Reviewed by Sandip Stapleton
With the school summer holidays approaching we have been looking for days out with the kids. We thought an adventure farm would be a good start, somewhere where they could blow off their excess energy with the activities, then taking it a bit more sedately by visiting and feeding the animals. We thought that The National Forest Adventure Farm would be perfect for this. It is situated in Burton Upon Trent in Staffordshire and is suitable for families with children aged 2 to 12 years old.
We had tickets to visit, and I went with my son aged 4 and daughter aged 7. It’s about 45 minutes away from where I live so I had everything crossed that the kids would enjoy it and thankfully it massively delivered.
There were plenty of signposts off the main dual carriageway, so it was pretty easy to find and once you were there, there was plenty of parking right outside the adventure farm.
We went in and bought 2 generously sized tubs of animal feed which was a bargain at £1 each. We chose the cow/pig/goats and alpaca version.
The first thing they wanted to go on was the Jumping Pillows. There were two of these, one for 7 and under and one for 8 and over. This was great as it meant the littlest ones and the bigger kids weren’t crashing into each other. They found bouncing around on these great fun.
Next, we went over to the football practise area where there were goal holes at various heights. Unfortunately, the balls were a little flat but that didn’t stop the kids having a right good go at booting the balls.
Next to the football area was the Water Zone, where you could shoot water at each other but unfortunately the weather wasn’t good enough to have a go
Next was the Go Karts. There are 2 lots depending on the size of child but luckily, they are right next to each other so you can watch both kids at the same time which is great when you have kids if differing heights/ages.
We went to the paddocks to feed the animals. The animals had plenty of space to roam around in and all look very well cared for. There is a varied range of animals to see from chickens and rabbits to Alpaca and Shetland ponies.
There are plenty of places to eat outside but we had lunch at Scarecrow Joe’s Restaurant which was very reasonably at £15 for 3 hot meals. Also, the children portions are big so that kept them filled up for hours!
We then went on an Alien Adventure, where we were space cadets, which was really good! They are carried out in groups of 16 at a time so it’s not cramped which is important when there are young kids around. The premise was that we were space cadets who are on a mission to go to space and rescue some alien eggs. The space members who guide you through were great with the kids and stayed in character the while time. The kids got to wear a badge, a space cape (which was a nice touch) and there were lots of sensory things, smoke machines and mirror maze on their space journey. They really enjoyed it.
It started to rain so we tried the soft play, which was huge, and lots of areas catering to the very young up to probably 10-year olds. Unfortunately, my daughter got friction burns on her arms on one of the vertical slides and blistered her hand, but this could have happened at any soft play slide. They were only in there 20 minutes, but they came out very hot and sweaty, they had a blast.
There are lots of timed activities on which are on the board as you walk in but also stapled to the map you are given when you walk in. We did pony grooming, guinea pig handling, tractor ride, and egg handling.
From 13 July to 2 September 2019 there is Moon Landing Maize Maze, a 10 acre maze celebrating 50 years since the first moon landing on 20 July 1969.
It was such a fun packed day and before they both fell asleep in the car on the way home, they asked if we could go back again one day! A very enjoyable family day out with indoors and outdoors activities.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost £12.49 pp (save 10% by booking online in advance). Under 2s are free.
For more information or to book tickets visit www.adventurefarm.co.uk.
National Forest Adventure Farm, Tatenhill, Burton Upon Trent, Staffordshire, DE13 9SJ
