Having had most of our weekends inside for the last year, it’s felt like it’s been forever since we’ve gone out somewhere as a family and done something all four of us. We frequently visit Thrift Farm as it’s only a 10-minute drive from us, but I would say it’s more aimed towards Ivy’s age rather than Reuben’s, so we wanted to explore somewhere new. So this weekend we decided to have a little family day out and headed somewhere new to explore, Green Dragon Eco Farm.
With Reuben being 10 and Ivy 1, it can sometimes it can be quite tricky to have a day out with both kids doing something that will appeal to them both, but something that they both love is going to the farm. Ivy is at the age where she’s started learning what sounds animals make and finds them hilarious, and Reuben is a huge animal lover and aspiring animal keeper, so perfect day out all around.
Green Dragon Eco Farm is a little more than your normal farm. They have various rare breeds, and a huge focus on eco-living. They’ve taken in a lot of endangered animals and rescued a few that were badly treated. You can read about their plans for sustainability and conservation here.
At the moment you have to book an online timeslot, either at 10am or 2pm, so we went for the 10am option giving us a few hours to explore and have some lunch. Tickets were £9.50 for adults, £8.50 for children, and under 2’s are free. You can also buy a bag of animal feed for an extra £1, book to see the flying bird display for an extra £1.50 per person (including under 2’s), and book to groom pony’s or donkeys, and book a space in the softplay area for free of charge.
We arrived a little before our 10.30am slot for pony grooming at Green Dragon Eco Farm, so went straight into that. There was a little bit of a queue, and Ivy being the impatient toddler that she is, decided to have bit of a tantrum about this, so didn’t really enjoy the pony grooming experience. Reuben however loved it, and would still be there now if we hadn’t have made him move on.
Next, we wandered around to see the farm animals, and here is where you can feed some of them – and it’s clearly labelled which animals you can’t. We saw cows, sheep, goats, ducks, pigs, ponies and llamas. The kids both loved it, and Reuben enjoyed feeding all the animals while Ivy moo’d and baa’d at them all. There was a little area that you could walk through with goats which were good fun, but when we did it all the goats were asleep in one corner!
There was also an indoor section called the pets corner, which had some interesting breeds of animals including snakes, frogs, cockroaches and stick insects!
We booked onto the 11.30 flying bird display show so headed over to the wildlife zone to see that. This turned out to not be one of our best ideas to do with Ivy, who decided she did not want to sit still, or be quiet like you needed to for the display, so her and Chris ducked out while me and Reuben watched it – worth keeping in mind if you’re visiting with a toddler, that this bit might not be for them!
The show was great, we got to see owls, kestrels and buzzards. The show was really well done, and the guy talking us through the animals was really enthusiastic, and you could tell he loved what he did.
We then had a wander around the wildlife zone, which had some amazing animals. Lynx’s, wallaby’s, reindeer, silver fox’s and Scottish wildcats, as well as other types of birds and owls! See what I mean about it not being your normal type of farm!
We then started heading our way back towards the cafe for lunch, but had to have a quick bounce on the bouncy pillows first! There was one for under 5’s and one for over 5’s which was great for little ones like Ivy so they can play without getting in the way of excitable older kids!
Just as we decided to head in for lunch it started to pour down, so great timing for us! There was loads of hot food options available, as well as sandwiches and cake. Ivy had a kids lunch box option where she had a sandwich, crisps, yoghurt and a gingerbread man for £4.50 which worked great for her, while we had sausage sandwiches and cake! There’s also an indoor soft play area here, you can book a timeslot for free when you book your tickets online. We didn’t book onto this, but it looked like lots of fun!
Then me and Ivy squeezed in a very quick trip around the park, while Reuben went to go play on the go-karts before they closed at 1.30pm. It’s a shame we didn’t get much more time at the park as it looked amazing, Ivy, of course, had to go climb something and whizz down the slide a few times, but there’s a great section for older kids, and an area for under 5’s to explore.
We really enjoyed our visit, and didn’t quite fit everything in with the timeslot but we will definitely be coming back another day. There’s a couple of trails you can walk around, a walled garden and orchard, as well as a messy play barn (which is currently closed) that I think Ivy would love! The kids both enjoyed it, and as parents of siblings with a big age gap it was great that they had areas for older kids and younger kids that they would equally enjoy.
How to find it
Green Dragon Eco Farm is located at Claydon Road, Hogshaw, MK18 3LA, or use the map below for directions.
For us it was a 30 minute drive from our home in Milton Keynes, and there’s plenty of free parking available.
COVID Update
Currently, all tickets need to be booked online, with a reduced capacity available with timeslots between 10am – 1.30pm and 2pm – 5.30pm, allowing them to clean up between visits. There are lots of enclosed areas where facemasks are needed, and plenty of hand sanitiser around the farm, and one way systems.
You can read here what Green Dragon Eco Farm are doing about their COVID safety.
