Millets Farm Centre — Attraction in Vale of White Horse

I first visited last year when a raccoon experience I’d booked for my brother was taking place in the wildlife area. It was a wet, damp & extremely dismal day so I was surprised to find the place was packed with minimal parking spaces to be found - they have a lot of spaces. So many people that trying to enter the garden centre was near-on impossible. I wandered around the free farm area section (the drinks hut in the picnic area sells lovely sausage rolls; some of the best I’ve ever tasted) avoiding running/screaming children & people with out-of-control dogs & promised I’d not go back, however, my brother said that the wildlife area was lovely & he thought we should give it another chance at a later date. This we did a few weeks back, however, it was the last day of the school holidays & if I thought it was busy with ferals running about before, it was ten-times worse this time; not the fault of the farm at all, although a member of staff telling the group of lads kicking footballs at everyone sitting trying to eat their lunch at the picnic area would have been nice, as the parents were nowhere to be seen. Whilst I love to see kids playing I don't want a ball landing on my head when I'm eating. We headed into the cafe inside the garden centre where we ate some overpriced food that I’m pretty sure had been heated in a microwave - I say this because my chilli nachos were ice cold in the middle yet burning hot on the outside. Who sells jacket potatoes without offering butter? My travel companion was most disappointed in this. Because of such a busy & disappointing experience we decided not to stop.

Third time though was definitely the luckier time. We were at a loose end in the area with a few hours to spare so gave it another shot & it did not disappoint.

The garden centre area is what it is; a garden centre. The queuing system is non-existent & it’s quite easy for rude, ignorant middle-aged men to push in front of you. A group of elder ladies behind me were very vocal in their dissing of the queue & lack of open tills, however, that’s par for the course in most garden centres, & shops these days so to be expected.

This time we chose to eat in the cafe next to the farm shop. Arriving just past 11am we were too late for the breakfast we were wanting, however, I can highly recommend the chelsea buns, the best I’ve ever tasted. Apparently the iced bun was good too. The tea is a little weak, again, not unusual for cafes but the pot it came in was huge & shared between two of us, both getting three cups full out of it. The queuing system again caused a lot of consternation from other’s waiting as they felt people were queue jumping but the staff have a great system & you get your drinks in the order you paid for them so take note if you’re planning to visit. We sat inside as it was raining but there is a lot of seating outdoors too. I also liked the family area (although the group of women with children who could have used this area decided to seat themselves in the main area even though the family side was empty) & I love that they have a quiet area, however, this was filled with ‘ladies who lunch’ & they were anything but quiet.

The farm shop was stocked with all you would expect - I can highly recommend the cherry pie! The fruit and veg was of good quality. The butchery was well-stocked but the staff all appeared as if they would rather be somewhere else & were happily chatting about their weekend plans in the back whilst two of us were there waiting to be served - they knew we were there too - & it pains me to say it but the meat I bought (pork, beef and lamb) was completely flavourless. A real shame as I use my local farm shop at home because their food & quality is so good. Prices for everything were as you would expect. A lot more expensive than a greengrocer or local butcher, but they have a good range of stock & did I mention how good the cherry pie in the farm shop was?

I can highly recommend the wildlife centre; costs extra but...

I have been meaning to put this review out there for a while. I feel it is only right that I should do, so I may help Millets to be better and for potential customers to know what they may be getting into. From the start, I expect the venue may say this did not happen or whatever they will say, so I say now that this absolutely happened.

A couple of years ago my parents had booked the Lakeview private rooms to hold a gathering following my grandmothers funeral, as you would expect we were all not having the best day. My parents paid a lot of money for the space, which included food and drink served.

I had arrived after the funeral distraught and need of solace, I gathered with family as we were invited in by the staff. I went to take a drink to catch my breath, I saw a large jug of cordial and poured myself a drink. A member of staff came to me and sarcastically said "ugh, there are drinks RIGHT HERE' and gestured to a few glasses that were already filled - I was baffled, it was unexpected. I said "no, thank you" and continued to pour my drink. She said the same again, sounding more irritated. I said the same again and asked to be left alone. The same was said again as it appeared to make a scene, at that point I was feeling humiliated. I explained to her that I suffer from OCD and need to do things at moments to reset myself, she shrugged in disregard. Why behave like this? I said to her she was being very rude, which she walked off saying "alright, alright" with no apology. Everyone was looking at me, staff included, it was humiliating. All this over pouring my own drink, absolutely ridiculous.

I had just buried my grandmother just an hour before.

I ended up leaving the centre in order to not upset the other guests, to stand outside the centre trying to calm my rage. I could not bring myself to re enter and ended up spending the time walking the grounds trying to calm down. I missed that chance of closure and to connect with other family members still grieving.

A few days later I called back to get an understanding of why they acted in such an unkind way, their response was to deny it ever happened. Multiple family members watched the whole thing unfold who can speak against that.

I have thought about this for some time, and I can never forgive them for their pompous entitled attitudes. As they never took me seriously and had little respect for me. I hope this remains here to educate them and warn others.

I wish Millets all the best and hope that they grow a...

They are sprucing this centre up nicely, especially the coffee shop near the garden section. Plenty of friendly staff, carrying technology with them so they can take orders and payment at the table. No clotted cream for the scones (apparently none the previous day either, who does the ordering, you would think as it is September someone would be on top of this and even stranger as they sell it across the site in the produce shop). I have currently patiently waited 15 mins, no exaggeration, for my coffee. Sure it will arrive sometime. A full 20 minutes later and after a reminder my coffee arrive to be united with my slice of cake. Business is far from busy today with at least over 50% are vacant. Goodness knows how long it would have taken if at least half the tables were occupied. Is this 'impressive' technology suppose to make them more efficient or is there a need for some staff training. Some basics being ignored. I couldn't leave as I had already paid when my order was taken at the table. If they think this is acceptable it is not. Had I had the grandchildren with me it may have been a real problem as the wait was unacceptable. Service is rubbish. Somebody needs to look in to this inefficient service (service it wasn't). Only upside is plenty of time to write a review. Another moan, why are there so many items without price tags on them, so irritating to have to find someone to ask, who go away to find out out. I would have thought these things were fundamental. Clearly making too much money If they can operates like this. On the positive side, car park has plenty of spaces and areas for blue badges holders are gererous. The outside craft areas and other facilities are great, especially the artisan crafts and the real star of the show is the fresh produce shop it never disappoints - the grocery section with fresh veg and salads, bakery, butchers and cheese stall are all as good as ever, availability, choice and quality are all second to none, so well worth a visit for this alone. Shame the whole sites standards doesn't come up to the same level. A game...