If you are anywhere near Barnsley in South Yorkshire, why not take the kids to Cannon Hall Farm.
We had such a great family day out. There's so much for the kids to do, and you can easily spend all day there.
Having children aged 11 and 4, it can be tricky finding something suitable for both my kids. Cannon Hall Farm caters great for different aged kids.
As we paid our money, and got a duck stamp on our hands (so we could get back in if we needed to pop out), my children were desperate to see the ferret racing. So along with my mum Elaine, (Amber and Jacob's Nonna), we watched as 4 ferrets lined up ready to go. Cheered on by the crowd, the kids loved it.
Cannon Hall Farm has lots to offer. So after the ferret racing, we headed up to the farmyard to see the sheep, goats and a donkey that made a loud eee aww noise as we approached. The kids found it hilarious!
We saw a sheep shearing demonstration by farmer Dave, which was really impressive, getting the whole woolly coat off in one go.
In school holidays there are more activities happening throughout the day.
Jacob spotted the tractor ride, so we joined the queue. A tractor pulled a big carriage that can seat about 20 people around the farm, we saw Alpacas, sheep racing, and we waved to people along the way.
I thought the kids may be getting hungry, but no, they didn't want to eat just yet as there was so much to see and do.
Our son Jacob and 'his' sheep!
Sheep shearing by farmer Dave.
"A donkey made a loud eee aww noise as we approached and the kids thought it was hilarious!"
We have been to Cannon Hall Farm many times, and when we visit my family in Yorkshire, we try and get to Cannon Hall Farm when we can. This year there have been so many great additions, they have some fantastic new barns and a huge indoor play area.
We walked down to the new barns, there are four and they are huge. We saw pigs with their new piglets. We went into another barn and saw some really little piglets, we all spent most of the time saying 'Ahhh' in every barn we went in to, whilst holding our nose as they were a bit pongy (they are animals after all)!
Mummy pig feeding her piglets at Cannon Hall Farm
We enjoyed watching the cows being milked, another demonstration that is something you don't usually see, really educational for the kids. The first cow that was milked didn't want to leave so when the farmer tried to get the cow out of the pen, it pushed him and he went up in the air, you can see how strong they are and if they don't want to do something, they won't do it!
The farm has baby animals born every week, so you can always catch a glimpse of a new little life. Very cute!
There's pigs, piglets, sheep, lambs, pygmy goats and their kids, several breeds of cattle including Highland cattle with their impressive horns, cows, donkeys, shetland ponies, llamas, rabbits, guinea pigs, pheasants and cage birds.
And all that is before you even get to the adventure playgrounds!
Amber enjoying climbing in the more challenging older kids play area at Cannon Hall Farm.
I really like these play areas as they are separated for different age groups which I think is a really good idea. Having a four year old and an eleven year old, they want different things.
These are impressive, big solid climbing frames, ropes and slides, something for all ages.
Yummy rainbow cake was a favourite!
After a quick play in the adventure playground, we really needed a cup of tea. So we decided to check out the new indoor play area 'The Hungry Llama', if you can get the children off the indoor play equipment, they offer a wide selection of food and drinks. My children we still refusing to eat and only just managed to stop for a drink, then it was back to have more fun.
The kids weren't very happy when I told them they really needed to eat, so with a crying four year old kicking up a fuss because he wanted to keep playing, we headed up to the tearoom just outside the exit.
This too has a great selection of food to choose from, and we enjoyed some rainbow cake, a cheese and ham toastie and some chips (in that order)!
If you would like to take some of the delicious food home with you, there is a great delicatessen which offers a range of food produced on site.
I really would recommend a visit to Cannon Hall Farm, a great family fun day out with lots to see and do and it's really easy to get to with lots of parking, and caters well for prams.
Admission prices: Weekend, school holidays and bank holidays: Adults £7.95, Children (2-15) £7.95, Senior Citizens £7.50, children under 2 are free, a family ticket for 4 people is available at £30.
Mon-Fri school term time: Adults £5.95, Children (2-15) £5.95, Senior Citizens £5.50, children under 2 are free, family ticket for 4 people is available at £22.
Car parking: Car parking is available close to the farm and costs £3, but you can get your £3 back if you spend over £10 in the tearoom. Make sure you park in this car park and not the Cannon Hall Museum carpark as you won't get any money back for your ticket.
We'd love to know if you have been to Cannon Hall Farm, and which bit did your kids enjoy? Leave a comment below.