Down on the farm! (Hall Hill Farm (Lanchester))

Member Name: chocaholic110

Product:	Hall Hill Farm (Lanchester)
Date:	07/03/09 (212 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of animal experiences, good value

Disadvantages: Website is very poor!

Recently it was the school half term holidays and by Wednesday my family had started to get a bit stir-crazy. The weather wasn't fantastic but it wasn't too bad either so we decided to go to a local farm, Hall Hill Farm for a day out.

** Where it is **

Hall Hill Farm is located on the B6296 near Satley, Co. Durham in north-east England. It is around 10 miles from Durham city and 18 miles from Newcastle.

** What it is **

Hall Hill Farm is a working farm that is open to the public. It has 290 hectares growing wheat, barley and oil seed rape and also has a substantial number of animals which is the area that is open to the public.

** Price information **

Adults £5.20
Over 60's £4.75
Children (3 - 15) £3.90
Under 3's Free
Family Saver (2+2) £16.00
Family Saver (2+3) £18.50
Family Season Ticket £60.00

** Our visit **

Before our visit I checked out the website to see if it was open and how much the entry fee was. The website itself is a bit cheap and nasty looking. It has obviously been designed on a budget or by the people who run the farm themselves and though it does include the necessary information, it could be a lot more appealing and could present the farm in a better manner. If you're thinking of visiting, please don't let the website put you off!

The day we visited the farm was open for "pre-season visits" as it is not officially open during the week until Easter. They day itself was a bit drizzly on the morning and we considered calling off the visit but in the end we dressed in wellies and waterproofs and went ahead anyway.

The farm has quite a large car park but it is basically a large field rather than a tarmac car park, so be wary of getting stuck in the mud if you visit during a wet period.

We visited with a friend of mine and her three boys aged six, five and almost two and I took my ten year old daughter and twelve month old son. As there were five of us to pay for we decided to ask if we could have a family ticket for two adults and three children which should have cost £18.50. As we paid however, the cashier said they were running a special offer, which I didn't quite grasp the details of but we ended up paying £14 for all of us which I thought was very good value. I'm not sure if this is always the case but at the time of our visit the only way of entry (and the exit) was through the gift shop, which I'm sure is excellent marketing but it marred our trip slightly as my friend's six year old spent the entire afternoon asking for things he'd seen in the gift shop.

Once through the gift shop we immediately veered to out left into the small petting area where we found a lot of pens containing various types and colours of rabbits and guinea pigs. There was a young teenager in attendance here and he laid towels on the children's knees (over three year old only) and gave them different animals to hold and stroke. He was quite knowledgeable about the animals and had a lot of patience when the children kept wanting to hold different pets. Once they grew bored, we washed our hands thoroughly in the sinks and moved on.

The next stop was a more or less empty barn that had hay bales, a giant plastic cow and a selection of children's tractors and trikes. Despite the fact that the children have very similar toys at home, they had great fun riding around the barn. In fact, I think we'd have been there all day if the need for a toilet break hadn't arisen.

The next place we stopped at was some animal pens containing a donkey, which my toddler was very excited by, several cross looking llamas and a couple of snoozing pigs that didn't wake up even with the amount of noise the donkey was making. The gift shop also sells animal feed and my friend's children spent a happy few minutes pushing food pellets down a drainpipe into the llamas' food trough.

Moving on we went into one of the barns. During lambing season, this is where the lambs can be found and at set times the farm workers bring out bottles of milk and allow children to help feed them. I think our visit must have been a bit early for lambs as the pens held alpacas, goats and some very friendly miniature goats that kept jumping up at the fences.

Further round we came to the donkey ride. This cost 50p extra per child and there is only one donkey so there's quite a wait if there's a queue. The children were helmeted up and waited fairly patiently for their rides which my daughter described as "bumpy but fun". Donkey rides are available for children aged 3-12, as long as they weigh under seven and a half stone.

