A Baa-utiful Experience

Oh my gosh, where do I start? I was invited by Hannah to go up to Sacrewell Farm to see what their ‘VIP Lambing Experience’ was all about…. I could go back today, and tomorrow and the next day… However, Megan has the job already!!!!!

I met Hannah yesterday evening with excitement at what to expect. As it was not quite time for feeding we had our walk around the farm first. You forget how big Sacrewell is, it’s massive. You’ll definitely get a few steps in, that’s for sure. We made our way down through the indoor soft play barn, through the outdoor activity park (which is brilliant by the way) with tractor shapes, bees, climbing areas and loads to do for all the kids. The whole area caters to all ages so you won’t have to have your teenager sitting around while in the baby area. Passing 3 peacocks strutting their feathers we then came to the goats and Charlotte who looks after them.

The goats come in all shapes and sizes and came to say hello at the gate. They are definitely a social bunch, in fact one followed us around the pen perimeter just for company! The second pen has the mums and babies in… oh yes! Bouncy, jumpy, cute little things. We were allowed into the pen to get a bit more up close with them. There were 2 does (or nanny) goats and their kids. Charlotte advised us to walk slowly up towards them. They were a little shy at first, but then a couple got excited. I had to say hello to Mum first though, it would be rude not to introduce myself to her initially as I wanted to play with her kids, as you do. And she’d got some nice horns…Shes was very quiet, very docile, just interested in nibbling the grass. Blossom was very quiet and a bit timid, so she had a little fuss and was then back near her mum. ‘Conker’, well, what a jolly little thing he is…a white kid with a brown spot on his back. He was the one all over the place. I sat down on a log and that was it, he was straight up on my back. I’m glad it was a youngster! Charlotte enticed him off me and onto her back, so funny that they love being up high. They are delightful to watch jumping on and off the hay bails, running and skipping around, I really could have snook one in my pocket if I had room to take one home! Your children will just love watching these adorable creatures running around and being silly.

Time to move on, ooooh! We walked up to Sacrewell’s new Pooh Sticks area near the Mill which has a small brook running through it, a bridge to play pooh sticks, a nice lush green space to sit and picnic with the family, some stepping stones and walkways to play around the brooks. Currently the water’s high due to the rain levels we’ve been having, so it’s closed off for safety. Up a bit further and we met the sleeping pigs. They’d had enough for the day and weren’t coming out to say hello, so left them to their warm huts filled with straw to snooze.

We walked up towards the house and through the natural wood area for children to play. Logs and fallen trees, playhouses all backing onto the play area. Another peacock striding up the path, passed the house and the sensory garden. (by the way this is new since the last time I visited and it’s a great space for a bit of quiet with lots of things to touch and learn about) Through and into the Artisan Courtyard which is going through some changes (watch their socials for what is coming up next.)

Then as it was coming up to 6pm and we went into the lambing barn. We were met by Megan already with warm bottles of milk being teeted up. The barn had 2 Golden Gurnsey goats with two kids each in the corner. The kids were tiny little things, that’s why they were inside in the warm. Golden and soft skinned/furred and very cute. Next to them was a shallow hutch where you could hear some chirping golden or black chicks all huddled together. However, all the commotion was coming from the other side of the barn, bleating loudly, jumping and skipping, were the most adorable cade lambs. Aaah! Oh my gosh, how cute are they!!! The closest I’ve ever been to a lamb is passing by a field in the countryside and seeing them from the car window. There were 14 in total and all have their number on their back, yes they do ‘mostly’ look different, and they are named, but when there are 14, it’s a bit of a game to try to remember them all. The lambs there are a mix of breeds including Jacob & Boreray. This was their penultimate feed of the day; they are fed at 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm and their final feed at 10pm.

Hannah and I covered ourselves in an apron, put on gloves and washed our shoes before going into the outer pen. Megan gave us feeding instructions about how to hold the bottle, then went in and got number 1 and 2 out so we could feed them. They’re a lot stronger at feeding than what you expect, they really do pull when they are feeding. (I certainly wouldn’t want to be a momma sheep in my next life!) Tugging and pulling and nudging. Their tails wagged like crazy as they gulped it up. Once done they hung around for a stroke, but with full bellies they were picked up and put in the ‘fed’ pen for a while.

As there was only Hannah and I doing the feeding for this pre-experience, Megan just kept bringing them one by one…well, except for number 3 who was playing hard to get!!! “Never before!” said Megan… We’re not sure we believe you as we were laughing at her as she ran around the pen chasing number 3, Chive, who was quite happy running away and dodging her grasps! LOL. It took her past ten others before being able to get him! The last two lambs to be fed were the smallest and black. Blackberry, who is a Herdwick is very tiny and just born. Cute and very much ‘not’ as aggressive as the others when feeding. She nearly drank all her milk, but as a small one, she didn’t need as much anyway.

All full-bellied and happy, they were all put back into the normal pen where they laid down cosying up to each other while some others got up on the bails. Into the pen, Hannah and I went to get closer and fuss them – they do like a good rub/stroke under their chin area, just standing there enjoying the fuss. They really at the cutest thing. Funny, silly and adorable. You will want to take them with you.

They describe it as ‘magic’ and it certainly is. I came away really boosted with what I’d just done. Getting up close to nature and animals really is something unique. Something I won’t forget.

Sorry to say that although the VIP experience starts 1st April, for this year it’s, COMPLETELY SOLD OUT. All I can suggest is look out ready for the next lambing season and get booked up as soon as you see it. You won’t regret it, I promise.

Thanks to Charlotte for taking time out from moving hay to show us the goats, thanks to Megan for allowing us to have an experience we will never forget and thanks to Hannah for showing us around.

Looking back at the whole setup at Sacrewell you can see why it’s a popular place to go. For £8.25 a child and a reduced price of £9.95 an adult you get the use of everything there. A full day, not a session so it’s value for money for keeping your child happy for the whole day from 9am until 4.30pm. (For Easter opening it is more expensive as you have a host of extra activities that they can get involved in) It’s even more advantageous if you can afford to get an annual pass £55 children and £75 adults – a great idea if you’ve got presents coming up!

For more information and facilities go to their website at www.sacrewell.org.uk