WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre
Otters at feeding time, flamingos, pond dipping and a canoe safari through the reeds in season. One of those places that quietly turns a nature-indifferent child into a nature child.
The Farm Burscough
Burscough, Lancashire
Martin Lane runs out of Burscough into flat mossland, and The Farm sits along it with a lake, some fishing pools and a circular walk anyone can do in half an hour. The animals are the point. Free range hens scratching about, goats, alpacas, and the two donkeys, Walter and Tommy, who have names on the website and therefore fans.
The barn at the centre of it was restored into a tea room and farm shop, open Wednesday to Sunday and bank holidays from 9am, with the kitchen taking last hot food orders at 2.30pm and the room closing at 3.30pm. It is licensed and has free wi fi, which tells you it is aimed at adults as much as children. No admission price appears anywhere on the site and nobody has published one, so go expecting to pay for cake and not for entry.
It sits right on the edge of the Martin Mere wetlands, so the bird life along the walk is better than the setting suggests. Bring binoculars if anyone in the family is into that. It pairs neatly with a WWT morning or a Windmill Animal Farm afternoon without adding any driving.
Know before you go
- There is no soft play, no tractor ride and no gift shop. This is a farm walk and a tea room, so say so before you arrive or you will hear about it.
- The ground is flat and accessible, which makes it one of the easier animal stops in the area with a buggy or a scooter.
Looking for more farms & animals near Burscough?
Also in Burscough
Windmill Animal Farm
A friendly hands-on farm whose star turn is the miniature railway running out across the fields. Animal handling sessions, indoor play for wet spells, and it never feels too big.