Piglets, Boars and Play Areas

This weekend saw Lyns’ little brother and his family come to visit, and where else to go to let the little ones run off some steam than Piglets. During the week it is half price entry so about £6 each which is not too bad. Absolutely loads to do, animals, climbing frames, go carts and so much more. We spent more of less the whole day there and the little ones just went wild for it.

We arrived just in time for feeding the animals. This happens a couple of times each day, along with petting the animals. There are a range of animals from chickens and guinea pigs to massive boars. Alexander was not so keen on the animals but James was mesmerised by feeding the boars and he loved throwing, or at least trying to, the food into their mouths. The boars would stand their and open their mouths presenting a very large target.

After feeding the boars we went for a walk to see the other animals. There is a highland cow, Shetland ponies and a range of other farmyard animals. With the sun shining, it was a lovely walk around. It had been a cold start to the day, but had warmed up quickly. James loved feeding the ponies although every time they came to take the straw out of his hand, he would pull away shrieking, much to everyones amusement. It was a good peaceful start to the day before the chaos of climbing farms and play areas commenced.

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After the animals, we wandered back to the main play area to see where Alexander and Elaine were. We found Alexander riding one of the big pigs. James of course jumped straight on as well. It was the perfect place for some amusing photographs, my favourite being the Baker family selfie!

After the pigs it was onto the bouncing pillows. No idea how these are made but the are so much fun for bouncing on, even for the grown ups. One of the advantages of coming mid week is that it was really quiet. We had a lot of the play areas all to ourselves. When we have come on a weekend before it has been heaving, not today! Alexander loved the pillows. As soon as I pulled out the camera the poses he started pulling were hilarious. What a little show off he was, pulling out all the moves.

After the pillows it was on to the bit that Alexander had been looking forward to from the moment we arrived, the tractor ride. If you have not been, there is a tractor and trailer ride that takes you to the play barn. We all climbed aboard and bounced our way along the track to the play barn. Inside the play barn there are ride on tractors, a sand pit, slides and swings. On top of that, there is a cafe which sells pizza, ice cream and coffee, much to our delight. The boys had a wail of a time exploring all the different areas and playing to their heart’s content.

Once the boys, or at least James, had doubled their body weight with sand and straw it was time to head back. Colin and I, sorry I mean James and Alexander, had a date with the go carts. Colin was off like a shot taking several bends on two wheels which is pretty impressive seeing the go carts weigh about ten tonnes! They have some great ones where you can sit side by side which meant that James and Alexander, who are too small really to peddle, can still have a ride around. Cue boys vs girls races!

After the grown ups had exhausted themselves on the go carts it was time to have a play on the climbing frames as a chill out before we headed home. By this time, the late autumn sun was setting, casting a lovely warm glow across the play areas. The boys had lots of fun digging and climbing, finishing the day off perfectly.

We loaded two very tired and filthy boys into the cars to head home. First thing we did when we got home was throw them into the bath, turning the water black. Then it was dinner and bed. A lovely out.