Woodside Animal Farm is just off of the A5 near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, and is well signed from both Dunstable and Luton. It has lots of free on site parking.
Woodside is a fairly small site but it has some really good opportunities for getting close to a range of different animals and the staff are all incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. You enter via the shop which sells farm animal related toys and also pet supplies and fresh eggs from the farms chickens, geese and quails. At the rear of the shop is an area where there is poultry for sale and there are always some chicks and ducklings on view here. As you head into the main park there are several different areas to visit. Just in this area alone there are chickens, llamas, a european eagle owl, A tortoise, goats and sheep. There is a free tractor ride that takes place at various times during the day which is really good for getting your bearings of the site. Near here is an indoor soft play barn which is suitable for children aged up to 11 with a separate upstairs area for children under 3. On the ground floor there is a cafe selling snacks, meals, drinks and ice creams. Next to the play barn is the animal handling barn. They have various animals in here including rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, corn snakes and a boa constrictor. All the animals have information signs about them giving lots of useful facts. t certain times during the day they do a hands on session which I'd highly recommend as the staff are brilliantly knowledgeable and respond really well to the boys questions. They have held bearded dragons, chicks, rabbits and cornsnakes and got to stroke owls and chinchillas too. It is worth seeing every area of the park, as there is a really good range of animals to see such as, geese, turkeys, donkeys, shetland ponies, alpacas, flamingos, ibises, peacocks, pigs, and even lemurs. Most of these animals you can feed and the food is available from the shop when you enter. The birds are in a separate walk through area. In addition to all of the animals there are little play areas dotted around the park including swings, playhouses for toddlers, a sandpit, an obstacle type play area, bike and scooter area, crazy golf and trampolines. There are also two funfair type rides, a carousel and teacups. You can go on these as many times as you like and its all included in your entrance. Woodside would take approximatley 2 hours to see everything it has to offer. I would recommend it for younger children as the play areas are more suitable for them as our boys now aged 9 and 6 are starting to find them a bit young now compared to other local farms. |
About Me.I'm Ruth. A mum to two boys and a believer of learning through experiencing. Archives
October 2016
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