A brilliantly sunny Mothers’ Day and what do you do? Where do you go? We were meeting Mr New to Watford’s parents at Dunstable Downs in the afternoon and needed somewhere to go beforehand. Discounting Whipsnade Tree Cathedral as being too similar an activity to the Downs , we decided on Hatfield Park Farm.
We’re so glad we did, as we had a brilliant time. Plus, they only charged us for one adult, as kids under three go free and I got in free too as it was Mothers’ Day = bonus!
First stop was the impressive playground. Our toddler LOVED this. It was a little too old for him, but gave us a good excuse to climb the rope bridges. Also popular were the zip wire and train model.
After a picnic, we visited the Stable Yard part of Hatfield House, which was bustling with many different breeds of dogs due to a dog show taking place. There were also quite a few different shops including a toy shop and pottery painting studio.
At the farm we found goats, chickens, ducks, pigs, Shetland ponies, sheep, donkeys and cattle to look at (and feed), as well as sand pits with little diggers to play with.
By this time, our son was pretty tired out and was happy to be wheeled around the enclosures. He didn’t even perk up when we saw the mini train, which we found very surprising – his time in the playground must have really tired him out.
The farm also offer tractor rides as part of the entry fee. We missed this as we needed to get going to Dunstable Downs, which was a shame.
We had a fab time and thoroughly enjoyed our time at the park – definitely a memorable Mother’s Day!
On our return we’ll definitely visit Hatfield House itself and make a day of it.