Penny Travels

Travelling the world, near and far, one step at a time.

England

5 places to visit near Harry Potter Studios

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First thing’s first – the Warner Brothers Studio Tour, The Making of Harry Potter, AKA Harry Potter Studios isn’t in London. Many people think it is, but it’s actually in a place called Leavesden on the outskirts of Watford. A short drive from the M1 and M25 motorways.

A top down photograph showing a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, a pair of Harry's iconic glasses and a Chocolate Frog box.

If you’re staying in London then the easiest way to get there is to get a train from London Euston to Watford Junction station and from there you can hop aboard a shuttle bus that goes from outside the station. If you’re looking to book a hotel nearby then look for one in Watford itself, or maybe slightly further afield in Hemel Hempstead or St Albans.

Just because the studios aren’t in London itself that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to do in the surrounding area to make your visit into a weekend or a few days away from home. Here are some ideas of local places that you could visit that kids of all ages will love

Watford Town Centre

Whilst Watford town centre might not sound the perfect tourist destination there’s actually loads going on there to keep children entertained, especially on a rainy day. Centred around the atria shopping centre (which has multiple car parks) as well as a mix of shops (including a fab Lego store) you can also find various restaurants, a large Cineworld cinema, indoor rock climbing, Escape Rooms, bowling and even high tech crazy golf.

Lost Jungle London

If the indoor crazy golf in Watford town centre isn’t enough then just off the A41 is Lost Jungle London, Europe’s largest adventure golf course. The site actually has two 18 hole courses – the Amazon and the Congo. You can simply decide which course you want to do when you arrive and both are pay and play meaning that you don’t need to book.

The lack of bookings is advantageous if you’re looking for something to do on the spur of the moment, but it can lead to some queues, although in our experience these are fast moving. There’s a discount for if you want to do both courses, but with young kids one may well be sufficient. The site also has a 9 hole foot golf course next to the golf courses.

There isn’t much available at the site in way of refreshments – just basics like bottles of drink, crisps and chocolate bars and some ice creams in a freezer – so maybe plan your visit around a meal somewhere in Watford.

Whipsnade Zoo

A bit further north than Watford is Whipsnade Zoo, on the outskirts of Dunstable. This huge award winning zoo is actually part of the Zoological Society of London who also run the famous London Zoo.

The zoo’s site is vast and you can pay to take your car into the zoo’s site itself to help you get around. An alternative is the large car park outside the zoo’s main entrance and there is a free bus inside the zoo to help with some of the distances.

As well as the expected array of animals, there is also a huge children’s outdoor playground, as well as an indoor soft play centre (time slot booking necessary). A daily programme of talks by keepers is run and upon arrival you normally get told the timetable for the day ahead.

St Albans

Neighbouring St Albans can provide a cultural excursion not far from Watford. The city’s Roman history is laid out in the Verulamium Museum which sits on the edge of Verulamium Park. The park includes a lovely cafe, Childrens play area, splash park and a nice lake to walk around.

Up the hill from Verulamium Park sits the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban (known better as St Albans Abbey) and with a modern visitor’s centre and cafe you can find out more about St Alban himself and the impressive Abbey. In the City centre is the modern St Albans Museum and Gallery which covers more of the city’s non-Roman history, along with a variety of art exhibitions. The Museum and Gallery are located on the main market area of the city with numbers cafes and restaurants nearby for refreshments. Nearby is also the Clock Tower which when open gives 360 degree views across the city’s skyline.

London

It may seem obvious, but the other place easy to visit from the Warner Brothers Studio Tour is London itself. If you’re staying in Watford you can easily get the train from Watford Junction down to Euston or even head to Watford tube station and get the Metropolitan Line (but beware, this far out it doesn’t really feel like the tube!)

Once in London there really is so much to do with museums, galleries and other tourist attractions, but the one place many Harry Potter fans want to visit is Platform 9 3/4 at London’s Kings Cross Railway Station. If you’re coming into London on the train it’s really not too far to walk down the Euston Road and past the impressive British Library and St Pancras stations. There’s also a handily placed Harry Potter souvenir shop (just in case you didn’t spend everything at the Studios) and both Kings Cross and St Pancras stations have a range of family friendly places to grab food and drinks too.

More ideas

If you’re still looking or more things to do then why not see where else we have visited in Hertfordshire and the neighbouring counties of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire as well as London.

The Pixel Bunker – Retro Arcade Fun in Milton Keynes

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Imagine a room filled with all your favourite arcade games from your youth and that is pretty much what you have at Milton Keynes’ The Pixel Bunker.

