Willows Activity Farm, Hertfordshire Review
Willows Activity Farm
Hertfordshire
Reviewed by Zoey Caldwell
We were lucky enough to be able to visit Willows Farm in London Colney on Halloween. The farm is holding a Pumpkin Festival (Oct 25th– 2nd November). On the approach to the farm, they have fantastic signage and even added to the novelty by painting the ends of the hay bales orange and putting various pumpkin face designs on them.
Willows is a big farm, we were ushered into car park 2 by a man dressed as a pumpkin and the following uniformed ushers made sure that we parked in an appropriate place, that would not take away from the smooth running of the business.
It was busy already, we arrived 30 minutes after opening time, but they have enough payment gates to make sure that the entrance was run smoothly. The admissions team, and it appears all staff are given radios to communicate, this it seemed worked really well as the couple of encounters and questions I had throughout the day were dealt with so swiftly. We were given a map and a pumpkin finding activity and a match the scarecrow one too. These are professionally printed on good quality paper, the answers are beneath a scratch panel. We were also given a token each for the children that we would redeem against a pumpkin each from the field. I noticed that they also sell feed for 60p a bag or 2 for £1, and little rubber ducks. I purchased a duck and bag of feed each for the boys and we were set to go.
Where to first? There is a toddler zone (Toddler Town), restaurant, plenty of toilets and Captain Chicken’s Egg Dodge all in the first few steps! Now having been previously I knew if I got my boys in the Captain Chicken’s Egg Dodge or the fantastic indoor play barn straight away, I doubt I would get them out, so a gentle nudge towards seeing the animals first was suggested. There are 2 options to get into the Farmyard barn, so people with buggies or disabilities can go down a slope (it is a farm it is bumpy!) or through the barn door at the top and down some stairs. There are notices stating that children should not be allowed on the stairs by themselves. Inside the barn we found ourselves feeding goats, cows, Shire horses (I believe the horses are only to be fed by over 16’s). There are guinea pigs and rabbits that can be brought out for petting. We didn’t take this option as we have rabbit pets. There were some super cute piglets being really mischievous and play fighting between themselves – just reminded me of home, except mummy pig was having a nap – I wish!
There are plenty of signs all around the farm and in the barn, letting you know of the dangers of handling animals and the need to wash your hands. There are lots of hand basins, with lowered sinks available too. Not once did we visit a hand washing facility and it be empty of soap or tissue to dry your hands. We left the barn and walked alongside the Highland cow and calf. Here we found out what the little ducks we purchased were for, they have a very simple game for the family, old fashioned hand pumps, guttering, 4 lanes and you have yourself a duck race going on. My boys really enjoyed this and again had to be encouraged to move on, as there is so much to do. We took a walk across the bridge and arrived just in time to take part in a tractor ride. The trailer is a large one that can take a good few people at a time. The tractor has a sound system in where we have songs and narrative throughout the ride. Can be bumpy… but who wants a smooth tractor ride?
Next we decided to choose our pumpkins as they were next to the tractor ride, of course not really thinking it through my eldest chose a nice BIG one, great to carve not so great to carry around a farm all day! We decided that it would be a good time to stop for something to eat. As well as a BBQ, several kiosks the Coffee shop in Woolly jumpers indoor play, Curly Tail’s Cafe, they really do cater for those of you with a picnic. We choose a cute little covered picnic table designed as a sheep pen. There was a bin very close too so need to take rubbish around. Now for October 31st it was warm! Very warm and we needed to off load heavy winter coats and of course the great big pumpkin and nice sized one too. I asked a member of staff if they have lockers to hold goods or if in fact we could return the things to our car and re-enter. This is great, you can off load the heavy picnic etc and carry on your day, load free! It was a time that I did miss having a buggy!
Now whilst all of this was going on, we were steadily completing the pumpkin finding activity too! The boys decided that they would like to try Woolly’s Workout Agility Play trail. A fantastic agility course for children that is reminiscent of an army assault course… they loved it.
Next up I gave in and we went into Captain Chicken’s Egg Dodge. Now this is a lot of fun! Adults and kids alike enjoy propelling the soft balls from side to side of the room in an “egg” battle with the other team… dare you go into the middle and collect the balls for your team- you risk being hit! A blast, and the boys needed tearing away! Next stop, ice cream…. yes October 31st and eating ice-cream in the sun! Bliss.
We took a nice slow walk amongst the birds of prey enclosures and marvelled at their beauty… well maybe not the vultures bless them! Reindeer and sheep followed. Now as I said we decided to visit on Halloween so our time was running out if the boys were to go visit family and friends for trick or treat, so we decided that the bouncy castles and slide would be the final port of call for the day. I say we decided, there were moans. The farm is AWESOME we don’t want to leave were some of the responses I had to my time check.
This farm really is FANTASTIC. You need the whole day from 10-6pm and even then you may not fit it all in. We missed the indoor play area (been before it is EPIC- my kids words not mine), huge sand pit, JCB area, trampolines and carousels.
Would we visit Willows Farm again, I think it is safe to say from this review then YES. The animals seem really well looked after (this is a big factor for me). The farm is maintained beautifully. The staff are friendly and approachable. If I ran this business I would be extremely proud! Well done to all!
Rating: 5/5 
For more information or to save money by booking tickets online visit www.willowsactivityfarm.com.
Willows Activity Farm, Coursers Road, London Colney, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 0PF
0870 129 9718 | info@willowsactivityfarm.com
