With a free Sunday on our hands, and a desire to get out and about, we did the job properly and headed up the M11 to the Wimpole Estate. A National Trust property we were principally attracted by the chance to run around and visit the fully-working Home Farm - but it helped that the estate was also running a Christmas Fayre! However when we turned up it was to find out that the entrance fee was an arm and a leg which seems a bit rich just to go into a glorified shop. So we performed an about-face and headed off through the extensive gardens to the animal farm.
Always a popular option with Joshua and Christina the pair of them were soon up to their arms in cuddly chicks and little piggies. I don't know whether it's the illusion of control or a simple human reaction to cuteness but they weren't the only kids bouncing from one animal stall to another. This, however, was but a precursor to the scrum that developed when they brought the donkeys out for their daily cleaning! Fortunately Joshua and Christina were in the front-line and quickly set about their allotted portion of the unfortunate beast:
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| Don't be a horse's ass! |
After this excitement we toured around the sheep and goat pens, swung a little in the adventure playground and then ended up in the cafe. How did this happen I wonder? Fortunately the farm owners are very sensible as they provide a well-stocked play-area right outside and so Mum & Dad get to relax over a piece of cake while the little ones swarm over the toy tractors. Then when the attraction of this pales (which takes a long time I have to say) there a numerous 200-year old barns full of man-traps and mysterious farm equipment to explore:
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| Right at home |
Sadly by now it was getting dark, the farm was about to close and they were bringing the animals in from the fields. Luckily by being a bit slack and hanging around we got to see the magnificent shire-horses come clomping through the yard (and their feet really do clomp); then we got chatting to a guy called Mark Field (appropriately enough) and he told us all about the horned and horny cattle he looks after. Put it this way the bull named Juggernaut is "all bull" and make no mistake! What was also great was that Mark was keen to show off his new £70,000 tractor and we were happy to let him!
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| I want to be a farmer! |
The farm had long since closed but Mark was up for a chat and didn't mind the kids (or me) clambering all over his mighty vehicle. Just as well really because there wasn't much that could have stopped us:
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| Mine. All mine. |
Eventually, of course, we had to say our farewells to Mark but what a great day! On the way out we did try to talk our way into the Fayre (given that it too would close in 30 minutes) but to no avail. Oh well - you can't win them all. Either way we enjoyed a fine day out on the Wimpole Estate and I think that we'll be returning next March for the lambing season. Who doesn't enjoy bottle-feeding a little woolly lamb even if it is being bred to become a good companion to mint sauce?