A Grand Day Out: Kent Life

We were at a loss at what we should do with the day when Ben signed up for a Kent Pass which included a free child ticket for Kent Life and so off we toddled. Kent Life describes itself  as a heritage farm park and is marketed as a family day out. 

What I would say is that it is nice, it’s a nice day out. It’s not wet the bed exciting, it will involve queuing for things and it’s mostly outdoors so on the day we went it was cold. BUT that’s kind of what makes it nice, it’s simple. At is core it’s kids and animals and that is nice! It’s reasonably priced and is good for a family day. 

https://www.kentlife.org.uk

Price

We went on an off peak day in the half term, adult tickets were £6.95 and children £5.95, under 3’s go free. A family ticket (2 adults, 2 kids) £21.95.

Money saving

As previously mentioned, we used to Kent Pass for free child entry. Initially the reception did not want to accept the Kent Pass but once we showed it to them there wasn’t an issue, so worth doing to save £6!

Parking and Accessibility

There is a good amount of parking available however it was busy so be aware you might not be too near. There is a small car park reserved for disabled parking if required which is right by the gate. The website is very helpful when talking about accessibility etc. 

The accessibility of Kent Life varies, it’s a farm after all. Many areas are pathed, however some areas are muddy due to IT BEING A FARM! So be aware that if you have a pushchair you might need to occasionally park it and carry your baby, it may be helpful to bring a baby sling if you have one. 

Toilets, toilets are important to me, sad as it is my bladder is like a peanut! There are a good amount of toilets dotted around, although I still did end up queuing for a baby change. The toilets were reasonably clean (again, you are on a farm so be realistic) and clearly are well maintained. My only complaint was that when I used the toilet by the cafe I had to leave Chloe’s pram up some stairs and it was a bit of a juggle lugging her around with the changing bag, but no real hassle. 

Things to Do

• The obvious one is, see animals. There is a good variety of animals and they are very interactive and engaging which is nice for parents and kids 
• You can buy a bag of animal feed for £1 and the animals were very receptive to being fed!
• Cuddle corner, where kids can stroke and interact with rabbits, guinea pigs, tortoises, chickens and baby chicks! FYI there was a queue for this all day, reason being that the woman who presented this really takes time to engage with the group and ensure every child gets time with the animals. 
• Owl academy and bird displays 
• Outdoor kids play area including a bouncy castle, a smaller play area is also located by the cafe. 
• Indoor kids soft play area (very busy on a cold day!)
• Paint a pot, we didn’t go in here but would be a nice thing to do to extend the day. 
• Train ride around the farm, again you will have to queue for this but it’s a nice addition to the day! The driver was very friendly! 
• Vintage village (it’s very quaint) and nice to look around - would also be good for some instagram photos if you are into that, which clearly I am, however I was knackered and looked it lol so we can save that for our next visit!
• Big top (we saw an animal display), we timed it so we ate our lunch out of the wind then got to see a display with a skunk, a rare type of rat (which was surprisingly cute) and a big ass lizard thing, afterwards the children could come and touch the animals which was lovely. I have a new love of skunks! 

Food

The main place to eat would be Dotty’s cafe which is situated up a small hill, it has a lovely outdoor area as well as space to eat inside. Prices for a kids meal are between £2.50-£4.20, an adults jacket potato is £6 with two fillings, which seems reasonable. Importantly, the coffee was good. 

There are lots of locations for visitors to eat food they have brought along with them. 

Random Other Stuff

Kent life seems like the kind of place where you can go lots of times and have different experiences, finding different things to look at. No doubt that in the good weather kids could spend a big chunk of time in the outdoor play area and really enjoy themselves. However it was bloody cold when we went so Tom didn’t use the playground for long!

A thing that I did notice was that all the staff were very friendly, they interacted really well with the kids and were knowledgeable about the animals. Things like that can really make or break a day! 

Both kids enjoyed the day, although I would say that really Chloe only engaged with the cuddle corner and I think it would be better when she is toddling and can independently interact with the animals rather than from the stroller or in our arms. 

Overall

As I said, Kent Life is a nice day out. If you are looking for some wholesome fun with animals then this may well be the place for you. 

My parting advice would be, WEAR WELLIES! It was very muddy and muggins here didn’t think about that it was a farm and ended up with very muddy uggs! 

A Grand Day Out : Howletts Animal Park

Apologies in the delay in me posting, the lurgy decended upon our house this weekend so I have not been up for doing much of anything! Now back to your regularly scheduled programming  ...

We decided to go to Howletts Animal Park in Canterbury for Nana's birthday and I thought I'd share the experience in case you fancied it. 

I bought the tickets online prior to going as you get a 10% discount, so adult tickets were £18.85 each and the babies were fee (woohoo). Another benefit of buying the ticket online prior to visiting is that you don't need to queue! There is a separate line for online bookings, you just show your code and off you go! 

There is a big variety of animals in the sanctuary, I would say predominantly monkeys/gorillas but also elephants, bison, tigers, leopards and some more obscure animals too! Tom enjoyed looking at the animals but found it hard to make out some of the smaller and more camouflaged ones so we didn't dwell on them for too long. The best moment for me was Tom saying 'hello' for the first time, and it was to a gorilla! 

All of Howletts is pushchair/wheelchair friendly, I didn't have any problems with mine and it's a big mother! There were also baby change facilities available, they weren't the most luxurious but a means to an end, and they were clean so I can't complain! 

We had lunch on site, visiting a canteen type cafe in which some of us had burger type food and others had jacket potato/pasta type dishes. They were child friendly, providing a decent baby seat. I would consider it unremarkable but not unpleasant. It wasn't an issue as we weren't there for the food! We did stop for an ice cream which was really nice, they had speciality flavours such as haribo or marshmallow, I had the marshmallow and it was lush! And the ice cream was reasonable value for money and a generous portion! 

Overall, we had a really good day out. Tom definitely  enjoyed himself, and it was great that you could get really quite close to some of the animals. It would be great to have more big animals but that would be for Tom's perspective. From mine, I really enjoyed the little monkeys, they were so sweet! A few of the animals had babies and it was adorable to see mamas and babies in nature.

I would definitely recommend a visit if you are in the area, just pre book your tickets! 

A Grand Day Out : Eagle Heights

Mr B is on school holidays this week and so has been in charge of Daddy Daycare. He decided to take Tom on a day trip to our nearest animal sanctuary, which is a bird centre called Eagle Heights. 

Eagle Heights is based in Eynsford, Kent. The entry prices are adults £7.95, children aged 4-14 £4.95 and children under 4 are free (woohoo).

Mr B reported that Eagle Heights is pushchair friendly and has reasonable baby facilities. For lunch Mr B and Nana got two cups of tea and a slice of cake each which came in around £8, and there was a BBQ available as well. 

Tom really enjoyed the day, especially the larger birds as he could get quite close to them. Tom also really liked the meerkats! I think this maybe as he likes cats so maybe he thought they were standy up cats! Mr B liked the bird show, he said the presenter man was quite witty and engaging. 

Eagle Heights has around 100 birds and  a slew of other animals, they used to have more but have recently had a restructure. They do animal shows so you get to see the birds flying at full span which really caught Toms attention.

Mr B reported that it was a good day trip and he would recommend it to others. The only negative that he said was that it opened at 11, we are too used to early starts! Eagle Heights also offer experience days, such as feeding animals for an additional cost.

Have you ever been to Eagle Heights? What was your experience like?