Farmer Palmer's Farm Park — Attraction in Lytchett Minster and Upton

Having been going to Farmer Palmer's since I was about 5, it seemed only fitting that we would celebrate my son's 5th birthday at the place we all love.

The team were helpful from the word go, always happy to answer questions with regards to the booking, food and the venue. On the day of the party everything went smoothly! Considering the age and special considerations of the guests, there was something for everyone with flexibility for the children to go at their own pace and follow what interests them. Feeding the deer with the tractor trailer ride was a great hit, and the milking demonstration in the afternoon was both educational and entertaining, even though we've moved on from the milk buckets of my youth! Everywhere was clean (certainly by farm standards), especially the toilets which were spotless, and I didn't spot any rubbish while going around. Handwashing facilities were plentiful which we were regularly reminded to use by staff in a friendly and encouraging way. While there were plenty of people around the place did not feel packed or particularly noisy, which was appreciated by some attending who are better able to manage without the overstimulation.

While we were not blessed with perfect weather, with otherwise sunny weather interspersed with brief periods of rain (it's England, what can you do), we took the time to explore the hay mountain and soft play areas. A group of kids and I delighted in building walls from the bricks in the younger guest area, as well as chasing my toddler through the tunnels.

At noon we had lunch, with arranged food for the kids, as well as additional lunch ordered for the adults consisting of sandwiches, chips and chicken nuggets. The dedicated party rooms were clean and nicely decorated, with a cow throne for the birthday boy! The nuggets were gone in moments and I was told they were the best they had ever had, the sandwiches were all freshly prepared and the chips were cooked perfectly.

Finally, a brief word about the staff as I feel words would not do them justice. Everyone we spoke to was friendly, welcoming, patient and knowledgeable; able to keep up and answer the near endless stream of questions from eager and excited 5 year olds. Nothing seemed too much for them to handle and any request for help was met with a smile and a can-do attitude.

Thank you so much to everyone for making my son's birthday party such an amazing and memorable event for him and all his guests, we couldn't have asked for a better party! It was fantastic value for money, especially as it gave everyone a full day at Farmer Palmer's, and we made use of every minute- we practically had to drag the kids out! We can't wait...

Visited July 2021. Overall a reasonable experience. Staff seemed friendly and nice play facilities for kids. It is also quite nice that all areas are close together which means you don't have the endless walking.

Unfortunately this felt more like a kids play area with the animal being a secondary focus. The feeding of the goats was nice but there is an additional charge of £2 to feed the deers. The guinea pig holding was nice but you are literally just given a guinea pig on your lap and your unable to ask any questions as staff are busy. This would have been nicer if staff would engage with children and educate them on the animals whilst they hold them or feed them. For example they could highlight how they like to be stroked etc.

For a farm, I didn't see any horses or any cows. There was also a few let downs in terms of attractions advertised and not provided. This includes no maze, no indoor bouncy castle, no pony rides and no cow milking.

This place has so much potential but it just felt a bit of a let down. The pedal go-karts are a great idea, unfortunately these are quite old and have rusted. This means you struggle to get them moving and they squeal. You see alot of parents just push them round Flintstone style instead of using the pedals as it's easier.

The tractor ride is a nice experience but again it lacked. The route taken means you see very little animal wise. A rethink on the route taken and an increase on the animals seen would make this a much of memorable experience.

The outdoor bouncy castle whilst seemed nice, was full of bird droppings and some of this has hardened meaning it had been there for a while. It takes 2 minutes to give it a wipe. Instead you have toddlers crawling on it with hands and knees.

Overall I felt that visiting this farm once was enough for me and my family. The decent play facilities do however mean that if you are local, an annual pass may...

Great place! Hourly talks are good and well spaced out. Lots to do and look at. Went during the Easter Holidays. They could be clearer with some communication, the dinosaur roar section was a huge selling point for our visit but despite finding the place online the day before and booking the evening before, we were only told at the gate that the dinosaur walk was flooded. 2 adults and a 6 and 3 year old for almost £80 is expensive. No info on socials about any closures or concerns with weather affecting the day. And you don't even get a tractor ride in that price. It's another £1.50 Per person. That's a little bit cheap when you've spent £80 on a partially closed park. If other places along the coast like Drusillas have to shut a part of the park for maintenance or bad weather, they hand out 50% off next visit vouchers with a short expiry date. Farmer Palmer's don't do this but perhaps at the very least they could have offered free tractor rides on days that the section of woods is closed. So I wouldn't recommend going in the hope of everything to be open if it's rained in the last couple of days. Or if it's windy. Even if you've checked online first. Loads of benches though, even covered indoors benches for picnics which is really good. Great place and has a lot of fun things, similar to Knockhatch with animals, go karts, play areas and talks. But definitely odd choice to charge so much and then still want more for a tractor ride. (Which only operates for a short period quite late in the afternoon) An earlier tractor ride operated for just an hour quite early which was £2.50 because there were eggs to look at. 3 stars for variety of unique things to do, space, cleanliness, good parking, places for picnics and a nice cafe and...