A day at the farm... with adventure thrown in, at Hobbledown Farm

One of the blessings of the recent lockdowns has been for the parents of children of all ages to seek out new and exciting activities beyond their daily routine to help keep their children entertained. For our family, which includes Serena 7 and Theo 5, there was no better discovery than Hobbledown Adventure Park.

To be honest, this had been on our radar as Theo’s class had taken a school trip there recently. Encouraged by how much he enjoyed that day trip we decided to venture there as a family on a rare but sunny day a few days ago.

Hobbledown is located in Epsom, Surrey, short 30 minute drive down the A3 from central London. It is a sprawling farm of animals and activities for children of all ages to enjoy. Even better than Noah they have more than two of everything from goats, rabbits. Lemurs, meerkats, sheep, birds and so on…

The park is laid out beautifully with trails to follow and allows children to get up close and personal with all the friendly animals.

As the name suggests, Hobbledown Adventure Park has much more than the attraction of a farm. There are endless climbing frames, zip lines, obstacles, and bouncy things for children from 3-13 and beyond to enjoy. There is even a high rope adventure trek for older children.

If you happen to visit on a day and the heavens open they also have a fabulous and very large indoor soft-play area for the kids to run around and play in for hours - we did!

Picnic tables are aplenty should you bring a packed lunch but Hobbledown does have a restaurant that surprisingly has very good food and service so don’t worry if you decide to not bring any food with you. Their kitchen emphasises healthy and nutritious food with items. Loaded fries are served with the likes of lightly battered calamari, fish goujons, chicken Katsu curry, chorizo, smashed avocado and so much more!

A purpose-built Raptor Centre home to 18 Birds of Prey has just opened within Hobbledown Adventure Park.

Featuring a selection of owls, hawks, eagles and falcons, this centre will also host a breeding pair of Lugger Falcons, endangered in the wild due to demand from poaching.

As part of a recent £1.2m investment into the park, the centre will be home to 18 birds at full capacity, this includes the Gymnogene (African Harrier-Hawk), just one of a handful Bird of Preys that blush red in the face during their mating display and a Ural Owl which pairs for life and sings duets with its mate. With the new building, guests will now be able to see the birds every day, untethered within their own specific aviary.

So if you truly want to get back to nature and ensure your kids get the best of both worlds with exercise thrown in then a visit to Hobbledown is a must! Serena and Theo loved it so much that perhaps our next step is to look into getting a Season Pass!

Current Hours:

Monday - Friday during term time Open 9am - Close 5.30pm (last entry 4.30pm) Weekends and Holidays: Open 8.30am - Close 6.30pm (last entry 5.30pm) Current prices: Monday - Friday during term time: General Admission from £15 Weekends and Holidays: General Admission from £18

Hobbledown Adventure Park and Zoo

Horton Ln, Epsom KT19 8PT

T: 01372 848 990 E: epsominfo@hobbledown.com

www.hobbledown.com

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