Mummy Diaries | Have a Grow Day at Thrift Farm

We absolutely love Thrift Farm, and it’s featured on my blog a number of times now – I’ll link some posts further down. I had a free weekend and was feeling spontaneous, so booked a visit for myself and Alfie. It was the first time we had visited since Christmas and I was gutted to have missed lambing season again this year. But the weather was gorgeous, and so there was nowhere better to spend the afternoon.

As I mentioned in a previous post, there is so much to do and see. Not only is there the animal barn and paddock, there’s a really cool outdoor play area, with sandpit and real-life tractor; the petting zone; the pedal tractors and crazy coupes – and so much more! The admission fee isn’t extortionate, and you’re guaranteed hours of fun!

Have a Grow Day

Earlier this month, Saturday 5^th June – the day of our visit – was ‘Have a Grow Day’. The kids were invited to plant a sunflower, completely free of charge, which they could then take home or leave at the farm to grow.

It was our first pitstop, and actually Alfie was more interested in it than I originally thought. Thankfully, the lady running the activity was also on hand to help – she told Alfie what to do, and he did most of it independently.

First, he chose a pot – a massive one – and filled it with soil with a mini trowel. Next, he got to choose his sunflower seeds and push them in the soil. He didn’t want to do this because it was muddy, so the lady did it for us. Then he watered it – again with help, as the watering can was an adult-sized one and was rather heavy. But he did tell the lady his name and spelt it out, so that his pot could be labelled ready to collect on our way home.

There are often events and other fun things going on, so it’s worth checking out the website to see the schedule/calendar.

Read more: Pumpkin Hocus Pocus at Thrift Farm

Feeding the animals fun

It’s pre-booked tickets only at the moment and within your booking, you can pre-order the animal feed at £1 a bag. I always buy one lot, but last time, it went within about 5 minutes, so this time, I ordered two. Again, we fed the goats in the barn, which is our favourite thing to do. But we also fed the sheep and pigs. We then walked around the paddock to see which animals were out – and also tried to get some shade as it was so hot.

Read more: Christmas at Thrift Farm

On our last visit, Alfie wasn’t that interested in petting the animals, but this time, he loved it. It’s run in hourly slots and there’s a socially distant queue, so that there aren’t too many people or mixed households in at once. You get a few minutes on one table, before swapping and then exiting to let the next groups in.

We petted a rabbit called Willow and a couple of super-cute, furry guinea pigs. Alfie enjoyed stroking the animals and feeding them – dandelions and what looked like fresh herbs. He even talked to the rabbit.

Playtime pitstop and ice cream

Of course, his favourite thing was the outside play area, and I genuinely wouldn’t begrudge paying the admission just to spend the whole time there. There’s always a queue for the tractor and a lot of the time, children aren’t supervised, and it becomes a free-for-all. The sandpit is loads of fun – and there are plenty of tools for all to enjoy. I helped Alfie build sandcastles, using a mould that resembled a palace of some kind. I was able to keep my eye on him, sat on the grass verge in the sun – and occasionally, he would run back and ask me to play in the sand some more. I couldn’t get him away from the play area to do anything else – except go and get an ice lolly!

We sat outside the café, close by to the field of sheep. We received wristbands at the entrance so we could get back in again – just enough time for another play, to see the Shetland ponies and grab our sunflower before leaving.

Another lovely afternoon, and we are so lucky we have somewhere so good, so local. Child admission is £6.95, and adult (16+) admission is £7.95 – under 18 months are free. As mentioned, it’s pre-booked tickets only at the moment.

Love, Lucy xx