A view into the Pixel Bunker in Milton Keynes. You are looking into the doorway and above it is a large illuminated sign saying The Pixel Bunker. Inside you can see some unidentified people in a dark room filled with arcade games.

Co-located with the National Film and Sci-Fi Museum (which you do need a separate ticket for) The Pixel Bunker is quite simply a room filled with old arcade games from the 1970s onwards. Classics like Pac-man, Space Invaders and Donkey Kong alongside an array of driving and shoot ’em up games from our youth. The way it works is that you pay for a time slot there (usually about three hours) and all the games are set on free play and you’re able to simply play to your heart’s content.

A picture of a vintage Pac-Man arcade game. The screen is showing game over.

Retro Arcade Heaven

It’s a genius idea and perfect for either people who remember the games from their own youth, or the youth of today who want to see what we all did for gaming kicks before we had a games console in our bedrooms. It really is perfect for families with tweens or teens as a place that has something for everyone. When we visited there were families with kids of all ages, as well as some people there on their own for some serious gaming. One guy even went round with a sleeping baby strapped to his chest the whole time.

A picture of a three year old girl sat at an arcade machine. On the screen is a driving game and she has her left hand on a steering wheel and her right hand on a gun.

After a trip to the seaside arcades over the summer our three year old thought she was in heaven, despite the small disappointment of there being no two penny slots to go and feed coins into. Under 5s are free at the Pixel Bunker and I think that’s about right as many of the old games are a bit too high for them to reach properly, although she absolutely loved trying and spent quite a bit of time on their Japanese version of Whack a Mole (which none of us could figure out the rules for!) and also the dancing game that was popular with all kids there.

Our visit made me realise just how few arcade games I really played as a kid, but finding Track and Field invoked some very strong memories of trying to master the finger skills required for the long jump in the Games Room of the Holiday Inn on the outskirts of Newcastle as a child.

One word of caution…

Old arcade games feature old screen technology and old screens get hot. Therefore it follows that a room filled with old arcade games gets really hot!

There are a couple of air conditioning units in there and ceiling fans too, but The Pixel Bunker is a hot place. Dress for summer. Even in the middle of winter.

You are allowed to take drinks in with you (and they sell soft drinks at very reasonable prices too) but you are asked not to place drinks on the arcade games to reduce the risk of spilling something on them.

The back of teh head of a nine year old boy whilst he playing an arcade driving game.

Take a walk around The Pixel Bunker

Where to find The Pixel Bunker?

Make sure you book your session at The Pixel Bunker in advance as they are often at capacity.

You can find The Pixel Bunker’s website here and they also regularly update their Facebook page with news of new games and opening times.

The Pixel Bunker is located in central Milton Keynes at 34 Secklow Gate West, MK9 3AT. You can walk from Milton Keynes Central station in less than ten minutes and driving is easy from Junction 14 of the M1. There is plenty of parking nearby. Look at the coloured zones and head to the pink zone (which does look a bit more purple than pink) and it’s only 50p an hour to park. The signs will tell you which parking app to use.

What to find somewhere else to visit locally?

For more things to do in and around Buckinghamshire take a look here. We’ve also travelled to various places in the neighbouring counties of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire too.

Wendover Woods Play Trail

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Finding an outdoor activity that will suit kids with ages between 3 and 12 can be a bit of a challenge, but a day out at Wendover Woods in the Chilterns really does tick all boxes. We went with the simple aim of getting out of the house and into some fresh air, but a visit to the Play Trail and then subsequent ice creams from the cafe resulted in three happy, slightly grubby and tired children being bundled into the car at the end of the day with smiles on their faces.

What is the Play Trail?

Wendover Woods has so much to offer visitors of any age, but what exactly is the Play Trail? Well, it’s as the name suggests somewhat; a trail through the woods, with numerous stop off points where there are various pieces of play equipment. There are two different trail lengths a short one of just 600m and a longer trail of 1km. You will miss some of the play opportunities if you take the shorter route, but it makes the whole trail more accessible for those with little legs who stubbornly refuse to go in a pushchair for the whole walk. All parents have been there at some point!

In the left foreground of the picture is a sign showing the start of the Play Trail at Wendover Woods, including a plan of the trail showing the long and short routes. In the distance on the right of the picture is a path leading into the woods and you can see another sign - which is part of the Superworm trail.

