We first visited Willows Activity Farm shortly before I started running the blog and I didn’t really have any photos in order to do a review. So I didn’t do one. We’d had a really good time when we went, Middle Child had been about 6 at the time and absolutely loved it and he often asks to go back. It’s very expensive though so we put it off. Now Smallest Child is starting school I thought a return visit would be a great way to spend our last Mummy and Daughter day out together before she does.
One thing I will say is that Willows Activity Farm has changed quite a lot since our last visit. They’ve rearranged several areas and added some new features. The focus seems to be a bit less “farm” and a bit more “activity” these days. One thing that hasn’t changed though. A big part of the reason why Middle Child enjoyed it so much was because Willows Activity Farm is also the home of Peter Rabbit!
All things Peter Rabbit
There’s so many elements to Willows Activity Farm that have a link to Peter Rabbit that it makes sense to start with him. Mr Todd’s house is brilliant – downstairs is the kitchen, complete with big cooking pot to put the rabbits in (which kids can actually climb into). Climb up the chimney and there’s lots more for the kids to explore. Squirrel Nutkin get his own treehouse (which is definitely better for older kids than younger ones). There’s an adventure playground, Cotton-Tail’s village and the cafe is Peter Rabbit’s Burrow.
The first time we visited the adventure playground Middle Child absolutely loved it – and for good reason. It has lots of interactive elements. There’s Peter Rabbits’ treehouse where your little rabbits can play and hide from Old Brown, Mrs Tiggywinkles laundry, Mr McGregor’s garden etc. BUT in the few years since we last visited Willows Activity Farm this section has gone downhill a lot. Lots of the hands-on elements have gone (probably because of covid) but, less understandably, there are a lot of interactive elements that really needed some TLC. Given how much tickets cost to visit here, I did expect things to not be broken quite so much!
At various times throughout the day there are meet and greet sessions with several characters from the Peter Rabbit series and there are a couple of shows. I took Smallest Child to meet Benjamin Bunny. She likes Benjamin Bunny. We queued for 10 minutes to see Benjamin Bunny. Then she decided she didn’t really like him at all, and wanted to go on the carousel so just walked away from him without so much as a hello. Literally 10 minutes of my life I’m never getting back!!
The Puddle Play Park
The splash park play area at Willows Activity Farm was new for 2021 and when we visited to do this review we were actually the only ones in it for about 20 minutes! It’s not a full-blown splash park like Stanborough Lakes (best splash park in Hertfordshire btw!) so puddle play does sum it up nicely. There’s a couple of button operated jets, with puddles, gates and streams for the water to flow down. It’s only a small area but we spent an hour in here! I had to lure her out with the promise of (an overdue) lunch otherwise we wouldn’t have seen anywhere else!
The animals
Willows Activity Farm is called a farm because it has animals. Obviously. But actually, we only spent a very small proportion of our day doing anything animal related. Fairly centrally there’s the main feeding barn, which is where pretty much everyone goes when they arrive so they can get rid of their bags of food. Wish I hadn’t bothered. Most of the animals weren’t really that interested in the food – probably because they’d already had so much from everyone else and they’d only been open for an hour.
There’s another animal area near the bouncy castles and another one past the adventure playground. Personally, I think you’re better off going for those ones if you want a chance to feed the animals. Or just ditch the food and have a look at the animals.
Sheep Racing, Indian Running Ducks and other shows
It’s a bit of a weird fascination but our family LOVES a good Indian running duck show. We have done ever since we visited The Big Sheep in Devon. At certain times of year they have an Indian running duck show here. Plus they do sheep racing. I’m also partial to a good sheep race. And SMALLEST CHILD PICKED THE WINNER. I think they normally do badges or something to “bet” on the runners, but they weren’t when we went. That might just be a covid thing. There’s also a sheep show, but that appears to only take place during certain school holidays.
Although it’s not a show, I thought I’d mention the tractor rides as well. There’s no additional charge, which is good, and it’s a relatively short ride around a field to see a few cows. But the kids enjoy it – and that’s actually all that counts. I also appreciate that for a lot of kids the only place the get to see farm animals is in open farms so, for them, it’s pretty cool.
