What is Cannon Hall Farm?

Cannon Hall Farm is a fully functioning, working farm set in the Pennine hills in Barnsley. It is an award winning farm, and offers a great day out for the family.

It is situated adjacent to Cannon Hall - however having never been in here as they don't allow pushchairs, I am unable to review this. My review will be solely on Cannon Hall Farm.

Access

It is 10 minutes off Junction 37 on the M1. The farm is signposted, and once you have reached Cannon Hall there is a large car park there, or you can follow the signs to "open farm" to be parked near to the Farm.

There are 100s of car parking spaces, and there are disabled car parking spots which are located near the entrance. There is a parking attendant who will show you where to park after he has taken the fee from you. The car park is a couple of minutes walk from the entrance down a graveled driveway. There are also buses which travel to the farm.

There is disabled access into the park, as there is pushchair. Where there are stairs, there is a separate ramp also.

Prices

The prices are quite reasonable in my opinion, it is £3.50 for children, and £3.95 for adults. This is about standard for petting farms, this ticket price is solely for entering the farm. You can get your hand stamped to enable you to come in and out. Animal feed is 50p a bag, and this can last you your full visit.

All other prices for cafe, shops etc I will cover in a separate section.

You have to pay to park, it costs £3.00 - however the ticket entitles you to £1.50 off in the cafe, so there is scope to make some of your money back!

What can I do here?

There are many attractions to be found at Cannon Hall Farm:
The Farm
Cannon Hall Farm have invested millions to make it the best farm attraction in the country. There are lots of animals and due to the amount of baby animals being born every week you can always ensure to see new faces! In the Spring, the lambs are born every day. There are also piglets, even newborn ones on display with their mothers. In my opinion, its really nice to see, however its very noisy!

My son always enjoys petting the horses, and foals, and there are chances to hold rabbits and guinea pigs. There pen is very low walled and its easy to stroke them. There are chickens, turkeys and hens.

The pygmy goats really enjoy being fed, there seem to 1000s of them and can even squeeze through the fences for a pet! On a few occasions i've had a goat following me around. They are friendly though and never had a problem. There are several breeds of cattle, and calves are also on display. There is a large roundhouse, which houses all the cattle. This has recently been built and features a walk over bridge so you can look down into the roundhouse.

The Kune Kune pigs are quite smelly, so i'd try not to get to close, however these also enjoy the feed that you can buy, so be brave!

The farm has several health and safety notifications, rules such as remembering to wash your hands after feeding and stroking the animals, there are numerous wash stations dotted around the farm so there is no excuse for dirty hands! Plus, pregnant women should refrain from feeding the animals. Plus, do not eat or drink on the farm and children should be supervised. I feel these are simple rules, and ones you would do anyway regardless of being told too!

The Cafe'
As previously mentioned, your car parking ticket is worth £1.50 in the cafe so its always worth a visit, prices are so cheap so if you are just going in for a drink, on most occasions your car park ticket will cover the cost. The cafe is spacious with 250 seats indoors and 150 outdoors, has highchairs for babies and wheelchair access.

They have hot and cold food, and all sausages, bacon and beefburgers are all produced in the farm shop, or sourced locally. Prices are reasonable, its around £3 for sandwiches and toasties, and £4.70 for a panini with chips. They offer a huge range, and for me to detail them all would take up the whole page. Hot meals, jacket potatoes, burgers and pies are a few of the things on the menu. Pricing is around £6.00-7.00 for full meals. Beverages are between 85p and £1.90.

I've always been really happy with the service in the cafe, and the food is cheap and up too a good standard. Its real home cooking type food. The cafe has toilets, and baby change facilities.

The Farm Shop
The shop has been open for 10 years, and in this time has won a national butchery competition. Robert Webb, who is a supervisor at the farm shop, came away with the award of Best Beef Butcher. They sell over 20 varieties of sausages and dry cured bacon and ham, fresh fruit and vegetables sourced locally, and they stock a huge range of cookery items which beat retail prices on the high street. There is a huge selection of biscuits, jams, cooking sauces, coffees and teas and old fashioned sweets. I normally spend a long time looking through everything! I do find the farm shop to be a little expensive, but I do believe you get what you pay for.

The Deli
This is very similar to the farm shop but specialises in breads, pies, pastries, cheeses and cakes. Everything is fresh, and made on site. They also have lots of cooking sauces, olives, parma ham, quails eggs, and for the brave.... snails. Again, a little expensive. The only thing i've bought from here is a fresh pepper cooking sauce, this was around £4 and taste was delicious, and a freshly made family size steak pie which was £4, but again, tasty. A price worth paying for quality. They also stock lots of fine wine.

Toy and Gift Shop
This is situated as you leave the farm, but unlike most places they don't make you walk through it in order to leave! They have lots of childrens toys (which are mostly farm related) books, trinkets such as magnets, candles, glassware, soft toys, educational games, and they even have an ice cream counter inside. Prices again are quite reasonable, and its worth a look. I bought my son a soft book about ducks from in here, and it cost £3 which he loves.

The Adventure Playground
The adventure playground was improved in 2007 by the addition of £150,000. It is designed for children of all ages with slides, towers, climbing frames, and a special area for children aged 0-3 which is tailored more to their needs. Seating is available for parents around the playground area.

Staff

The staff have always been friendly. The cafe staff are usually teenagers from the local area who are always willing to help, but sometimes can be quite aloof (thats teenagers for you!), but all other areas they are very friendly. The staff always ask you if everything is OK, and the ones who hold the rabbits for children to hold are great with the children.

Safety

To get in and out of the farm, you need to go through a gate which really needs to be opened by an adult, as the farm is quite large, i'd recommend keeping an eye on your child, and because of roaming animals this is always a good idea!

Overall....

I'd defiantly recommend this farm to anyone wanting a day out. You can also visit the Cannon Hall Museum,and there are lots of beautiful areas to walk around such as the gardens. The farm is great, i've enjoyed every visit and try to get back every couple of months. Even though my son is only 8 months old, the joy he gets from seeing the animals is lovely, his face lights up and he talks to them. The goats sometimes try and nibble his hands, but I always keep an eye on them both! A really good day out, top marks.