Holmbush Farm World - review

You know, it's funny the sort of things you start to really look forward to having assumed the role of parent (that otherwise would have ranked somewhere around "*shrug* - if you like" in personal interest stakes)...so I actually fell out of bed (treading, painfully, on a plug) quite eagerly when Thomas started calling for me at 7am on Sunday morning...then hobbling downstairs to make breakfast and packed lunch whispering to Thomas about all the animals we were going to see (his excited response being to repeatedly slap me on the cheek and ear with his free arm saying "T", "T", "T")...

When we got there (about twenty minutes after opening), alarm bells *should* have sounded at the sight of a *completely* empty car park (most of these other sort of attractions usually sporting some sort of queue) -

- but put it down to the bad weather forecast and glancing up at the merciless sun (grimly pulling on his balaclava and picking up his Kalashnikov) smeared Thomas with factor 50 (which he didn't seem to mind too much) and swore quietly during my fruitless search in the back of the car for a hat...

Anyway, when Flyingpops' friend Susan arrived (our companion for the day), we headed off over to the "Farm World" entrance -

- where we coughed up £6.50 each (for the adults), Thomas was free (being arguably "too young to really appreciate it" - although his smiles and pointing, of course, reveal quite the contrary to be the case in actuality)...slightly older kids would have cost £5.75, or it's £23 for a family ticket, so not "Chessington" expensive, but certainly not a cheap day out...

Anyway, a tour - Right inside the entrance is the cafe/gift shop -


- which were merely functional, a fairly good soft play area -

- not a patch on Donyngs though, and then it's out to a little courtyard where the "Hay Maze" is -

- which actually is just a pile of hay bales and some interestingly shaped logs -

- across the way from which is the entrance to the barn, where there are a number of bored or sleeping animals (but you can get extremely close) -




- a number of mini tractors -

- a timed (11.00am sharp) cow milking demonstration, but there was no explanation, nor anywhere to comfortably sit or stand to watch...


Outside in the field, there is probably the best attraction in the place, two *huge* inflatable pillows -


- which Thomas wasn't so sure about (but I can see how much he will enjoy them once he's walking/jumping properly) and a very exciting adventure playground with a wild west theme -

- you can see it in the background on that shot if you zoom in, I didn't seem to get a shot of it for some reason, and a timed (11.30am sharp) tractor ride -

- which *very* cheekily was an extra 80p each -


- and drove us past a wholesale fencing retailer and some sheep -

- and that was it...the entire place had been *completely* exhausted in just over one hour...! Quite who decided that the name "Farm World" was appropriate I'm not sure, but obviously their world is rather small and has fairly little in it to entertain them...

So, my advice would be - go to a different farm (there are loads around here with much more to see and do) unless your kids are very happy doing imaginative play (on their own) for hours in a large adventure playground while you look on...as they certainly won't be learning very much about farming or livestock...

Anyway, more pictures here, if you like this sort of thing... ;)