Yesterday we visited Briarlands Farm at Blairdrummond, near Stirling.
It was the first time I'd been and it was brilliant!!
As it was a Thursday and the schools are back, the farm was quiet which pleased me - less stressful. It reminded me of Heads of Ayr Farm, but for the age that my kiddies are (4 year old and 2 year old) Briarlands Farm was better in my opinion. Not sure it would be as good for older school-age kids.
Briarlands Farm is a large enclosed area and it's pretty flat which means you can easily see toddlers that run off or keep an eye on the older ones if they head off to a different play spot.
Included in the ticket price are a variety of different animal tours throughout the day. We did animal handling and animal feeding whilst we were there.
There are plenty of activities to keep little ones amused for a day (we arrived at 11.30am-ish and left at 4pm). They both loved the jumping pillows and the go-carts. My favorite part was whizzing round the track with both kids on the go-cart next to me laughing their heads off.
The Farmer's Den Tea Room was well equipped and the food was lovely. I had a baked potato with tuna & sweetcorn accompanied by coleslaw, crisps and side salad for £6.50 and the kids had beans on toast (£2.50) and a half sandwich with crisps (£2.25). We went back later on in the day for a wee treat and a cup of tea... cakes were lovely too!
Everything was well laid out, facilities were clean and I was genuinely really impressed. The staff were also friendly and helpful.
I'd definitely go back.
Here are some of our pics from the day:
Littlest on the jumping pillow
Feeding the noisy pigs!
On the digger (this was the only activity you had to pay extra for, and it was £1 a turn)
Patting the guinea pig
In the sand pit.
My attempt at a panorama shot to give you an idea of the layout of the farm
The facilities in the cafe were great. Plenty of toys to keep the kids amused whilst lunch is being prepared (which didn't take long, another plus point).
The go-cart track!
Littlest waiting patiently for mommy in the two seater