As much as Willows Activity Farm is expensive, you don’t have to spend any money once you’re in there. If you take a packed lunch and can withstand begging for ice creams then, once you’re in, everything is included. Back to the tractor though – it’s bumpy as hell. If you have little ones, cling on the them otherwise they’ll bounce right out.
Activities to do outside
There’s a ton of stuff to do outside. Actually, I would say that Willows Activity Farm is definitively an outside family day out, so make sure you dress accordingly. Obviously you’ve got all the things I’ve mentioned above. Plus they’ve got the kinds of things that I think we all expect from an open farm; fairground rides, a couple of bouncy castles, jumping pillows, an adventure playground and a massive sandpit. I’ve got over my assumption that all outdoor sandpits must be full of cat poop. Smallest Child’s favourite ride was this horse track thing. I thought the horses looked quite sinister, but she enjoyed it!
Near the back of the main farm area there’s a gold panning station where you can pan for “real” gold. If you find enough pieces then you can claim your reward. They had something similar when we visited the show caves in Wales and the kids love it. There weren’t really any queues for anything on the day that we visited Willows Activity Farm to do this review. The one place that did have a queue was for the inflatable slide, and that was very well managed.
Activities to do inside at Willows Activity Farm
Realistically there isn’t much to do inside at Willows Activity Farm, so it makes sense to plan your day carefully. There’s a little JCB driving school area – which just has some ride-on cars. There’s a role-play village and the soft play. Oh, and the one feeding barn that I mentioned earlier, that’s it.
The role playing village was really disappointing. As I’ve mentioned, when this review of Willows Activity Farm was written covid is still a thing. But it’s been a thing for a long time, all of the restrictions have been lifted and I think this is pretty much as good as we’re going to get. All of the props have been removed except for the odd one here or there. Or maybe they’ve been stolen because there are dozens of signs everywhere saying not to remove the toys. Honestly it was like going through “nothing to declare” at the airport – I automatically felt guilty even though I knew I hadn’t secretly run out with a life sized model of Peter Rabbit in my bag. Most of what has been left has (literally) been nailed down or trashed. It’s really hard to role play, when there’s nothing to play with.
The soft play area was a bit underwhelming as well. It’s mostly built around getting access to the massive drop and bumpy slides, almost as if the soft play element is an after thought. The slides are great, don’t get me wrong, but if your kids aren’t into them then there’s not a huge amount for them. Smallest Child wanted to try the second highest drop slide. The one where I had to dangle her over the side. The one which made my stomach flip just standing at the top holding her. And she loved it! We were only in there for about 30 minutes though, and almost all of that was slide based.
Our Willows Activity Farm Review
I suppose this review of Willows Activity Farm kind of comes in two parts. First up – the kids love it! They are pretty much guaranteed to have a good time here. If you’re doing the shows etc then there’s probably more than you can do in a single day. If you don’t plan of seeing any of the shows then you’ll be here for a full, action packed day. It may even be a tantrum free day! Realistically I’d say the age limit is probably about 8 years old. Biggest Child would be super bored here. Middle Child would like some of it, but be bored at parts of it.
From an adult perspective, it is expensive. I’ve done a quick search and it’s the most expensive open farm in our area (if you can find one that’s more expensive then please do let me know). That doesn’t automatically make it bad, and they’ve got some great facilities, but it does need some serious maintenance work done in a few areas to bring it back up to spec. Personally I’d say knock a could of ££ off the price and you’d be about right (on top of fixing the broken bits)
Admission cost
Varies according to time of year and day of visit. A low season, weekday ticket will cost you approx £17 per person. For something like the Santa visit it’s £51 per child and £29 per adult. The latest prices, and booking, is available via their website.
Parking / How to get there
Parking – Free, on-site.
Address – Colney Heath, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL4 0PF
Toilets
On-site including baby change. Decent size as well so no squeezing into tiny cubicles with a toddler!
Food
There’s a cafe and various kiosks on-site. Picnics allowed. Plenty of outside seating, and a covered picnic area. Some might almost call it an abundance of outside seating!!
What else is there to do nearby?
Verulamium Park in St Albans has got a fantastic playground, splash park, museum and lakeside walks. There’s also St Albans cathedral and the nearby gallery and museum which are all free to visit. St Albans also has its own version of the Treasure Map Trail you can try (affiliate link).
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