The trail itself if reasonably flat and accessible with any sturdy pushchair. When wet there is likely to be mud in some parts. Some of the play areas involve slopes, in particular the Wendover Woods Hollow Fort. A single kilometre may not sound like very far round, but I think it’s actually a perfect length for children of all ages. If they stop at all the pieces of play equipment (as most children will insist on doing) then it can actually take a while to go round, even more so if you have a snack break (or several!) on route too.

A three year old girl wearing a yellow t-shirt and navy shorts and a forest superhero face mask. She is in a wooden playground and is hold ing a metal chain that is attached to a rubber bucket. She looks like she is hauling the bucket up using the chain.

Finding Superworm

A smiling three year old with blonde hair stood in front of a sign for the Superworm trail. She is wearing a yellow t-shirt and navy shorts.

When we visited (August 2022) the play trail was also hosting a Superworm trail. Children were invited to find Superworm and his friends at various points on the trail and at six different points the children could also do a rubbing of an animal or plant.

A paper bag sitting on a tree stump. The bag is the Superworm Trail Pack from Foresty England and it has a picture of Superworm on it that children can colour in.

The information centre near the car park sells activity packs for £3.50 each and as well as including a trail activity book, children also get a woodland superhero mask, stickers and some fact filled postcards about some of the animals on the trail. Most importantly the pack also contains a pencil and a wax crayon for doing the rubbings as you go round. It’s not compulsory to buy a pack, but it is nice if you want an extra activity for the kids as you go round.

A close up of a smiling three year old girl with blonde hair and wearing a yellow t-shirt. On her face is a paper forest superhero mask that she got in her Superworm trail activity pack.

What else is there to do at Wendover Woods?

With walking trails for people of all abilities, as well as cycle routes and numerous playgrounds, Wendover Woods provides plenty of free activities for all the family. In the woods around the main visitor facilities and on the play trail you can find loads of dens which are popular with all children. Some have slightly formal foundations, whilst others are just built from what people have found around them. All of them provide a huge amount of fun.

A smiling three year old girl wearing a yellow t-shirt, navy shorts and a forest superhero face mask sitting on a log in a wooden den.

Next to the main car park is a large Go Ape centre and for those of you that prefer to run rather than walk there is a weekly Park Run at 9am on a Saturday morning too.

For Gruffalo fans there is also a large Gruffalo statue, but be warned that at the time of writing this is fenced off as the Gruffalo is due to retire soon and although a replacement is planned staff told me that there’s just one man who makes there and therefore it takes a while to replace it.

There are plenty of picnic tables dotted around the site and normally you can also book a BBQ spot – although these are currently closed due to the dangerously dry conditions this summer.

Near the information kiosk there are also a couple of outdoor table tennis tables that are free to use. We found bats on the tables and balls in little orange ball holders at each underneath the playing surface.

Facilities at Wendover Woods

The main facilities area at Wendover Woods had a makeover a few years back and there is now a much larger car park and a new building hosting a large toilet block and a good sized cafe with both indoor and outdoor seating.

The car park now works on an ANPR system and you need to pay before you leave at one of the machines next to the information point, or via an app on your phone.

A smiling three year old girl wearing a yellow t-shirt and navy shorts. She also has on a paper "forest Superhero" face mask. She is stood on a wobbly bridge with netting on both sides of her.

Looking for something else nearby?

Why not take a look at other places we’ve visited in Buckinghamshire, or neighbouring Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

Pitstone Windmill

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Believed to be the oldest surviving windmill in the British Isles, Pitstone Windmill is somewhere that I have driven past for years, yet until last week I’d embarrassingly not got round to visiting. 

Looking at the rear of Pitstone Windmill. You can see teh ends of teh sails on teh front of teh windmill and the stairs leading up into the windmill and the wooden arm with the turning wheel on the end of it. Also in picture is teh National Trust welcome table outside the windmill. Text has been added to the photographs saying "Visiting Pitstone Windmill".

History of Pitstone Windmill

Part of the National Trust’s Ashridge Estate, the windmill is clearly visible from the nearby road and is a beautiful example of an early post mill. A post mill is one which was turned on top of a huge wooden post to face the wind. Once you’re up close to the mill the tail pole and accompanying rotation wheel make it obvious as to how this was done. Today the mill no longer turns, but it has been restored, inside and out, to show visitors how it would have operated at the time.

The stairs leading up into the windmill and a wooden arm with a red wheel, looking a bit like a cart wheel on the end of it.

