Family Day Out: Cannon Hall Farm, Barnsley

Many moons ago, when I was nothing more than an annoying, snotty, tantrum throwing little girl (just like my son is now but without the vagina), my Dad would regularly take me to Cannon Hall Farm to see the animals and spend some quality time as a family.

Opening in 1989 to the public, when I was just five years old, it has been a firm fixture within my life and holds many fond memories of my Dad. Ever since he passed away I’ve liked to visit a couple of times a year as it allows me to continue the tradition that my Dad began with me. Some people visit plaques and graves to feel close to passed loved ones, I go to Cannon Hall Farm.

The sun was shining, the husband had the day off and my friend and her son were also looking for something to do therefore it was the perfect place to spend the day. Entry into the farm is free for under 2’s with adults and children (aged 2-15) paying £7.95 each. Prices vary depending on if it’s the school holidays or not but you can spend a whole day there so it’s great value for money in that sense. You can also get a bag of food for the animals for 50p and parking is £3 which you can get back if you spend over a tenner in the restaurant.

In the 27 years that Cannon Hall Farm has been open, it’s changed quite a lot! The Adventure Playground and Gift Shop quickly followed the opening of the farm, and more recently have been updated. In 2013, the farmyard was updated and finally the Hungry Llama restaurant and soft play were added last year. This part of the farm is a welcome bonus as the soft play is one of the best ever and the food is lovely!

We began with a walk up to see the sheep and witnessed one sneeze a ridiculous amount of times in the row, which provoked the natural response of “Bless you!” from Mini R – hilarious! My friend’s son B is only six weeks younger than him and they were awfully cute playing together and running around after each other all day. There are several events that take place during the day which you can see including sheep racing and ferret racing which was really good fun however we missed them this time as the boys favoured the outdoor play area. Catering for all ages, there is Pyramid Towers for the older ones with huge slides and climbing frames as well as a zip wire and a ‘climbing forest’ full of ropes to clamber around on. For our little ones, there is a mini version specially for toddlers. It was perfect for B and Mini R and really encouraged them to develop their climbing skills and balance.

The farm itself has the usual animals you’d expect: cows, sheep, goats, pigs, llamas, alpacas, donkeys, rabbits, guinea pigs, ferret and a few birds. All are well looked after and in large, clean enclosures. The staff are very friendly and we got chatting to one of the farmers who pointed out a two week old calf who was called Tug…because it had took three of them to get him out! Ouch! Poor Mummy Cow!

We had lunch in the Hungry Llama and sent the hubby off to chase after two toddlers in the soft play before heading down to see the pigs, goats, cows and a few others. The boys seemed more interested in chasing each other and running off in the opposite direction – standard!

All in all, a lovely day with great company. Everyone had fun…apart from when Mini R was complaining about walking but didn’t want to go in the buggy, that ol’ chestnut. The day ended with snuggles on the sofa under a blanket and a very sleepy toddler…and Mummy for that matter!

Do you have anything like this near you? Have you visited Cannon Hall Farm? I’d love to hear from you! Comment below or find me on Facebook and Twitter!

It’s a hard life.