In the village of Semer, not far from Ipswich, you’ll find Hollow Trees Farm. Since visiting on a school trip last year, the seven-year-old had been desperate to show us what the place was all about.
That finally happened on a cold weekend in January. We now see why he was so keen to go back.
Here are five reasons you should consider visiting Hollow Trees Farm.
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1. The farm shop
The farm shop and the farm trail have separate parking areas. This suggests to me that the former is as much of an attraction as the latter. And I can see why.
You’ll find wooden display units packed with vibrantly coloured fruit and veg, shelves laden with local bread, and plenty of store cupboard ingredients. There’s an on-site butcher (including a beef ageing fridge), with home-reared produce clearly labelled. The deli area has a well-stocked cheese counter, and fridges filled with cured meats, smoked fish, pies, coleslaw and more. Many of these are either local or made in-house.
There’s alcohol. You can buy local fruit juice. There’s pet food and supplies, and an area out the back selling plants and garden items. It’s a pretty impressive place.
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2. The animals
The farm itself was, of course, of more interest to the child. We bought the obligatory £1 bag of animal food at the ticket kiosk and paid for our tickets. Tickets are priced at £6.50 per person (those aged 2 and under go free) if booked in advance, or £7 on the gate.
The animals included goats, pigs, sheep, cows, donkeys, alpacas, guinea fowl, rabbits, guinea pigs, turkeys and more. There are, thankfully, also plenty of hand washing stations! All the animals seemed happy and well cared for, with plenty of space, too. The child’s favourite area? Goat Mountain, where goats climb up a wooden structure to a platform at the top, and children can turn a handle to winch food up to them.
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3. The play opportunities
The various Hollow Trees Farm play areas were probably the highlight of his day. As well as a covered soft play and sandpit for younger children, there are pedal tractors, a play structure with two slides, a smaller play area, tunnels, welly wanging and a fairy garden to explore.
His favourites? The (very fast) covered slide that ran down a hill, and the three tree swings, ranging from only around 3m high to one that was seriously sizeable. Funnily enough, that’s where we spent a large part of our day…
4. The café
The Hollow Trees Farm café is located in the same building as the farm shop – if you’re visiting the farm trail you’ll have to leave (retaining your ticket for proof of entry) to eat. Food and drink is available both to eat in and to take away – and we chose to eat inside the café.
There are three dining areas: one by the counter, with comfortable seating and a log burner, and one in a plant-filled room just off the main café. There’s also a terraced area offering extra space in warmer weather.
The menu offers hot and cold drinks, as well as sandwiches, toasties, jacket potatoes and more – and the range of cakes on the counter looked enticing, too. As you’d expect for a place like this, there’s a decent kids’ menu, and our son was very happy with his half jacket potato with beans and cheese (£6.50), served with cucumber and cherry tomatoes.
My roastie roll (£9.50) was delicious. It contained farm-reared pork, stuffing and apple sauce, and came with a generous dollop of super creamy coleslaw, also made in-house, plus a strip of crunchy crackling.
You can see the full café menu here.
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5. The seasonal events
Depending on when you visit, you may get the opportunity to meet newborn baby animals – there were some VERY pregnant nanny goats when we went! Half terms and school holidays offer all sorts of extra entertainment, from story time sessions to football golf, Cresta Run sledges and more – keep an eye on their website to find out what’s coming up.
In addition, Hollow Trees Farm birthday parties are available, as well as organised school trips. There’s always something to see and do!
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Find out more on the Hollow Trees Farm website.