The earliest date carved into the mill is 1627, although it is believed that the mill is even older than that. At one point it was owned by the nearby Ashridge Estate before being sold to a local farmer, Mr Hawkins of Pitstone Green Farm (now home to a fantastic independent museum). Hawkins happened to be the windmill’s tenant at the time. Whilst Mr Hawkins had had great success running the mill, and oversaw repairs there in 1895, a great storm in 1902 damaged the mill. So much so that it was no longer operational. It confuses me therefore as to why Mr Hawkins decided to buy the mill in 1924, but maybe at the time it was thought to be rescuable. By 1937 it was clear that saving it would be out of their abilities, so the mill was donated to its current owners the National Trust. 

It wasn’t until the 1960s though when a group of local volunteers came together that work started to restore the mill. By this time much of the original machinery inside the mill had been lost or destroyed so a huge amount of work went into rebuilding, restoring and finding replacement parts. 

Pitstone Windmill Today

Pitstone Windmill is now locked into place and the milling machinery inside no longer works, but everything is there that would have been needed to make it operational. Some of it having originally come from other mills across the country.

One of teh milling stones inside the windmill with a wooden surround.

Inside the windmill visitors are able to visit three different levels to understand how the whole milling process worked at the site. It is fascinating to see the early engineering that was used inside and also to realise just how much work would be done on the site by just one person. National Trust volunteers take visitors around the Windmill explaining the mill’s history and workings.

Visiting Pitstone Windmill

Pitstone Windmill stands in the middle of a farmer’s fields and there is a path leading to it from a small parking area on the B488 just outside Ivinghoe. The National Trust opens the windmill on Sunday afternoons in summer months, with exact dates and times published on their website.

A view across fields looking towards Pitstone Windmill. The windmill is in the distance and there is a grass path leading to it. In the foreground is a National Trust sign welcoming visitors to the windmill.

There are no facilities at the windmill itself. National Trust members can visit for free, but there is a charge for non-members. Payments have to be in cash as the welcome desk is literally a table just outside the windmill! For the upper two levels of the windmill there are steep ladder like steps to climb which may be difficult for some, including young children. 

A front on view f Pitstone Windmill showing the sails. There are no sailcloths on the sails.

If you’ve an interest in local history, or in seeing how windmills worked then it’s an excellent place to visit. The nearby National Trust estate at Ashridge has proper visitor facilities and also a large number of walks advertised. It’s also possible to visit the windmill as part of a local walk centred around Ivinghoe or Pitstone. There is also a great local campsite that I can recommend at Town Farm.

More adventures in Hertfordshire

For us Hertfordshire is literally just down the road and all three kids go to school in the county. Just because somewhere is local though doesn’t mean you can’t have an adventure there. You can share more of our Hertfordshire adventures with us here.

Southend Cliff Lift

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One of my latest fascinations is cliff lists – or just funiculars in general really. I blame Tim Dunn for covering the Saltburn Cliff Lift on his excellent Yesterday programme The Architecture the Railways Built. We took a November trip down Southend for a bit of sea air and a chance to see one of the new trains on the pier there (more on that in a separate post soon), and somehow it had completely passed me by that Southend had a cliff lift.

Looking down the tracks on the Southend Cliff Lift. In the foreground you an see the rear of a two year old wearing a yellow coat and pink bobble hat who is looking out of the window.
Looking down the tracks from inside the lift

Now this might have been because I’d been looking online at list of funiculars in the UK and there is a bit of a dispute as to whether or not the Southend Cliff List is a funicular or not. Let me explain.

The upper station at Southend Cliff Lift
Upper station

A funicular or not?

The definition fo funicular is as follows:

adjective

  1. (of a railway, especially one on a mountainside) operating by cable with ascending and descending cars counterbalanced.
  2. relating to a rope or its tension.

The problem, in Southend’s case, being that there is only once car. However the sign at the bottom of the cliff lift says the following:

The Cliff Lift is a counter-balanced funicular railway – a funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable moves a carriage up and down a steep slope.

I’m guessing that at least makes it a discussion point! As far as 2 year old Tube Stop Baby was concerned it was a “baby train”, and one that she was very excited to be able to press the button to operate.

A two year old girl wearing a yellow coat and pink bobble hat is pressing the button to operate the lift whilst under the watchful eye of one of the volunteers who is stood next to her wearing a jacket with reflective stripes, a lanyard round his neck, a black face mask and a flat cap.
Operating the cliff lift

History of the Southend Cliff Lift

The Southend Cliff Lift originally opened on August Bank Holiday Monday in 1912, and goes between the Western Esplanade and Clifftown Parade. It only covers a distance of 40m (albeit with a 43% gradient), but at just 50p a ride you can’t complain.

