Mead Open Farm Review

Pretty much every January Mead Open Farm in Bedfordshire do a kids go free offer. Honestly, it’s really the only time that I go and visit these days, for a couple of reasons, but it does mean that some of the facilities are closed. I’ve struggled a little bit with how to frame this review of Mead Open Farm because I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the place. Now, before I get TONS of message about how amazing it is here, I know that it is extremely popular. I see all the time that people have got season tickets and it’s often recommended as one of the top annual memberships. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s bad. I just struggle with where it fits into the picture with the other local farms.

A lot of the animals were not in the same place I seem to remember them being before. When we visited they were just dismantling their Christmas displays so two of the barns (Jo’s and the Big Barn) were out of action. This might have affected where some of the animals are currently living.

The animals

The animals at Mead Open Farm are in four main areas. There’s the stables/farmyard favourites, demo barn, piggy palace and then some paddocks outside. The farmyard has two ponies, a couple of alpaca and some cows. I think what’s here changes from time to time though. This bit doesn’t have any cover so if the weather is rubbish (and it wasn’t great when we went) then you’ll definitely get wet or have to miss this bit.

For a minute I thought this was all the animals they had on site! If that was the case then the review of Mead Open Farm would have been very short. “Where are all the animals???!!” TBH though, for a farm it is fairly light on animals, the focus is more about the activities on-site rather than the animals.

The demo barn

This is where you’ll see the majority of the animals. This barn is home to several ponies, donkeys, bunnies, chickens, loads of very cheeky pygmy goats, some bigger goats, lots of young sheep, several cows and some highland cattle. They’re all undercover, which again makes it good for bad weather. There are a lot of animals all under one roof, an estate agent would possibly describe it a “compact”. Again, this isn’t a bad review of Mead Open Farm, and I’m certain the meet all the welfare standards, it’s just my observations. I think I prefer the animals to have a bit more space. I think the goats are normally outside in a walk-through, and it was cold, so there’s every possibility they were actually all inside for a good reason.

As the name “demo barn” suggests, this is where a lot of the demonstrations take place. For instance, you can groom a pony or bottle feed a lamb. All of the times are available online and on posters dotted around.

They do regularly bunny petting sessions and chicken chats in here as well. Slight rant, if you’re taking your kids to a petting session PLEASE keep an eye on your kid!! There weren’t many of us there but most of the kids were practically mauling the poor bunnies whilst the parents did nothing. There were three or four rabbits out, and only two staff, so they couldn’t keep a particularly close eye on the kids either.

Piggy Palace

The pigs now have their own dedicated palace which has a raised walkway over the pens so you can have a proper look at the pigs. The last time we visited Mead Open Farm they had 2 day old piglets which were ridiculously cute. I’m adding piglet to the list of pets I want to get!!!

There’s a funky little machine at the end. Put some food into the hopper of the tractor, wind the handle and it gets rolled out into the pig’s pen. Hours of fun! Unfortunately when we went back to Mead Open Farm to update this review it was broken. Not sure how long it has been out of action.

The paddocks

We didn’t explore the paddocks this time because it didn’t look like anything was actually out there! There are tractor rides that you can take (on certain days) around the paddocks to see more of the animals. It doesn’t operate during the winter though.

Indoor activities

Indoors there is Shaggy’s play world. This is a really big soft play area with some huge slides, an under 5’s frame, an under 3’s section and an epic vegetable themed play area/climbing frame. Smallest Child made a beeline for this because there’s a pumpkin playhouse which she adored.

I couldn’t see any signs re ages for the climbing frame but it was HARD. Personally, I’d say it’s definitely not suitable for under 5’s, just from a logistics point of view. The first time we went I had hoped maybe Smallest Child would be able to get around with some help. We got to the middle layer, she got scared and then I couldn’t get her down (due to her being too scared to go down the easiest exit). I had to try and climb down a rope ladder with just one hand whilst holding her back before she launched herself off a 6 foot drop. That was fun and we didn’t try it again!

Review update; three years later and we’ve been back to Mead Open Farm. Smallest Child had no problem getting around this bit of the play frame and really enjoyed it. It has however not really stood up to the test of time. It’s looking a bit tatty and all of the added extra bits like the pipes have gone AWOL.

The under 5’s area was really good. There’s lots of little obstacles to get round, a slide and an air blower. Accessibility is really good so you can follow them around if you need to. It’s not a big section but she liked it.

The main softplay area

The main play frame is u shaped, with lots of decent features to it. It’s almost identical to pretty much every other open farm soft play set-up, but with some added extras. It’s so easy for adults to get around as it’s full height. Result. I did have to rescue one child though. She was at the top of the Fireman’s pole but it was too far for her to reach and too far to jump down. Her brother had just come down it, so naturally she wanted to as well. In the end I had to get one mum at the top to lower her down whilst I reached up to get her. Thankfully Smallest Child was having none of that!

