SMITHILLS OPEN FARM

Irma Heger goes down on the farm, Smithills Open Farm to be precise, for a fascinating family fun day

SOMETIMES the best entertainment can be found right on your doorstep. And that's the case with Smithills Open Farm, next to Smithills Hall in Bolton.

It's pure animal magic for the little ones . . . and an easy outing for the adults.

I should know -- I visited the farm on my own with four girls in tow, aged 10 months, three, eight and 10 -- and it was a doddle.

For starters, parking is right on the farm and the staff on site could not have been more helpful throughout our visit.

They explained the attractions on offer, pointed out the way to the often-needed toilet, warned us when feeding times were about to start, warmed up the baby's food and generally lent a hand wherever they could.

It's also a relatively small and very safe place, where there is no need to panic if you take your eye off your offspring for a minute.

As soon as we arrived, the girls dragged me into the main attraction -- the big barn.

Inside, there are pens with every conceivable farmyard animal.

The huge horses made a great impression on the girls and they were fascinated to be shown that pigs love having their bristly tummies tickled.

There are also goats, sheep, calves, budgies, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, ducks, owls . . .

The only drawback was the huge noise these animals created -- it scared the life out of the baby. The squealing and squawking even drowned out her crying.

Thankfully, two young girls who worked in the barn came to our rescue. They cooed over her long enough to calm her down and then persuaded the eldest three to join them in the animal petting corner.

At first my three-year-old wasn't sure about holding any of the baby animals -- but she soon changed her mind.

All three ended up with chicks, guinea pigs and rabbits on their laps, having picked out the particular ones they wanted to cuddle.

The animals seemed to put up with this affection and the girls couldn't get enough of it.

It was a scene straight out of a picture book -- three blonde-haired girls sitting next to each other on straw bales, with tiny animals on their knees.

Time to venture outside, and the girls couldn't resist playing the little farmer, racing around on toy tractors with trailers.

They even drove their vehicles into the picnic field and parked up to stroke the goats that roam round there.

Food for the goats can be bought from the shop and we watched the sneaky ones trying to snatch whole bags off visitors. Meanwhile, the baby had a crawl through the meadow. Back in her pram, we went for a stroll alongside the other animals and marvelled at the llamas and horses.

Staff then called us over to the barn again -- did we want to take part in feeding the lambs? Did we!

All the children were handed bottles of milk and when the gate of the pen opened all the woolly things came charging out, rooting for the teats. Brilliant fun.

We could have stayed and fed other animals, but the girls decided they were hungry so we headed for the cafe for our own feeding time.

It was burgers and chips all round --and Heinz Organic for baby -- which we enjoyed at a table in the sunshine. We couldn't leave this area before they had all had a go on the nearby playground.

The little madams' fancy then turned to donkey rides, which were quickly arranged.

Two donkeys are available for this purpose and although they didn't go very far, or fast, it was just what the children wanted.

On the way back to the car, they squeezed in a few minutes on the bouncy castle (inside a barn, ideal when it rains) and got rid of their remaining excess energy.

An exciting day was had by all, judging by the fact that all four girls fell soundly asleep on the short journey home . . .

Smithills Open Farm is a family-run business and was a dairy farm until two years ago.

It's based at Smithills Country Park, just follow the signs for Smithills Hall and then the signs within the grounds.

They are open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am until 5pm. Closed on Mondays except Bank Holidays.

Additional visits can be arranged by appointment and they also cater for birthday and school parties.

Entrance is £3 for adults, £2 for children, under 2-s go free.

There is a small shop and cafe for drinks, snacks and ice cream, as well as a picnic area.

Special events are often held and a farmyard quiz or nature trail is available.

Phone the farm on 010204 595765. email info@smithillsopenfarm.co.uk or

visit www.smithillsopenfarm.co.uk