Last week we were invited to review one of our favourite places for days out – Hatton Country World. This is a children’s farm in Warwickshire which has lots of activities for young children. The thing I love about Hatton is that there is so much to do – no two visits are ever the same. Every time we go we do a different combination but we always have a great time.
The first part of the farm is the petting area. There are goats, sheep, pigs and even a lama to feed. It is great to get so close to the animals. At various times you can also hold some of the animals. We have held chicks and guinea pigs on other days.
Charlotte tipped her cup of animal food into the pen within five seconds of getting there – of course! So she was trying to feed the animals with their hay. They weren’t interested.
One of our favourite rooms is the guinea pig area. This has miniature models of lots of houses and there are hundreds of the squeaky pets running around.
At Hatton there are lots of different shows through out the day depending on whether you go. There is sheep racing, falconry, and excellent children’s entertainers. The girls favourite is the magic show. The day we went there was a sports day, which was something we had never done before.
There were a number of races for older and younger children as well as a javelin. They did a lovely medal ceremony for the winners, although they made sure everyone got something. Charlotte had a go at all the tiddler races, although she was distraught when Molly beat her in the sprint. The nice Hatton man was very patient getting her to point her javelin in the right direction.
The girls always make sure they go on the rides. There are bouncy castles, a bouncy slide, trampolines and funfair rides. The thing I like about these is that they are part of the entrance price. They are also split into age groups so it is safer for little children.
I was delighted that the girls are now old enough to go on the rides alone.
There were a few arguments between the twins over who got to be the princess.
Another favourite activity is the gold rush where you have to pan for gold to win a medal. This is a good activity on a hot day.
We always have to build in a good half an hour to play in the sand pits. There is a really large area of sand with lots of toys for the children to play with.
The love to ride the tractors in the sand area.
After all that running around everyone needed to stop for lunch. There are a few places to choose and lots of picnic benches to bring your own. The lunch boxes in Snorty’s Barnyard are really good, with lots of healthy choices. Rose enjoyed lining up all her pots of food in a row. They were all a bit hot and tired at this point and lunch and there were a couple of tantrums from both the twins. We decided to stay inside and out of the sun.
There is a great soft play area in Snorty’s Barnyard with great activities for all the children including very scary vertical drops. Again the areas are split into age groups. I wasn’t planning to go to the soft play area but if you are the children need to have socks and covered arms.
I thought I would include a couple of other pictures from other visits. My favourite time of year to go is Autumn. There is a special pumpkin field where everyone can pick their own pumpkin to take home.
This is one of my favourite pictures of Molly aged 2 choosing a pumpkin. There were a lot to choose from.
We loved our day out at Hatton. The price is just under £13 for an adult and under £14 for a child so it isn’t a budget day out. For me there is so much to do and you can easily spend all day there that it is worth it.
Disclaimer: We were given tickets to Hatton and vouchers for lunch.
