We love a good farm park trip. Closer to home, we’ve recently had trips to places like Tostock Animal Parks and Hollow Trees Farm.
The other week, we decided to go a little further afield.
In the Cambridgeshire town of Soham you’ll find South Angle Farm Park: a family-run petting farm that, like the two others I’ve mentioned above, feels nowhere near as commercialised as other farm parks.
Yes, there’s a small gift shop and a cafe, but with tickets priced at £8.90 for adults and kids alike (those aged under 2 go free), it’s more affordable than many. We did wonder whether we were actually going the right way as we drove up (you drive in via a tiny little track in the middle of nowhere!), but when we arrived, we were pleased to see plenty of parking.
The entrance is through a little shop selling snacks, gifts and farm produce. Pay for your tickets at the counter, buy a bag of animal food if you want one, and take a look at the farm map on the back of the door as you walk through.
As you enter, there’s a display board that tells you which animal experiences are happening that day. We only went to one of them…more on that later!
The first area you’ll encounter at South Angle Farm Park is a covered play area. You’ll find pedal-powered tractors and a small coin-operated ride in the first room, with a sand play area, a spooky maze and mini watering cans with veg and other plants to water in the next room. The fairy garden is fun to wander round, too!
On the opposite side of the passageway through from the entrance, get up close and personal with the farm’s tortoises, who have a beautifully designed area to live in.
From there, you head into the main farm park. There were baby quails for us to coo over. There was a walk-through chicken enclosure, and free-roaming ducks. There were alpacas, pigs, donkeys, goats and plenty of rabbits and guinea pigs, with numerous opportunities for interaction with the animals.
The reptile house was a particular hit with our son, housing tarantulas, snakes and more.
At the end of South Angle Farm Park furthest from the entrance, there’s a toilet block (which has seen better days) and a play area with various play structures, sand play and more.
It’s at this end of the farm park that you’ll also find the cafe serving hot and cold drinks and snacks, a panini menu, and a kids’ lunchbox deal that includes a sandwich, a choice of three snacks and a drink for £4.95.
They also serve pizza, and our goats’ cheese, caramelised onion and rocket pizza (£12) was surprisingly good.
There are a few picnic tables to use in this area too, whether you’re dining from the cafe or have brought your own lunch. While you’re there, you may spot Ted the farm cat: around 20 years old and pretty arthritic – he’s gorgeous!
After lunch, we spent more time exploring before heading to the rabbit and guinea pig barn for our chosen meet the animal experience. A farm worker brought out Sebastian: an 18-year-old corn snake (apparently they generally only live to around 15) who, fully-grown, was around 1.2m long. We learned more about corn snakes and everyone present had the chance to stroke him, hold him and have photos taken.
South Angle Farm Park is one of those places that feels wonderfully local and unexpectedly magical. With a relatively low entrance fee, plenty to keep the whole family entertained and animals that seem happy and stress-free, I’d definitely recommend it for a day out with the kids.