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Family Favourites Ideas for what to do with little ones.


Animal antics A


By Philippa Hutton


nimals can be an expensive business. Lovely, but expensive. A bit like children


really. Mind you, my husband would probably say the same about me. Where we live, we are lucky enough to count amongst our neighbours: three Labradors, four cats, six guinea fowl, seven geese, eight ducks, a plethora of chickens and a cockatoo called Archie. At certain times of the year, the field at the top of our drive is also graced with the presence of Eddie the Bull – who, whilst very handsome, is built like a proverbial brick ****house and hence is also reasonably intimidating. You will understand then, that when it comes to


taking Rafa on an outing to a farm or equivalent wildlife experience, there has to be something out of the ordinary to tempt us and make it value for money. Here are a few that meet with our approval:


Prickly Ball Farm, Ogwell Adults entry: £6.95 (season ticket £27 – a real bargain I think) Child: £6 (family ticket £25) Under 3’s go free Admittedly not really “By the Dart” but most people I know will make the trip to Newton Abbot once in a while and this little gem of a place is, therefore, a bonus. Situated on the edge of town, just off the Totnes Road, it began as a hedgehog hospital but – if this wasn’t enough – has so much more to offer besides. There are rabbits and guinea-pigs (pet or terrorise these as you will, as rather trustingly they allow full access to the pens), goats roaming free, haughty alpacas, gorgeously fat pigs, a fox hide, the list goes on. The team run ‘meet the animal’ sessions every half hour throughout the day – including hedge- hog encounters (and these little chaps are surprisingly silky to the touch). Aside from the animals, for the tractor-obsessed


A climbing


frame in the shape of a


tractor, with real wheels – genius.


Butterfly farm and Otter Sanctuary, Buckfastleigh Adults entry: £8.50 (quite pricey, although obviously it goes to a good cause – but worth checking Groupon for vouchers before you visit) Child: £6.50 (family ticket £26.50) Under 3’s go free The ideal time to visit this awesome little place is


definitely out of season. It shares a carpark with the Buckfastleigh steam railway and so gets pretty chocker in summer; plus, do you really want to wonder round in a hothouse when it’s pushing 30 degrees outside? Probably not. Its two main attractions – unsurprisingly – are its


“Watching these wonderful creatures enjoying a meat


feast from their keeper sent him slightly doolally.”


various species of otter and god-knows-how-many species of butterfly. To reach the former you have to first navigate through the tropical paradise that houses the latter. An enormous glass house filled with beautiful planting and dive-bombing butterflies, in every colour imaginable. They run a great breeding programme


toddlers (I have one of these) there is a sand pit full of them and their digger pals, a ride on tractor go-kart track and a climbing frame in the shape of a tractor, with real wheels – genius. They even have the real things on site – cue hours of “Dat! Dat!” from Rafa and “yes Rafa, it’s a tractor, who would’ve thought it…” from me. Best of all, this place really cuts the mustard when it’s


raining. The café is cheap and cheerful and has a brilliant soft play, complete with ball pool. In fact, you don’t even have to pay the entry fee to use the soft play if you just want to stop in for lunch on a winter’s day. We always do though because the animals are fab.


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