Thanks for all the r/r/c's - apologies have not been around much - have an obscene amount of reading...
Thanks for all the r/r/c's - apologies have not been around much - have an obscene amount of reading for Uni this year!! Will get round to catching up soon - promise!! Sarah xx
Member since:20.03.2006
Reviews:24
Members who trust:31
Our little boy has reached the age (2) where he is interested in everything so we decided to take him out for a trip to see some real animals, in the hope that he would equate the animal with the pictures he is so fond of looking at. Living in Cheshire, we thought about Chester Zoo but decided that that was a day out best left until he is old enough to appreciate it... We plumped instead to take him to a local country park where they have a petting zoo and play area for young children. As we didn't want to travel too far, our options were pretty limited and a quick search on Google gave us Lakemore's details so we went for it!
*** WHERE IS IT? ***
The park itself is based in Haslington, near Crewe. It is far enough out of the town centre to be classed as being in the countryside
(in fact, if you stand outside the gates, you can see nothing but rolling countryside.. the view is fab!). It covers 36 acres of land, and over 10 acres of that is divided into nature trails and also houses five lakes.
*** WHAT IS THERE TO DO? ***
We went to the park having no real preconceptions about what it would be like and we were, on the whole, pleasantly suprised. Firstly we walked around the aviary (which is situated around one of the lakes). There were lovebirds, canaries, parrots (and they are just the species I know of lol). As you are following a nature trail at this stage, there are also wild rabbits running about and you see a great many squirrels!
We then moved on to another part of the park which had a selection of farm animals and rare breeds. There are peacocks (not a favourite with Jake as they are suprisingly loud when you are up close!), pigs, donkeys, sheep, Shetland ponies, pygmy goats and llamas. You can feed all the animals (except where there is a sign saying please do not feed) and we were able to buy feed bags for £1 from the cafe. I would say that, bar the Llamas (who spat at us when we tried to go near them!), all the animals were used to human contact. Jake loved the pygmy goats as they were small enough not to be threatening to him, and they were friendly enough for him to pet them too.
*** FACILITIES ***
There is a cafe on site, so no need to take a packed lunch (however if you would prefer to, there is a picnic area). Food is reasonably priced and very tasty. We had a beef sandwich (for Hawkimus), a cheese and ham ciabatta (me) and a kids meal for Jake. Everything was lovely and the cafe's decor (it's designed to be like an old farmhouse) set the atmosphere perfectly.
There are indoor and outdoor play areas for children and a crazy golf course which is free once you have paid your entry charge. Everywhere was clean and I can honestly say that during our visit, we saw no litter around the park. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful and really made us feel at home.
For fishing fans, you are able to fish in the lakes and there is a gift shop on site (although I cannot comment on its quality as it was closed when we visited).
*** OTHER STUFF *** Dogs are allowed in the park so you can take you four legged friend with you if you so wish! Apparently, the park is accessible to those in wheelchairs.. my only comment about this is that we found it too difficult to push Jake’s buggy along some of the gravel paths so I am not 100% confident of promoting the park to those with limited mobility.
Prices are as follows: £3.50 – Adult admission £2.50 – Child admission (over 3 years old) Children under 3 get free admission
The park is open all year round (except the usual Christmas and New Year holidays) and is open between the hours of 10am and 5.30pm (with the last admission at 4.30pm).
The address, should you need it is: Lakemore Country Park Lane Ends Farm, Clay Lane, Haslington, Crewe Tel: 01270 253556
*** OVERALL VERDICT ***
When we first looked at going to the park, all the advertisements we saw stated that there were Wallabies on site. To cut a long story short, there weren’t and haven’t been for over four years. However, the fun we had showing the animals to Jake and being able to feed and touch some of them was more than worth the entry fee alone. I would recommend Lakemore wholeheartedly to anyone wanting to spend a few hours in a nice setting, but not wishing to spend a fortune. We were there for about three hours and enjoyed it immensely. Jake’s knowledge of animals has improved and he is now able to point all the farm animals out to me in his books so I guess it was educational as well as fun.
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