Lancaster House is offering a Seasonal Special Offer with the choice of great family activities in Lancashire. We just had to road-test one of these family adventures for ourselves.
A Day Out at Greenlands Farm Village
Lancaster House Wedding Co-ordinator, Nicole Pilkington, took her two daughters for a day at Greenlands Farm Village. Nicole and Isabella, aged 11, and Rose, aged 7, tell us a bit about their day and their verdict on whether they would recommend this day out to our guests.
So Many Adorable Animals
We arrived at Greenlands Farm Visitor Centre where we were issued with our full day Visitor Wrist Bands. The weather was beautiful and warm – perfect for outdoor fun.
Greenlands Farm has around 120 animals, with several unusual rare breeds including Kune Kune Pigs, called Mabel and Wilma. We loved Nigel, a leopard gecko, and Barney and Willow the barn owls. Many of the animals could be held, petted, groomed and even fed. It was just a great opportunity to get up close to the animals. We quickly discovered that we were being followed by a particularly friendly sheep – it just seemed to like our company and we quickly accepted him as part of the family!
Margo the snake became Rose’s stand out favourite in the Reptile house, but the owls, turtles, donkey and Phineas and Ferb the pygmy goats were all in close competition for top spot.
Village Green Pic-nic and Paddling
The Village Green was where we stopped for a well-needed rest from our animal exploits. It’s a lovely area with pic-nic benches, shady grassy areas which allowed us to cool down, a giant sandpit for smaller children and - another highlight of a hot day - a splash pool! (so remember to bring your swimming costume and towel). This is the perfect place to eat your Lancaster House pic-nic and there’s also a great selection of ice creams that Isabella and Rose took full advantage of.
In terms of activities on the Green, the giant bouncing balloon went down a treat with Isabella and Rose. There were even some adult ‘big kids’ who just could not hold back when it came to the bouncy balloon fun.
Straw Barn Shennanigans
A barn full of fresh straw, climbing frame, slides an swings – great for all weather conditions. There is also a good selection of ride on tractors and trailers, and coin-operated go-carts. This is a great area for family play and where imaginations can run free. There’s also a soft play area for children up to 12 years old.
A Friendly Farm
Greenlands Farm Village employs around fifty staff, both full-time and part-time. When we were there everyone we encountered was friendly and went out of their way to make sure we were having a good time.
The team regularly brought out the animals that weren’t roaming free so that we could meet the animals and get to know more about them. Everyone we met seemed to have lots of knowledge about the animals, their habits and personalities and it made it very informative as well as being fun.
Greenlands Has Something For All
There is certainly much more to Greenlands Farm Village than some animals and children’s activities. The owner, Roger Mason, opened the farm village in 2009 as a way of diversification when farms were struggling economically. The vision was always to be a place where children and adults could learn more about local food sources, showcase farming and the countryside, as well as having a great family fun day.
This has developed over the years and now there is a well-stocked farm shop with a butcher, a fantastic selection of local cheeses from neighbouring Cumbria and Yorkshire as well as award-winning Lancashire cheese. Greenlands Farm seeks to be an outlet for all sorts of local food stuffs and crafts – it could easily be a place to do your Christmas shopping!
The Verdict - Would you Recommend?
"Absolutely Amazing! Lots of Fun!"