Hall Hill Farm- Fun for all but not for a full day (Hall Hill Farm (Lanchester))

Member Name: dad-of-three

Product:	Hall Hill Farm (Lanchester)
Date:	31/05/09 (61 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The kids love feeding the lambs and the donkey rides

Disadvantages: A little expensive for what you get

I have visited Hall Hill Farm atleast once per year for the past four years or so and have enjoyed each visit. I usually visit in the spring around lambing season as feeding the lambs is the part of the trip the kids like the best.

The farm itself is located near Satley in County Durham. When you first arrive you pull into the carpark where there are plenty of spaces for everyone and parking is never a problem. Once through the carpark you enter the visitors shop where you pay to enter the farm. The cost at the moment is £5.20 per adult and £3.90 per child with under 3's being free. A 2 adult / 2 children ticket will cost £16.00. The shop also stocks an assortment of toys, fridge magnets and you can also purchase some bags of food to feed the animals.

The first attraction you come to is the chick house. In this building the children and adults if they want can hold and pet a small chick for as long as they want. (you are supplied with a small towel to put on your knee incase the chick has an accident). The next attraction is a large shed that houses the rabbits and guinee pigs and in the same way as you can pet the chicks you can pet the animals in here except you are supplied with a soft brush if you want one. Up until this year i would of said this was great for the kids but beware one of the rabbits bit me TWICE, which is not too bad for an adult but if it was my little one i'd feel rather different so my kids just petted the guinee pigs after that. At each stage you wash your hands with alcohol gel to kill germs and are supplied with towels to dry them if needed.

The next stage this year was the feeding of the spring lambs where the children all sit in a circle and the lambs are brought in. The children each get a chance to feed the lambs from a bottle, they don't get much time each but it was favourite part for my three.

After this there are several different penned areas where different animals are kept, these include pigs, goats and more lambs which you can feed with the animal food purchased from the shop. There is also a donkey ride which costs an extra 50p per child but at such a small cost is worth doing.

After the donkey ride you are at the play area which is quite a large play area with things to do for children of all ages as it occupies my youngest who is 2 and my oldest who is 11. From the play area you go onto some more pens which hold a peacock and an avery which houses a few different species of birds.

There are also a few other species of larger animals including llama's and other cattle and a small area where there are childrens play tractors. The tractors are very used and most have a missing peddle or something wrong with them but my little boy played with them none the less and really enjoyed it.

The last part of the trip is a free tractor ride which is a must for anyone with a small boy as he really enjoyed it. The only thing i have yet to mention is the cafe / tearoom which is not too expensive and provides some decent snacks.

Overall i would recommend Hall Hill Farm to people but what i would say is that the visit will usually only last around the 2 hour mark and i think the price is a little expensive for this amount entertainment as it won't fill the full day out with the kids and you'll be looking for something else to do afterwards.

Summary: A nice place to visit but it won't fill a full day out!