Cannon Hall Farm — Attraction in Barnsley

Pros Ferret and sheep racing was fun with a few cheeky bets on. Lot's of animals on show like Meerkats, sheep, donkeys, cows etc. Playgrounds, plenty and some quite large ones with lots to do for all ages. Probably one of the best outdoor playgrounds we've been to in a while with lots of guidelines set out. Lots of animals to see, but you never really get to interact with any as electric fences surround them all which i get, for your safety and theirs. We saw one sign that said please do not touch or feed the Meerkats and behind the sign was a Cat and a Porcupine which was an interesting stand off. The whole place to say it was a farm looked clean and tidy and the animals looked well cared for. Some nice outdoor vans offering donuts, coffees and more.

Cons Red squirrel talk, hard to listen to a talk with no mic and alot of background noise, once we were in kids were bored and wanted to leave, not just ours either. High wires need repair work doing as some ropes were missing rendering parts inaccessible. Tractor ride, time to fix the speaker as you miss lots of information in the talk due to it being broken and cutting out every few seconds. Tunnel play pipes, our kids came out saying that inside of them was a bit too hot and stank of poo, we didn't go on a particularly hot day. Prices for food are silly, like at the Hungry Llama, again restaurant prices for food in a soft just doesn't cut it especially with a load of kids running around you, there were some sests set back but you couldn'tclearly dee your kids from these and the upstairs sesting was closed. £14.95 for a Tikka Massala and rice hidden away under it, for nearly £15 you want some naans, poppadoms and chutney thrown in too, so not cheap but nice. I always judge a place on its chips, because if you can't get them right what's the rest of the food going to be like. Anyway pleased to report that my fussy eating butt liked them, just the right side of crispy. Drinks, probably the most expensive we've ever seen and you have to remember these places are buying mulitpacks in bulk, so there's no excuse for selling one single can of coke for £2.50 or a plastic cup of coke for £3.50, with bottles of water for £2.20. So a nice place to visit but again like most of these places, if you have kids, take plenty of snacks and drinks because I don't agree with paying those prices and...

We booked for the Magical Elevator ride for the first time and we left feeling quite disappointed. The ticket prices are extortionate, but you think it would be worth it for a magical experience. Sadly, we didn't have a magical experience.

To their credit, the organisation was good for the first part of the experience. We were in quickly and greeted by some very bubbly elves. Once we got to the front of the queue, we had our photo taken in front of a very average Christmas tree and were allowed in to wait for the elevator.

Our daughter enjoyed the elevator and it was good that the children all got to push buttons to get us to our destination. Sadly after we got off the elevator, it wasn't good.

There were far too many people in the waiting room (Santa's study) and we weren't able to get any photos in there. We got in a queue to see Santa and waited for a while. The curtains didn't work well and my daughter (6) saw things she shouldn't have been able to see through them and it ruined the experience for her.

When we made it to see Santa, it was such a letdown. Our Santa was really miserable, lacking the warmth and cheer you would expect from someone in his role. Instead of a joyous interaction filled with laughter and festive spirit, my daughter was met with a grumpy Santa who looked like he didn't want to be there. My daughter commented afterwards that Santa wasn't happy to see her, which was really sad.

I understand that Santa was probably from an agency, but you'd think for the price they charge they'd be able to get a good one! We've been to see ones for free/a lot cheaper over the years that were so much better.

The VR wasnt worth the extra money either, don't bother with that, it wasnt great.

Next year we will visit elsewhere. My little review won't make a difference to their profits in the future, and I'm sure nothing will change. But we're down £72 all in and thats no small...

Cannon hall farm has certainly grown over the years and has had a lot of money spent on it. There is plenty to do indoors and outdoors and is worth the entrance fee. The farm has a good variety of animals to see but none of these can be touched. Whilst I understand why from a health and safety perspective it just seems to be the main thing children want to do and can lead them to have a good understanding of being mindful around the animals. Some of the animals did appear a little bored and had no stimulation in the form of balls/ animal type toys. The mongoose’s were pacing which was upsetting to see. We had a go on the tractor and trailer ride which children seemed to enjoy. Everywhere was tidy and as clean as a farm could be. Plenty of bins around, plus different areas to sit and have picnics or stalls to buy hot drinks, food and ice creams. There’s also a cafe inside the indoor play area and 2 cafes/ restaurant just outside the entrance to the farm. On exiting the farm there is a nice gift shop with reasonable priced Childrens toys and books. Toilets available in the farm as well as plenty of benches in the many outdoors parks and play areas. We hardly saw any staff around the farm though to converse with or gain any knowledge. We also wanted to mention to someone about the lack of water in some of the holding pens, but the only staff we saw was the driver of the tractor rides and people serving in the eateries. On arrival you are given a list of times that events take place, such as ferret racing and sheep racing. Overall I would return as the children enjoyed themselves, but there’s definitely some things that could...