Mummy Diaries | Fun at Thrift Farm

Sunday 26 November 2017

Growing up, I loved going to the farm – I even had my 5^th birthday party at Old MacDonald’s Farm in Brentwood. As soon as I knew there were a couple of open farms nearby to our new house, I knew I’d be visiting them as soon as possible – and most likely, regularly. The closest is Thrift Farm, so the three of us (it was a Sunday!) went for a super cute family outing!

First things first, we have loyalty cards! Admission is £5 for adults (£4 when it’s off-peak) and Alfie gets in for free (I think you don’t pay anything until two years old), so very reasonable, I think. We said we’d never visited before and after a quick safety briefing and a handful of leaflets, received our loyalty cards, with stamp number one. On visit six, we will receive a free meal in the Food4Thought cafe – so well worth it! I would also like to mention that Thrift Farm are all for helping the community and equal opportunities, so offer work-based support to those with learning disabilities and mental health issues. Whether they’re working in the cafe, in the gift shop, or out on the farm, it’s a fantastic opportunity and something equally rewarding for employee and employer!

Anyway, let’s talk animals! While Alfie slept in the car driving there and continued to doze in his buggy, I was SO excited! Like I said, I love farms and farm animals... not as much as the zoo, mind, but I’ll be taking him there in the summer! As we went from the car park to the gift shop/entrance, we saw pigs: very muddy pigs that were enjoying wallowing in the dirt and grunted with glee. There were also donkeys (Alfie wasn’t interested in those), the cutest Shetland ponies and a couple of sheep. He woke up for the geese – and there were plenty of them – along with chickens, swans, ducks and other fowl. The ones with the ‘cool haircuts’ were my favourites. See what I mean?

We weren’t able to walk everywhere, as some of the tracks were quite narrow and others, boggy – so not totally buggy-friendly. To be honest, I would be inclined to carry Alfie round next time, or we will have to get him some reins, once he starts walking! We did manage to see most of the animals – a reasonable feat considering the weather. He was obviously too little for the play area and I don’t think all the areas were open, either. Like I say, we’ll return.

We must have spent over an hour at the farm, as it was quite cold and luckily, as we were leaving, Alfie was getting hungry (often the way!). Thrift Farm is currently only open at weekends and this will continue until February 4^th. However, the cafe is still open during the week – I’m not sure if the hours are restricted, though. I won’t be going back until the New Year, but once it’s open again during the week, I will aim to visit at least once a month – it was a lovely little trip out.

Love, Lucy xx

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