Tapnell Farm Park, Isle of Wight
Tapnell Farm Park: a place which describes itself as a 'family fun day out...' and what a day of fun we had! We have actually visited Tapnell Farm Park a few times in the past couple of years, but on our most recent visit, it has noticeably expanded. Every time we have been it seems to grow and grow!
Here's what we thought on our most recent visit:
The animals
We like that at Tapnell there are lots of animals to see- many are under cover which is ideal for whatever the weather. From typical farm animals such as goats and sheep, there are also more unusual animals such as wallabys and meerkats!
This time, we were chuffed to have turned up just in time to see the rabbits and guinea pigs being scooped up by the staff, ready to say hello to us all! Our Tot especially loved being able to get stuck in and stroke a guinea pig!
The interactive 'farm' elements at Tapnell are professional and engaging: later in the day we fed Wallabys, too! For this, we got to go inside their spacious walkabout enclosure, where these lovely creatures hopped about among us, quite happily. The staff carefully showed our Tot how to lay her palm flat and hold out the wallaby food- a lovely experience for her!
Inside, as a new addition, there was also a 'Bugs and Beasties' feature wall- it was attractive and brightly coloured, with plenty of foot stools for our littlies to peer right in!
Playing
For us, inside the play barn was a massive WIN for Tot and her little cousin who joined us. With peddle-tractors; soft play areas; toy kitchen and dressing up, the play barn is a small child's dream! It's honestly excellent, and there's loads of seating for parents to sit close by to supervise, too.
The soft play is generously sized, and on our previous visits, the toddler soft play had been a small area to the side of the bigger children's area. However, the toddler soft play has now moved to the opposite end of the barn and is a much larger space for them to clamber; sit in the ball pit; and enjoy the soft 'rockers' and 'see-saws!' Great move, in my opinion. Tot and her cousin were more than in their element playing in the toddler area! Considering it was the summer holidays, it wasn't too busy, either- and I think this is because there's so much to do at Tapnell that even when there's clearly a lot of people in the park, you don't all end up in one spot.
At the other end of Tapnell Farm Park is the straw barn, which I'd say has become more of the run-around space for older children. There's an excellent straw bale pyramid to climb, with slides and an extension of tunnels and bridges! Alongside this: a zip-wire, go-karts and a climbing wall. Seriously- this is the stuff of HOURS OF FUN. Despite there being a lot of bigger children in this area, our Tot still loved giving it a go (with a leg-up!) - and she loved the tunnels in particular! There's plenty of room for climbing about and allowing children to just let off steam!
Our FAVOURITE thing at Tapnell has usually been the bouncy jumping pillow (or 'BOINGY BOINGY' as Tot likes to say.) However, in the past we've often had to wait for quiet times to let our Tot go on it to avoid being in the way of those bigger bouncers! BUT- we were super impressed this time to find a second bouncy pillow now out in the field... just for the under 5s! Perfect.
Some new swings and slides have also been installed- and as a word of warning, I would say that the slides are quite steep for little ones- however, our Tot thought it was hilarious when she came shooting off the end?!! Again, it's these additional touches that make Tapnell a place easy to stay the day in!
CAFE & PICNIC
Finally, on our most recent visit we noticed that there's a lot more picnic seating available. There's picnic benches all over the park, where you can enjoy a picnic brought from home. Not only this, but I thought it wise that there was seating under cover and inside the straw barn- we will remember this for a rainy day!
There is also a cafe on site, which is bright, colourful and clean. The cafe stocks a well-sourced and refreshing selection of lunch time snacks and drinks. We also liked that children and toddlers can choose different bits for their lunch- and that it is all laid out for them to see (rather than inside a kids' box.) Our Tot thought it was great to be able to pick! The cafe had ample high chairs and, despite it being a busy lunchtime, we had no trouble collecting 3 highchairs for the 3 little ones we had with us on our visit! Our food was enjoyable and service good, too.
Overall, what a brilliant place to go for the day! It is well laid-out; clean and inviting. Tapnell caters so excellently for children: there is just so much to keep them entertained. We will definitely be buying passes...I can envision us spending half our lives here as our little ones grow up!
If you've never been with your little ones- you must. If you haven't been for a while- you must. And if you're here on a holiday- you must make this a priority attraction! A job well done, Tapnell!
For further information, and more about the Park, visit the Tapnell website by clicking here.