Butser Ancient Farm Hampshire Review
Butser Ancient Farm
Hampshire
Reviewed by Angela Paull
We visited Butser Ancient Farm which is nestled in the foothills of the South Downs, near Clanfield, just off the A3. This makes it an easy place to access by car as it is less than 5 minutes from one of the major routes through Hampshire. It is well signposted and easy to find.
The farm is open from 10am to 5pm during the summer (closing an hour earlier during the winter months from October – March).
Our party consisted of 2 adults and 3 children (two aged 5 and one 4 year old). We parked in the venue car park and walked into the nearby spacious reception area. This consisted of the ticket desk, shop, refreshments corner and an area displaying some roman costumes and artefacts. We received a very warm welcome at the reception desk and were told all about the special events that were taking place that day. This included a trail for the children to follow together with arts and crafts activities which were available from 11am.
We were also given a clipboard with information relating to some the permanent activities at the farm – which included chalk crushing and archaeology pits. In addition we opted to purchase a guide to the farm (at a cost of £2) which gave a lot of extra information relating to the all the attractions there.
Butser Ancient Farm is primarily an educational facility which aims to help it’s visitors understand how people lived during the Stone Age, Iron Age and in Roman Britain (they are also currently in the process of building a Saxon house which they hope to have completed during the autumn).
To that end there are authentic houses/villages to explore from each of these periods. These provide a brilliant visual representation of what life actually might have been like – from open fires in the round houses, hole in the ground toilets to animal skins on the floor (which the children all had a lie down on to see what it was once like to sleep on the ground). The emphasis is really on the visitor exploring the centre and finding answers to their questions themselves, this is not a venue where you are spoon fed history but encouraged to really think about it and explore it for yourself. That said, there are plenty of staff who are happy to answer questions or gently steer you to the correct answers! It is evident that all the staff and volunteers are passionate about the centre and everyone was friendly and helpful as well as informative.
The Roman Villa is very impressive with lots of artefacts to look at. It was here that the children’s crafts were taking place. These included making snake mobiles, painting/drawing animal footprints on pebbles and making mosaic pictures, all 3 children happily got involved in these and it was great that they had something that they could take home with them.
Apart from the villages there are also some animals at the farm. A smattering of chickens, beehives, some pigs and three breeds of sheep (which you can buy animal feed for at reception). Everything is situated within lots of wide open space so there is plenty of room for just general running around. As a parent this is great because the kids can be free to roam in a safe environment.
The chalk crushing was a great success – tree trunks set into the ground with handmade wooden hammers and a huge pile of chalk for picking up and crushing. Additionally I think the children could have spent hours at the archaeology pits, where several bits of interesting treasure had been hidden.
There is no restaurant/cafe at the farm but there is a refreshment area where you can buy hot and cold drinks together with some snacks and ice cream. There are also several picnic benches in the grounds and visitors are welcome to take their own picnics into the site. The toilets were clean and spacious and the shop was full of interesting souvenirs at very reasonable prices.
When we left the farm it was clear we had attempted the “Golden Amulet” trail in a very haphazard way (the children were so excited to explore everything that we didn’t force them to do things in the right order) and so hadn’t found the final answer. However the lady at reception gave enough clues for the children to provide the magic word and they all got rewarded with a certificate and a sweetie of their choice.
Butser Ancient Farm runs several special events throughout the year which are detailed on the website www.butserancientfarm.co.uk. They also have different attractions on a daily basis – I was advised that the following day there was going to be a cooking demo and on Friday there was to be a weaponry display. They also run workshops during the year covering varied subjects from Copper Smelting to making Felt Wall Hangings.
The normal entrance fee is £7.50 for adults, £6.50 for concessions and £3.50 for children. A family day pass is £18.50. However you can also become a “friend” of the farm and buy an annual pass. This would cost £40 for a family of four – which is seriously good value. Individual and couple passes are also available.
We spent nearly 4 hours at the farm and all came away having been really surprised by the amount of stuff there was to do. The children were learning without even knowing it (and I dare say us adults learnt a thing or two as well).
A really good day out.
Rating: 5/5 
For more information visit www.butserancientfarm.co.uk.
Butser Ancient Farm, Chalton Lane, Chalton, Waterlooville, Hampshire, PO8 0BG