I really like the slides at Mead Open Farm, not as much as my kids do, but I do really like them. There’s two drop slides, both of which look terrifying to a whimp like me. Middle Child (aka Daredevil) thought these were amazing, even when he was quite small. There’s a multi-lane, bumpy slide you go down on mats which is good fun. Both of these are up quite a lot of steps. Soft play really is a good workout. There’s also a much easier tunnel slide that we went on a lot.

They have lockers. Yay. They cost £1. Ok. IT’S NON REFUNDABLE. So if your kid decides, just as you turn the key, that they absolutely NEED to have something you’ve just put away that’s going to cost you £1. TBH, that’s a bit of a joke! These really should be refundable.

The other facilities at Mead Open Farm

It’s undeniable, there are so many other things to do at Mead Open Farm. There is no doubt you could spend the entire day here, unless the weather is really wet.

They’ve got a huge, and really good, adventure playground with loads of tunnels and bridges and stuff. There’s a more gentle version for younger children. They also have go-karts, a climbing wall, crazy golf and jumping pillows. All of these are included in the price. There’s limitations re heights and times so make sure you check the leaflet.

Nearby you’ll find digger land which is a massive sandpit themed around JCB’s (big hit, even in winter, with Smallest Child). There’s four wooden JCBs for the kids to climb on and fill with sand. None of them move, but that doesn’t matter.

One part we really liked on previous visits was the sand and water play area. In the summer Middle Child has spent hours in here. Sadly this photo looks pretty grim, but that’s just because of the weather. Both sand pit areas provided lots of buckets and spades (handy if you haven’t brought your own) but a fair few were broken. I’m going to assume those will be replaced when the season gets up and running. It’s definitely worth bringing a change of clothes if you want to let the kids loose on this.

The cafe

There’s a cafe in Shaggy’s play barn with what can only be described as an abundance of seating. You cannot have your own food or drink in here though. Looking at the prices, it’s not cheap though. £7 for a hotdog and chips, £5.50 for a kids box, £4.50 for a baguette. The drinks prices seemed very reasonable though. Mega gripe though, it wasn’t very clean. When we arrived a family was just leaving that had left food EVERYWHERE on the floor. Honestly, the pig pens were cleaner. There was another table nearby which had stuff left on it and bits of napkin torn up on the floor. We were in there for an hour and it wasn’t cleaned up. There seemed to be only one member of staff behind the counter and no-one cleaning tables. Not great.

My review of Mead Open Farm

So why do I have a love/hate relationship with this place? I think it’s how it balances against the other local farms you can visit. If I hadn’t been to any other open farms I’d probably really love it. Green Dragon Eco Farm is closest to us, is quite a fair bit cheaper but has less stuff. Willows Activity Farm has the best playground areas I know of in an open farm, as well as lots of shows. There’s more than a day’s worth of stuff. But it’s at least £5 per family more. Odds Farm Park is a similar price, has better outdoor facilities, more animals and less indoor facilities.

I like the facilities they offer. My children have never had a bad day there. Is it just a bit too much money though?? Do they have enough animals?? Are the ones they have a bit squidged together?? Dirty cafe and non-refundable lockers??

Admission Costs

These vary according to time of year. It’s always cheapest to book in advance via their website. Online prices are currently showing as £6.45 – £13.45 per child and £7.45 – £14.45 per adult. They usually offer free children’s tickets in January so check out the website.

Parking / How to get there

Address – Stanbridge Road, Billington, Bedfordshire, LU7 9JH. It’s well sign posted from all major routes nearby.

Parking – Free, on-site. Not huge amounts though so I assume they have an overflow somewhere.

Toilets

There are some old ones in the shop. The main ones are sparkly new, unisex, ones in the cafe/soft play area. Because the cubicles are really big you’ll easily fit you and the kids in there (because peeing with an audience is fairly inevitable). There’s baby change as well.

Food

There is lots of picnic seating dotted around the main play areas of the farm. You’re welcome to eat your own food here. There’s also a very handy indoor picnic area which is heated too. Always appreciated. Food is available in the cafe (see note above).

Hi, I’m Vicky. My husband and I live in Aylesbury with our three children; a 14 year old son, an 12 year old son and a 6 year old daughter. I (mostly) love spending time together as a family. We visit all kinds of places and we’re quite happy to drive a fair distance for a decent day out. A few years ago I decided to set up Free Time with the Kids as a way to share our experiences of these family days out.

You’ll find the essential information you need to know before your visit that can be surprisingly hard to find out. Where do I park? How much will it cost me to get in? Are there any discounts available? Are there loos? Can I take a picnic or get food? My aim is to be your go-to guide for all your free and cheap family days out across Bucks, Beds, Oxon, Herts & slightly beyond. I really hope you find the reviews helpful. If there’s anywhere that you’d recommend please get in touch contact@freetimewiththekids.com or get in touch via Facebook