The next stop was the play area which has been substantially improved since my last visit with wooden obstacle courses, climbing walls, swings and slides. There are also a couple of baby swings where my toddler cackled hysterically on his first ever experience of a swing. However, before the children could really run off any energy it was announced that the free tractor trailer rode was about to begin. This takes place several times a day and is basically a ride on a trailer (with seats!) attached to the back of a tractor which was driven by the man who ran the donkey rides - he seemed to have a very busy day! I asked if my 12 month old was old enough to ride and the driver laughed and said he'd had a newborn on the trailer before. Who takes a newborn on a visit to the farm? The tractor drove through small country lanes and gave a good view of the sheep in the fields around the farm. Despite not being very thrilling, the ride was very much enjoyed by all of the children.

Once back at the farm, we walked back through various pens containing birds. I'm not the biggest fan of birds so I didn't pay a lot of attention to this section but I did notice geese, chickens, ducks and peacocks. Once past the birds I was quite surprised to see a couple of wallabies, both apparently called Beckham (the Beckhams!) though it was quite difficult to see one of them as he was hiding behind some bushes.

At the very edge of the farm was a huge field where a pair of very friendly horses lived and a notice informed us that the Jersey cows were currently on holiday but would be back soon. We spent the walk back to the main part of the farm debating where Jersey cows would go on holiday but couldn't think of any witty ideas - I'd be interested to hear if anyone else could think of somewhere!

The final attraction, and possibly my favourite one, was new to me as it has been built since my previous visit. It is named The Ark and is a wooden construction built to look like, you guessed it, an ark. Inside are some budgies, which I didn't care much for but the star attraction was the very cute and very active chipmunks.

Once we had seen this, the constant whinging for things from the gift shop was beginning to tell on my friend a little bit and we began to make our way back to the exit. On the way we visited a small room we'd missed on the way in where a number of tiny, fluffy chicks were in large plastic box under a heating lamp. Again towels could be placed on the children's laps for them to hold the chicks, and although I was a bit nervous, luckily the children managed not to squash or squeeze them! After another thorough handwashing it was time to leave.

As already mentioned, it was impossible to get out of the farm without going through the gift shop which was filled with a variety of farm themed gifts such as pencils and notebooks with the farm name on and puppets and cuddly toys of animals. There was also a vast array of wellington boots and waterproof coats to buy, just in case you didn't come equipped.

Once outside, it was back to the car park, where luckily we weren't stuck in the mud and away home after a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon and a healthy dose of fresh air. I very much enjoyed the day, as did both my children, my friend and two of her children, showing that it is an attraction that will appeal to children across the age groups.

** Food and Snacks **

Hall Hill Farm does have a small café which we didn't try but a look at the chalkboard outside showed that it served simple, homecooked food, including sandwiches, baked potatoes, pie and suchlike at quite reasonable prices. The farm also has a number of picnic benches if you choose to take your own food. Remember not to leave litter lying around though as it is a hazard to the animals.

** Special days and activities **

Hall Hill farm has a number of events during the year including lambing time, sheep shearing, Father's Day (including free entry for Dads), teddy bears' picnic weekend, fairy tale weekend, including lots of people dressed as characters, Halloween week and Santa weekends.

You can also book a birthday party at Hall Hill farm which would make an unusual party, but might depend upon when the birthday was. The cost is £9 per child and includes a party tea, party bag, animal feed and tractor ride.

**Sponsorship **

As you move around the park it is possible to see that many of the animals have been sponsored by groups, individuals and schools. Yearly sponsorship costs from £20 for small animals to £30 for large animals and can be arranged through the website. For this sponsors receive a badge or keyring, photo, adoption certificate, information letter and quarterly newsletter. It also includes two free tickets to the farm so really I think it is excellent value!

All in all, if you're in the area and you or your family like animals, this is an ideal place to go to be able to pet and stroke the different animals. If you need further information you could visit the website at

http://www.hallhillfarm.co.uk/

but don't be discouraged by its tackiness!

Summary: A great day out if the weather is fine.