink. I’m taking that as a sign she had a good time.
Once our time in the play area was up, Mini Mess insisted we pop back into the farm to say goodbye to the animals. Luckily our wristbands meant we could come and go as we pleased, so we didn’t have to pay to get back in.
Then it was time to hop back in the car and head home, not that we had far to travel (5 minutes away, remember?). We very cheekily conspired to put the kids to bed super early so that we could watch Game of Thrones on catch-up. Well, they’d had their fun all day – now it was my turn!
And now, the moment you’ve no doubt all been waiting for: Holiday Vlog Part 2!!!
Thanks for watching and I hope you’ll join me again in a few days time for Part 3 of our holiday diary. We’re off to The World of Beatrix Potter. See you soon!
