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ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW TO PLAN YOUR GREAT DAY OUT AT THE FARM AND PLAY BARN

STOP PRESS: Due to Rachel Reeves VAT cut for the summer months for children’s attractions, we have specially priced tickets available from the 25th June . BOOKING IS NOW OPEN WITH REDUCED RATES ON A SPECIAL SUMMER CALENDAR. For more information and to learn about our low cost summer pass click here or hit one of the buttons below to get on with your booking today.

Booking ahead guarantees entry to both the farm and the play barn. BUT, you are welcome to pay at the door, if that’s your preference. It’s very rare that we would sell out on a non-event day … so, if you can see tickets online, but prefer to pay on arrival, then it’s all good!

BLUE LIGHT TICKETS: We are well known for our generous Blue Light offers; however, over the summer due to the VAT cuts we have been able to apply a blanket discount for all tickets and have paused specific Blue Light booking offers until September. For September Blue Light Bookings, click here, otherwise please use the Summer Saver booking button above.

QUICK LINKS Accessible Visits, Assistance Dogs, Carers, Cancellations, Babies

WHAT CAN WE DO AT YOUR FARM? We are well known for all activities being included for paying child visitors … they get a bucket of animal feed and can also take part in activities run by our staff through the day; a bumpy tractor trailer ride, stroke a bunny, chick chat, collect an egg to take home, pony sit-on and groom are alll included. We have 3 outdoor play areas as well, and plenty of animals to meet, stroke and feed. The activities run on rotation every hour, so whatever time you arrive, you won’t miss out. Included in the farm visit is our Creepy Critters Barn and the Falconry!

THE BIG PLAY BARN (huge soft play) ISN’T included in the Just Farm ticket but you can buy a combi-ticket which adds 2 hours indoor play to your farm ticket. See below, for prices and options

DO I NEED TO BOOK? Whilst booking is no longer compulsory, we do not guarantee entry at our busiest weekends and bank holidays without a booking. We don’t like to disappoint though, so we will always try to get you in, even if you need to wait a little for a space. BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE … We are helpful and generous with our refund/re-scheduling policy but please try and give a couple of hours notice via email.

SAFETY ON THE FARM: Please read our Safety at the Farm page for guidance about how to make your visit to the farm a safe and enjoyable experience.

Accessiblity and Visiting With Employed Carers :

We are committed to making Ash End House Children’s Farm and The Big Play Barn as welcoming and accessible as possible. Visitors with disabilities, additional needs and those requiring support are warmly welcomed and we have become well known for our inclusivity.

Where an essential carer, support worker or reasonable adjustments are required, we ask that our Accessible Visits process is completed before your visit. This enables us to make appropriate arrangements, support your visit and maintain the safety and wellbeing of all visitors. It also enables you to request free “employed” carers tickets. Please visit our Accessible visits page for further information and to complete the Accessible Visits Process.

About the site: we have generally very good accessibility to the whole farm and play barn general areas with just one ramp from the lower cafe terrace to the shop and farm entry. Wheelchair users may find the lower paddock walk and some parts of the play areas a little boggy after very wet area but most areas are flat and a hard-surface and mainly undercover. We do have disabled toilets and a private first aid room with a low bed that can be requested for changing purposes. Sorry, we do not have a hoist or similar lifting equipment.

Trained assistance dogs

Assistance dogs are welcome at Ash End House Children’s Farm and The Big Play Barn. To help ensure the safety and wellbeing of all visitors, staff, animals and the assistance dog itself, the Duty Manager may carry out a brief assessment of the dog’s behaviour and level of control before or during the visit.

While assistance dogs are normally admitted, entry cannot be guaranteed where the dog’s behaviour presents a foreseeable risk to the safety or welfare of people or animals. This assessment is based solely on the individual dog’s behaviour and handling, not on the visitor’s disability.

Examples of behaviour that may require intervention include persistent barking, growling, lunging, chasing, failure to remain under the handler’s control, or repeatedly straying away from the handler.

Within the Farm Park, visitors will be advised of any areas where particular care is required. Some farm animals, particularly those protecting young or territorial animals, may react defensively towards dogs. The Duty Manager may recommend alternative routes, temporary avoidance of certain areas or other reasonable measures to help ensure a safe visit.

