Bucklebury Farm Deer & Safari Park is a well loved family day out in Berkshire and a finalist in the Red Kite Days Berkshire Awards. My sister used to have an annual membership when her kids were younger and it’s been on my list of places to visit for ages. We finally made it at half term and had such a great time.
There’s a great mix of outdoor and indoor activities so suitable for all weather. With a large area to explore and a variety of things to do all included in the ticket price, it’s easy to spend a whole day there with kids of all ages from toddler to tween.
Meet the Farm Animals
Bucklebury Farm Park is a great place to interact with farm animals. There is a daily ‘pat a pet’ session with guinea pigs and rabbits. My boys fell in love with the rabbit and now they’re asking to have one for Christmas. I’ve told them we’ll just have to visit Bucklebury Farm again instead!
In spring, it’s lovely to bottle feed new born lambs. They also have lots of farm animals from pigs to donkeys and ponies. You can buy food for the goats when you arrive and we spent ages choosing our favourites and feeding them. It’s a lovely experience for children to get close to animals and interact with them.
Deer Feeding Safari
An absolute highlight of our day out at Bucklebury Farm and something that really sets them apart from other childrens farm attractions is their extensive deer herd. They have four different breeds including Red deer, Sika, Fallow and Axis.
During the spring and summer you can jump aboard a tractor trailer ride out in the fields to feed the deer. It was the start of rutting season when we visited at October half term and the tractor rides don’t run during the Autumn and Winter. Instead you can take a short walk to a trailer at the edge of the fields and still experience the deer feeding.
We climbed aboard the trailer and there were already some deer milling around. Suddenly the rest of the herd must have realised what was going on as they all came charging over the hill and it was such an impressive sight. There’s a big bucket of food that gets passed around and you can grab a few handfuls to feed the deer.
Playgrounds
There is an indoor and several outdoor playground areas. The indoor area has a brand new soft play (2023) and it’s next to reception so you can grab a coffee, sit down and chill out while your kids run around.
Outdoors, there is a wonderful playground with old tractors, a wooden fort, lots of climbing frames, rope swing and more.
My kids bounced off a lot of energy on the giant bouncy pillows too. You can pretty much guarantee they’re going to sleep well after a day out at Bucklebury Farm.
For the bigger kids, there are ride on pedal tractors on their own track and then a separate one for smaller kids too.
If that’s not enough to tire them out then head to the outdoor assault course. We discovered this as we were starting to pack up to go home and my boys were off racing each other in challenges for another 20 minutes.
Café
There is an informal café by the indoor play area where you can get hot drinks and then also a lovely restaurant near the entrance which is highly recommended with both indoor seating and covered outdoor tables.
Special Events
Keep an eye on the Bucklebury Farm website for special family friendly events during the school holidays. We really enjoyed the spooky woodland trail at half term and the Halloween themed scarecrow trail.