A view up the tracks of the Southend cliff lift, taken from just outside the lower station and looking up the steps that run next to the tracks.
Looking up the tracks

Originally the site hosted an innovative moving walkway that as installed in 1901, but being open to the seaside elements it proved to be unreliable and was then replaced by the funicular instead. In its lifetime the cliff lift has been closed on three occasions to allow for major restorations – 1930, 1059 and 1990. In 2003 a malfunction with the counterweight meant that it was out of action for 7 years in total. Major corrosion was found in the structure, and around this time the council also received Heritage Lottery Fund funding to restore the neighbouring Cliff Gardens including the lift stations. The lift wasn’t re-opened until 2010 at which point it had not only refurbished stations, but all a new carriage, tracks. winding gear and electrical and control systems. I fear that if the Lottery funding hadn’t been there the lift might not be there today.

The lower station of the Southend Cliff Lift with the lift carriage seen ascending.
The Lower Cliff Lift Station

Visiting the Cliff Lift

Covid obviously closed the lift for a period, but when we went in November 2021 it was running with volunteers manning the lift and charging 50p a ride. The aim to open from 10am to 3pm in winter and until 6pm in summer, but this is dependent on volunteers being available. I was told the most accurate way to keep track of it they’re open or not is via their Facebook page. Technically the lift is part of Southend Museums Service.

Looking through the orange gateway into Prittwell Gardens in Southend-on-sea. You are looking at an ornate fountain in the middle of the gardens, and there is a clock (showing the wrong time!) above the entrance as part of the ornate metal gateway.
Prittwell Gardens

There’s obviously plenty to see at the lower end of the lift with the Pier and its railway just a short walk away. At the top station we took a short walk along to the stunningly beautiful Prittwell Gardens and also spent a while looking at the statue of Queen Victoria pointing out to sea with her disproportionally long right forearm. Go and have a look and you’ll see what I mean!

Family Day Out Post Covid – Woodside Animal Farm

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Everything’s changed.

Those two words pretty much sum everything up from a travel point of view since Covid-19 came to be a thing.

It’s hard as a travel writer to know what to write about now as travel has changed so much. For weeks we weren’t even allowed to go anywhere. Now places are opening up again, but things are different. In some cases very different. Lots of people are (understandably) nervous about heading out, and everyone is clamouring for information about what places are now like in this post-Covid world. I see plenty of people online asking what going on a train, or even just into a specific shop, is like now. Some places have really got it right. Others are still trying to find the balance in this new world.

What I plan to do here though is start to share our findings of what the world looks like with Covid in the hope that it helps some of you get out again. In as safe and enjoyable way as possible.

Woodside Animal Farm

Our first proper family day out post lockdown was to Woodside Animal Farm. A small farm attraction just down the road from us on the outskirts of Luton. We visited towards the end of July, at a time when Luton itself had a rise in Covid cases and everyone locally was on high alert, despite not being in a lockdown situation.

Now, my eldest two kids have been to Woodside before, but for us adults and 20 month old Tube Stop Baby this was our first trip. I asked the kids to compare it to life before, but to be honest they were just so excited to be back at a place like this that I didn’t get much sense out of them!

Before our trip

Now, this is where an attraction’s website really is important. Before going to Woodside Animal Farm I went onto their website to book tickets (something you must do now) and also see what they had to say about how things are running at the moment.

I’m delighted to say that there was loads of useful information on there. Not only things about regular cleaning etc, but also details like needing a face mask as the exit from the farm is through the farm shop where they are compulsory. It also explained how tractor rides are operating at the moment. A fact that is vitally important for visitors with kids.

Arrival at the Farm

With a pre-booked time slot we arrived at Woodside and only had one other family in front of us in the queue to enter. There were signs about social distancing and plenty of reminders about hand washing. Staff on the gate were behind a plastic screen and entry just required them to scan a QR code that I’d been emailed when I booked.

We had booked to arrive after lunch, but you can choose time slots throughout the day easily enough and there is no time that you need to leave the site by.

Inside the Farm

Once inside the farm, it generally felt much the same as these places normally do. With the exception of hand cleaning reminders everywhere. I was pleased to see how many places there were to use hand sanitiser and old fashioned soap and water hand washing dotted around the place. Another delight was the fact that there was also hot water to wash your hands with! Not something that all farms manage.

Visitors inside the farm were generally pretty good. Some were choosing to wear face masks for the whole of their visit. Some didn’t. There was plenty of stepping out of people’s way in places where paths narrowed, but generally there weren’t that many people on site so social distancing was easily possible.