If, following an individual assessment, the Duty Manager believes that allowing the assistance dog to enter or remain in a particular area would create a significant foreseeable risk to the handler, the dog, our animals, staff or other visitors, we may require the dog to remain outside that area or, in exceptional circumstances, refuse entry to the dog. Where this occurs, we will seek to agree a suitable alternative wherever reasonably practicable, such as another member of the visitor’s party remaining with the dog, or offering a full refund if the visit cannot proceed.

The Duty Manager’s decision will be based on the individual circumstances, taking into account the dog’s behaviour, the handler’s ability to maintain effective control, the environment and any reasonably foreseeable risks. We are committed to welcoming assistance dogs wherever it is safe and reasonable to do so.

Discounts for carers:

Please note: depending on the type of carer the approach to gaining the discount is different.

IN FAMILY CARERS OF CHILDREN: If you are the at-home-carer for a child or a young disabled adult up to the age of 18, then you can use our normal online booking and add a carer at a special carer rate that is typically £5 less than standard adult entry.
This is for one accompanying adult, not all adults. Please have a copy of your DLA/PIP letter dated within 12 months of your attendance as this needs to be shown at front desk when picking up your tickets. Please note we also accept an in-date ACCESS/NIMBUS card as long as it has the +1 symbol.

Sorry, as a Children’s attraction, we do not offer a discount to a disabled adult family member, nor any in-family carers, regardless of status. Specifically, we do not accept Blue Parking Badge, or being in receipt of a PIP, Carers Allowance or Attendance Allowance for ADULT visitors. Should the disability be such that it requires a paid carer to attend then please see read on as the paid carer may be eligible for free entry.

EMPLOYED CARERS: If you are a representative of a care organisation or council department who, as part of your work, are accompanying a client on their visit to us, then we offer free care worker or social worker entry as part of our Accessibilty Visits Scheme. From July 2026 we require visits to be pre-booked with an Accessible Visits assessment to gain this free carer entry. Please see the section, above, for more information.
Front desk staff are not authorised to admit free entry without a prior booking and acceptance email.

Cancellation Policy:

We DO NOT accept telephone requests for cancellations. Please don’t leave an answer-machine message; you must email us.

We are generous with our rescheduling and cancelling policy but we need an email!
Please help us by giving at least 2 hours notice by email only. We are happy to help out if you are prevented from using your tickets due to illness or accident or through you having to reconsider your journey to us for good reason. Please see the time guidance below for cancellations.

Weather: we are an all-weather attraction and don’t generally refund or reschedule due to wet weather but if it’s dangerous for you to travel then please email to say you can’t make it and we will respond as quickly as we can. Bear in mind we may be dealing with a deluge of emails at that point.

We tend to be less helpful if you do not turn up and THEN contact us later … please just drop us a quick email as soon as you realise you can’t make it, and even if we don’t reply straight away we can see it’s arrived and will deal with it as quickly as we can.

No-show: only in exceptional circumstances will we accept cancellations if you don’t turn up without letting us know. We are unable to refund your entry fee in this situation as you haven’t given us a fair chance to resell your space. If the circumstances were dire, then please contact us via email to explain, as we are human!

Less than 2 hours before booking: Although we prefer more notice, we do accept cancellations within several hours of your booking slot. There may be a transaction charge of a few pounds as we can’t recover the booking fee. Rescheduling is free of charge.

Over 2 hours before booking: THANK YOU! We are always happy to reschedule or cancel your booking if things have changed for you. We would usually waive the transaction fee as an appreciation of the good notice you have given us.

Babies:

We charge normal child entry from 12 months. Under 1s come in free for a look around the animals (activities are not offered to non-paying babies). Some parents STILL opt to pay for their under 12 months child as they wish them to have the bucket of animal feed, pony-sit-on, hunt-for-an-egg, etc. If you wish to do this then please add them AS A CHILD to the booking rather than booking them as a baby. If in doubt, please leave the baby off the booking and discuss the options with front desk on arrival.