Review: Farmer Palmer's

Are you finding it difficult to think of social distancing friendly family days out in and around Poole?

I have an energetic 3 year old girl (Florence), and a newborn (Phoebe), and I definitely find parenting my toddler a lot easier when we’re out of the house. We’ve explored every walk and beach in Poole, which she absolutely loves but I’ve been desperate to give her a really good day out like we used to pre Covid – and we found the perfect place to do just that; Farmer Palmer's is just 7 miles outside of Poole heading towards Wareham.

I booked our tickets online for the 9am to 2pm session which cost £10 each for my daughter Florence and I (Phoebe was free). I found this fantastic value for money as it included so much!

It’s super easy to find and has a large car park right outside the entrance which was a bonus with two children.

Thanks to the pre-booking system there was no queue and we headed straight in. We were both so excited we didn’t know what to do first. Being an incredible day weather wise we spent all of our time outdoors but there is plenty to do under cover when the weather’s not playing ball.

Florence headed straight for peddle tractors and my heart could have burst hearing her squealing with delight as she went round and round. Once she’d completed plenty of laps, she darted across to the incredible sand outdoor play area – I would have happily paid the entrance fee just for this! With swings, slides, climbing frames, see-saws, there’s plenty to keep the little ones occupied and we loved the Wendy Houses all in different colours and with different themes which Florence explored with great curiousity.

It was then time for a Tractor Ride – this was the most impressive part for me and I’m not sure whether it’s because of distancing measures, but I found the short duration of the ride to be a plus point. Not because it wasn’t fun (it was very fun; bumpy and scenic) but I have found some to be too lengthy and then the toddlers inevitably get restless and try to clamber out! The health and safety couldn’t have been better too with a hand sanitiser station before climbing on and a 2 metre marker to put next to you so you can guarantee distancing is observed.

In need of some refreshments after all the fun, we headed to the café for a ‘babyccino’ and homemade chocolate cake and sat on the picnic benches which is beautifully positioned so you can admire the pretty views of the farm. It’s close to the tractor ride queue too and Florence spotted the staff member working on the tractor and ran over and shouted ‘thank you for the tractor ride’ jumping up and down – another heart explosion!

Fuelled with chocolate cake, Florence made a bee-line for the splash park which was perfect for a sunny autumn day and although Florence stripped off and got stuck in she didn’t get so wet we needed a towel (thankfully!).

We then went on the pedal go-karts together which was so much fun and a great way to see the donkeys and more of the farm. Again - plenty of anti-bacterial spray and health and safety measures in place including one-way systems when entering and exiting the track.

We then took a walk through the grounds to meet the animals and Florence enjoyed baaing at the sheep, snorting to the pigs and copying the roosters crowing.

After all of that it was nap time so we headed home but even though we had an action packed day there was still even more to explore including feeding the goats so we plan on visiting again very soon.

Thank you for an extremely happy and memorable day to all at Farmer Palmer's!

Find out more about Farmer Palmer's HERE!