Horncastle Farm

What it’s like

A working farm where kids can drive a tractor, ride the combine and feed the lambs.

This isn't a farm where you just look at animals over a fence. The site lists a "be a farmer" experience where kids actually get stuck in, driving a tractor and riding along on the combine harvester. Feeding the lambs is on the list too, which is the bit that tends to stick in a small child's memory long after the tractor ride's forgotten.

There's no age range given, so it's hard to say exactly how young is too young for the tractor driving bit, but feeding lambs works for pretty much anyone who can hold a bottle steady. The opening hours are worth a glance before you plan your day: Sunday to Thursday it shuts at 5pm like most farms do, but Friday and Saturday it stays open until 11pm, which is unusual and suggests there's more going on those evenings than just the animals.

Food's been thought about properly here rather than bunged in as an afterthought. The restaurant sits in a restored potato-packing barn and serves produce from local growers and butchers.

There's no booking link listed.

Need to know

Food

Restaurant in restored potato-packing barn serving locally-sourced farm produce from local growers and butchers

• The lamb feeding is the one to save for the end if your kids have short attention spans for the tractor stuff
• Friday and Saturday opening until 11pm is well beyond a normal farm visit, so check what's actually running that late
• The restaurant uses local growers and butchers rather than a standard farm shop menu

Plan your visit

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