Play areas

My kids were all delighted to find that the play areas were all open at the farm. Again, it was down to parents to make sure the kids social distanced as much as possible on the play equipment, but this seemed to be working well.

Two children on the jumping pillow at Woodside Animal Farm

On the jumping pillows (there is one for over 5s and one for under 5s) there were signs up for maximum capacities due to Covid. There was no one there enforcing these and many parents either didn’t seem to be bothered, or simply hasn’t seen the signs. Whatever the reason though, the pillows didn’t seem too crowded and the kids were no closer together than they were on other bits of play equipment.

A girl sat on a small balance bike at Woodside Animal Farm

The ride on tractors and bikes were also open, but once again overall visitor numbers meant that this wasn’t a problem in terms of overcrowding and children were encouraged by signs to wash their hands when they’d finished on them.

The tea cup ride was operating with just people from one bubble allowed in a tea cup at any one time. Again, hand sanitiser was positioned right on the gate so people could use it on their way in and out. The carousel was closed with the sign (and website) explaining that this was because it was impossible to social distance on it.

A ten year old girl posing on teh crazy golf course at Woodside Animal Farm

I enjoyed a round of crazy golf with the kids. There was a separate place to leave used clubs and golf balls when we finished so that they could be cleaned for the next people going round.

The indoor play barn was also closed as per current government rules.

Animals

It can be easy to come to places like Woodside these days and forget about the animals as there is just so much other fun to be had. For TSB though the animals were a highlight. With lockdown, this was her first visit to a farm since she’s been talking properly and so she was in her absolute element shouting out animal names as we walked round. Goats confused her a bit as she thought they were dogs and Alpacas blew her mind Sheep, cows and chickens though went down an absolute storm with her.

A ten year old girl feeding goats at Woodside Animal Farm as a toddler in a pushchair looks on

It was also nice that you can still buy animal food at Woodside and feed the animals as you go around. The only thing that I felt was missing (and this is a non-Covid thing) was signs telling you that it is OK to feed them. My elder two are so used to places where it is very clear to tell you what you can and can’t feed that they felt a bit nervous at first in case they fed something they shouldn’t.

Tractor Rides

A tractor driving round Woodside Animal Farm

All three kids were delighted to see that tractor rides were still running. The only difference was that it was one bubble at a time. If anything I felt this made the whole thing far nicer than being squashed in with strangers. Again, hand sanitiser was there for you all to use on the way in and out and everyone I saw was doing this. The queue was nicely socially distanced and the staff members driving the tractors were always wearing face masks.

Food and drink

As we only visited for the afternoon we just took a few snacks with us and plenty of water as it was a hot day. The kids did visit the kiosk though and we had ice creams there. They also seemed to be selling various snacks and hot and cold drinks from the same kiosk. I believe there was also some food available inside from the cafe area that is normally next to the soft play. There were plenty of spaced out picnic tables and again it was easy to socially distance whilst enjoying something to eat and drink.

Staff

To be honest I didn’t see many staff in our time at Woodside Animal Farm. There were a couple going round emptying bins etc and making sure that the hand washing stations were well equipped, but the only other we saw were either driving the tractor, manning the entrance, running the tea cup ride or serving food and drink at the refreshment kiosk. All that I encountered were friendly and professional. I heard a couple talking over their walkie talkies about someone needing to go and clean up some tissue paper that was blowing around near one hand washing area and saw one guy going round checking toilets periodically.

Overall Vibe

One comment that I made to Bonn as we went round was about how much I actually preferred our post-Covid farm visit over others that I’ve done before. Maybe lockdown has made me realise how much I don’t like other people and the way some of them behave, but our visit to Woodside was lovely as it wasn’t too busy at all, but yet the farm had a lovely relaxed vibe about it too. There was space to see and do things and we liked not being jostled by other people all the time as often happens at family attractions in summer holidays.

We certainly felt safe at Woodside, and as our first real trip out since lockdown this was particularly important for all of us. The older kids described it as being “like a normal trip” which I think is possibly one of the most important things. I don’t want them feeling scared to go out anywhere, but they’re also children and I want them to be able to have fun. That’s exactly what they did.

A family group of two adults and one toddler on the tractor at Woodside Animal Farm

Disclaimer: We paid for our own visit to Woodside Animal Farm and I decided to write about our visit as a way of sharing information with readers. I was not compensated in any way for this post.

For more inspiration for family days out take a look here.