We had seen this advertised throughout our holiday as one of the top places to visit in South Devon. We decided, last minute, to pay them a visit – and what a brilliant decision that was! Although we felt that it was quite expensive when booking (£15.95 per adult for half a day), it was worth every penny! We arrived for our afternoon slot in the pouring rain, we quickly signed in, bought some animal feed and then went in to see the rabbits, guinea pigs, chicks and ducklings. We were then greeted by the farmer who showed us the biggest blackboard full of activities for the afternoon. There is something planned every half hour, as well as tractor rides, animal handling, playgrounds and much, much more! There is enough to fill a whole day, however, due to covid, they have reduced their capacity and introduced two sessions.
The first activity we attended was ferret racing. The staff made the event so much fun and interactive with lots of countdowns, cheering and information about the animals. We then went to feed the animals after buying both adult and baby animal feed. They were gorgeous animals and are clearly very well looked after. There were goats, sheep, horses, alpacas and even one day old piglets!
The highlight of the day was the animal handling. Although the queue was quite long, we appreciated the amount of time that each family got to spend with the animals. The children loved holding mice, guinea pigs, rabbits and miniature piglets! It really was a magical experience for them (and for us!)
When the rain came down, again, we were fortunate enough to be inside for the ‘Big Show’. There was a juggling act on who was brilliant, very funny and entertaining. The kids loved it! They haven’t seen an act like this since pre covid and they were now old enough to understand what was going on! We then attended the bottle feeding of lamb and kids. However, due to the amount of people there, we were not able to feed the animals at the main event. Luckily, we were invited to feed the younger kids in the barn straight after, so that no one was left out. This was nicer for our children as it wasn’t so overwhelming for them, and they could ask the staff questions. The staff there are superb!
After a tractor ride, with a very informative and interactive driver, and a portion of the most delicious dirty fries, we were ready for the grand finale - pig racing! Who knew pigs could run so quickly!?!
We had a wonderful afternoon at Pennywell and we will definitely visit again next time we come to South Devon. Hopefully, they will introduce whole day tickets as we barely scratched the surface of what this fantastic farm has to offer!