As farm shops go, there are few with play areas as big as at Wheelock Hall Farm in Cheshire. The family-run farm is located just a couple of miles off the M6 at junction 17 in Sandbach.
It sits on an idyllic site with sprawling fields that now boast an array of outdoor play features for families with younger children. For rainy days, there's also an indoor play barn included in the price for entry to the play zone, which is currently in the process of being extended.
This is still a working farm though, and part of the appeal is that visitors can also wander across further fields to see a host of farm animals including lambs, goats, chickens and horses. At its heart is a huge farm shop with local produce as well as an expansive range of gifts, household items and toys.
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There is also a large tearoom on the site in a converted barn space, with a menu of cooked breakfast and lunch items and its "famous" home-cooked chips. There's the option to sit in an indoor café area, as well as a wealth of outdoor seating in a pretty walled garden area with swings.
The farm has rapidly expanded its play areas in recent years, and now boasts a vast array of facilities across four different fields of the site. If you're heading in to the play zone, you'll pay £9.50 for children and £2.99 for adults.
As you walk in you will see mini tractors where kids can go for a ride, before walking through to the first fields filled with an array of play equipment including slides, tyre obstacle courses, roundabouts and bouncy animal spring seats.
There's a mini maze hidden within a cube topiary, which is completed when kids zoom through a slide. There's also a zip wire here for older kids, while you'll find a go-karting section at the far end of the site.
Head on to the next field and you'll find a fortress with another slide and an array of different swings and more play equipment.
Across on the top fields you'll discover the newest additions to the farm with two huge new play zones. First you'll find an unusual green tube maze, where kids can make their way through the network of tubes.
It sits next to two large bouncy jumping pillows that kids will love to jump up and then slide down on - into the huge sandpits they both sit in. Also up in this zone is a quirky bean bag game for kids to play.
Continue along to the next field and there's the new giant fortress play structure, where kids can weave through a wooden maze of tunnels to make it out to a bank of slides or individual slides dotted through the frames.
Back at the main site, there are fields with farm animals that families can visit including goats, ducks, chicken and donkeys.
There is also an indoor animal barn where pigs, calves and goats can be found depending on the season.
Work is currently underway at the site to double the size of the indoor playbarn. The current facility has a separate play area for the youngest tots, as well as a large soft play area for older kids too.
Handily for parents, there's a self-service coffee machine in here too and picnic benches while you watch the kids at play.
There's also a separate play zone for younger children just outside the playbarn, featuring a quirky wooden adventure trail and slides.
Inside the farm shop itself you can expect to find an array of farm-fresh produce including home-made pies and cakes, shelves full of fresh fruit and vegetables as well as a selection of frozen artisan ready meals and ice creams.
The food element of the shop leads through to a maze-like gift emporium with everything from cookware to candles and photoframes. There's a dedicated toy shop at the very back of the shop too with a wide selection of farm animal toys.
The farm has a large garden centre outside, and is known for its seasonal events including Halloween picking in October, and Christmas trees in the winter.
How to get there
Wheelock Hall Farm Shop is open daily including Bank holidays, from 9am to 6.30pm. The farm shop is located on Crewe Road, Wheelock, Sandbach, Cheshire, CW11 4RE.
For those arriving off the M6, it's just two miles from Junction 17. If you head onto Old Mill Road and follow the A534, the farm shop is just off a roundabout before you hit the Haslington bypass.
The nearest train station is Sandbach, which is two miles away.
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