Perhaps my fondest childhood memories are of spending time at my grandparents farm. Feeding hay to the cows from the back of the truck. Lambs being warmed and bottle feed in front of the fire. Riding bikes down the lane to collect the mail. It’s a shame that there aren’t any farms in the family these days. To give our city kids a taste of country life we set off to Golden Ridge Animal Farm. I think Golden Ridge Animal Farm is possibly the best farm experience in Sydney, especially for younger kids.
The farm experience at Golden Ridge Animal Farm is fabulously hands-on. We were at the farm on a very hot day, so our tour started by feeding the animals on the outside of the barn. The goats and sheep sure know what’s in the white buckets, food! They come eagerly running to the fence. The boys were hesitant about feeding the goats but soon got the hang of it. Much to my amusement the biggest lad gave the goats a stern talking to for shoving the sheep out of the way to get to the food! After feeding and patting the smaller goats, we headed back in to the barn.
Inside the barn, the Golden Ridge farm hands run different activities. There’s cow milking, holding ducklings, chicks and rabbits, and bottle feeding baby lambs. It’s busy inside the barn but everyone gets a turn at everything. The best bit is that there’s not huge waits to get up close and personal with the animals. The other wonderful thing about the barn activities is that there are hay bales so the kids can comfortably sit down to hold the baby animals.
Tips for visiting Golden Ridge Animal Farm
If you want to visit Golden Ridge you need to book a spot. Unlike other farms you can’t arrive whenever you please and wander around. It’s more like a farm ‘tour’, be sure to arrive on time!
We were at Golden Ridge Animal Farm on a Saturday and it was busy, although certainly manageable. I suspect a weekday visit would be a less crowded. It was rather warm the day we went to the farm. While the farmers adapted the activities to avoid the sun, we were all rather hot and sticky. If you’re tossing up when to visit Golden Ridge, pick the cooler day!
Golden Ridge Animal Farm is incredibly well set up for families. There’s a change table for babies and sinks at kid height for washing hands after holding the animals. If you pack your own picnic there are plenty of outdoor tables to sit at for lunch and the farm is stroller friendly. Once you’ve finished lunch, the kids can have a pony ride.
Have you been to a farm lately? Do you have fond childhood memories of country living?
Linking up with Essentially Jess for #IBOT
One more thing! If you’re looking for other fun family activities around Sydney, give apple picking a go.
OMG this is not too far away from us (in Sydney terms!!). Never heard of it before, so thank you so much for the heads up. I can see all of us enjoying this as a family activity.
My absolute pleasure! It’s a great family outing.
Looks like your lads had a great time, though the middle lad looks a little unsure about the rabbit 😜
They did have a lovely time Lise. That’s the middle lad’s tired face!
Oh I love a good farm visit. I’ve got fond memories of going to the city farm when I was little and I used to love taking my class when I was teaching. It’s always a fun day out – as long as it’s not raining, that’s not so fun!
I imagine your class would have had a blast! You’re right, farming in the rain isn’t fun.
I must try this out- we’ve been to Calmsley Hill several times and loved the experience 🙂
You should Amy, it’s a fabulous way to really see the farm animals!
Oh this looks so fabulous. I’ll have to take my Sugarpuff there during the holidays
I’m sure she’d love it, the animals are very cuddly!
that looks like so much fun! Next time we’re in Sydney (which will probably by soon) we might go. My bub loves farm animals!
I’m sure that you’d all have a fabulous time, the boys loved getting so close to all the farm animals!
One of our fave animal experiences!
It’s terrific isn’t it Christine, especially for younger kids!
How good are farms where the kids can be involved? We have a similar sort of place near us, and the kids love going there.
Absolutely Jess! It’s fabulous being able to get so up close and personal with the animals.