WE'RE ALL OFF TO COLEMANS FARM E, I, E, I, O (Villages & Resorts in Isle of Wight)

Member Name: junkboxjules

Product:	Villages & Resorts in Isle of Wight
Date:	21/09/02 (142 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A great day out for all ages, Set in beautiful surroundings

Disadvantages: Not open all year round, Not very accessible by public transport

I asked Dooyoo to add a category for Colemans Farm on several occasions but they have not done so - Colemans farm is a terrific place to visit for a day out and although it is not strictly a village or resort I hope you won't mind me placing it here.

It was recently my husbands birthday and in true Webb tradition we set off for a day out on the Isle of Wight - in case some of you are unaware - we love the Isle of Wight and as we don't live too far away we frequently go over for the day.

Barry, my husband, would have been more than happy to have spent the day sinking beers in the pub but as we had our 9 year old son with us we wanted to visit somewhere that would entertain him during the day before we set off to the pub later in the day.

There are so many popular tourist attractions to visit on the Island but as we go over quite frequently and we've done most of them all loads of times before - we were looking for somewhere away from the crowds and queues but at the same time we wanted to have an entertaining day out.

We drove off the car ferry and also in true Webb tradition we had our normal debate about where we were going to go, as usual nobody would make a decision, so we flicked through the Island Pocket Guide that we'd picked up on the car ferry and went flicked through the various attractions and places to visit. Finally we came across Colemans Farm, we first visited Colemans Farm last year whilst on holiday on the Island and we'd all very much enjoyed our day there so we decided to go back again.

Colemans Farm is situated in Porchfield which is near Newport. It is located in the middle of the countryside so is probably not very accessible if you don't have a car, although there is quite a good bus service on the Island and you may be able to catch a bus to a nearby village and walk to Porchfield. I don't know if this is possible but I'm sure one of the many Tourist Information Ce
ntres on the Island would be able to advise if this is possible or suggest an alternative way to get there if it isn't.

**OPENING TIMES**

This year the farm is open from 9th March 2002 - 27th October 2002. During term time the farm is open Tuesday - Sunday except on Bank Holidays when it is open on Mondays. During School holidays the farm is open 7 days a week. The farm is open from 10.00am - 5.00pm.

**ADMISSION**

Admission to the farm is £3.00 for adults, £2.00 for children and £2.00 for concessions. Infants under 2 years old are admitted free.

If you are lucky enough to live on the Island you may be interested in the frequent visitor scheme which offers discounted admission. For more information about this scheme you should contact the farm.

**WHAT IS AT COLEMANS FARM?**

Colemans Farm is a very family friendly farm which allows and encourages children to stroke, feed and cuddle the animals.

Animal food is available from reception and costs 30p per bag. Carrots are also available to feed the donkeys and rabbits.

As you walk through the reception you enter a small courtyard area with seating which is used as an outdoor cafeteria area.

Within the courtyard area there is a purpose built under cover barbecue area. The barbecue is open daily during the lunch time period for Burgers, Bacon Rolls, Hot Dogs etc, (just try not to think of the poor baby piglets as you're stuffing that bacon roll in your mouth). If you're not a barbecue fan or if you are a vegetarian veggie burgers are available as are a wide range of sandwiches, a good selection of home made cakes, snacks, ice creams and sweets available to purchase or if you prefer you can bring a picnic.

There are plenty of picnic benches dotted about around the farm and you are not restricted to eating within this area - if you are unfortunate enough to get inclement weather there are lots undercover areas whe
re you can eat or participate in other activities within the barns.

To the right of the courtyard there is an area where the rabbits and guinea pigs live. Children and adults are invited to climb into the enclosures and pick up, stroke or feed the animals. There are small chairs within the enclosures so that small children can sit down whilst handling the animals.

Also within the courtyard is an aviary which houses lots of colourful budgies.

Directly at the end of the courtyard area there is a barn with a rope hanging down for the children can swing from - underneath the rope swing there are lots of bales of straw so if they fall off they won't hurt themselves.

Misty, Mac and Fudge the farm donkeys are brothers, they can be found just the other side of the barn. If you wish you can purchase carrots from reception to feed them - beware not to hold the carrots too close to the end though or in their eagerness they may nip your fingers as my son found out to his cost.

Almost opposite the donkeys field is another barn - within this barn there is a colouring area with plenty of tables, chairs, pencils and blank pictures to colour in.

When we visited in mid August there were three calf's, four goats and a sow with her 10 piglets living in this large barn. Also within this barn is an indoor area with more rabbits and guinea pig enclosures.

Back outside there are more pigs and piglets, they have their very own mud bath enclosure with a small metal hut. Despite being a bit smelly I could happily stand watching the piglets for hours, they are so entertaining as they run around chasing each other on the wet, soggy mud but as their little legs aren't very stable they keep slipping and falling over - they don't hurt themselves and they are very funny to watch.

The sheep and lambs enclosure is opposite the pigs. The sheep are very friendly and don't waste any time butting each other out
of the way if there is food on offer. When we were there one of the sheep jumped out of its' enclosure as it was so desperate to get at the bag of food I had for them. If you lay the food on your hand and hold your hand out flat to the sheep they eat it very nicely and it doesn't hurt at all. If you visit during the lambing season you may be lucky enough to bottle feed the lambs.

Not far from the sheep there are some more goats - they are very sweet natured and are really cute. They have a butter wouldn't melt in my mouth look about them but be warned they are greedy little blighters and if they get the opportunity they will happily grab and devour a whole bag of food and the wrapper within seconds.

Maggie and Bonnie are the farms highland cattle, they are very big but they are also very friendly.

The farm is home also home to horses and Shetlands - there are two miniature Shetland Ponies called Mary and Bethany and a pony called Sir Tommy Tucker - Sir Tommy Tucker loves to take children for a ride around the farm.

Other animals on the farm include chickens, 2 border collies called Shadow and Jessie who love playing football with the visitors and 7 cats.

The farm is very child friendly and has several bikes, toys, tractors and other sit and ride toys in various sizes to suit different age groups. The children are welcome to take these around the farm with them or just spend 10 minutes or so playing on them.

If you want to sit down to soak up the sun, have a rest and a cup of tea there is a large sandpit with toys in for the children to play with and a large wooden play area, both of which are situated near seating.

If it rains there are still plenty of activities available to keep the children amused such as decorating an egg, painting or colouring a picture, cuddling or feeding the animals in the barns, playing table tennis in one of the barns, playing in the straw barn, or playing with a
ny of the many toys available.

Parking at the farm is free and there is a reasonable sized car park with overflow parking available.

The farm isn't huge but if you spend time looking at all the animals and taking part in the various activities you can quite easily spend a whole day there - even if you don't want to participate in all the activities you should allow at least half a day to enjoy the farm.

You can contact Colemans Farm by either telephoning them on 01983 522831, faxing them on 01983 522434 or by sending an e-mail to farm@allseasons.demon.co.uk

Highly recommended for a very entertaining, reasonably priced day out away from crowds.

Thanks for reading.

Julie

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