Mrs Dowsons farm park review
We loved our visit to this Lancashire farm so I knew I needed to write a Mrs Dowsons farm park review as soon as I could so that you don’t miss out on this great family attraction if you are ever nearby. Find more fantastic Family days out North West here.
Where is Mrs Dowsons farm park?
Mrs Dowsons is just a short drive along the A59 from junction 31 of the M6.
The full address is
Mrs Dowsons,
Hawkshaw Farm,
Longsight Road,
Clayton-le-Dale,
Ribble Valley,
Lancashire,Â
BB2 7JA
You can even get a bus to Mrs Dowsons which I know many of you will appreciate. Find full details here – Mrs Dowsons | How To Get Here
Parking at Mrs Dowsons farm park
For those of you travelling by car there is plenty of free parking available
Why visit Mrs Dowsons farm park with kids?
This is a fantastic children’s farm in Lancashire. It’s really close to Preston and the M6 so it’s easy to get to. We loved seeing and feeding all the animals as well as the amazing indoor playground. The ice cream is delicious too.
As soon as we arrived at Mrs Dowsons we noticed the festival vibe with the music being played in the courtyard and the stunning, huge sheep sculptures.
There’s also a lot of picnic tables here including some covered ones. You’ll find a street food van in the courtyard selling drinks, burgers, pizza etc. There is also the ice cream parlour in the courtyard area (more about the ice cream below).
Another big reason to visit Mrs Dowsons is the amazing indoor adventure playground! I’ll share full details of it below but it’s fair to say my kids loved it and we had to practically drag them out!
There are also lots of farm animals to see and some outdoor play areas too. They have various talks and feeding times throughout the day too and you can see a full list of what’s on and where on the screen before you enter the indoor play area.
The animals at Mrs Dowsons farm park
There are loads of gorgeous and well looked after animals on the farm at Mrs Dowsons farm park. They are in a mix of large indoor barns and outdoor paddocks.
It was great to see things like the goats having lots of obstacles in their area to play with. There are also areas where you can hand feed the animals such as the llamas, goats, alpacas and sheep. There are signs about not feeding the pigs, horses and donkeys by hand so look out for these. You can purchase a bag of animal feed at the entry to the farm for £1.50.
We attended the pig feeding session where we watched the pig being fed and heard lots about them from one of the farm staff.
My children also enjoyed lambing live (more details below) and the rabbit handling session. This session was really well organised and every child who wanted to got a turn to have the rabbit sat on their knee on a piece of carpet.
Play areas at Mrs Dowsons farm park
Outdoors there is a small play area for younger children and a sand pit area which I imagine is popular in the summer.
There is also a large climbing frame for older children to navigate from one end to the other.
The star attraction though is the huge indoor play area. We’re not talking soft play here, this is a large wooden adventure playground set on sand. There are opportunities to climb, slide, balance, hide and so much more. There’s even one of those large basket swings.
The large wooden structure has multiple levels, places to hide and explore, bridges to walk across and a lovely slide too. There are multiple ways to climb up to the bridges and slide, including a staircase in the back corner which is fantastic for adults and young children. Yes, adults can climb up and go across all the bridges too which is great if you have young children.
If you have older children who are able to play freely, there are plenty of benches around the edge and a balcony level with lots of tables and chairs. This is the only indoor seating area (apart from the small ice cream parlour) so no picnics are allowed here but you can eat food and drinks that you have purchased on site here whilst watching your kids play.
Lambing live at Mrs Dowsons
We visited during the lambing season. Whilst we didn’t see any lambs being born, my kids did both get a chance to feed a lamb a bottle of milk.
This was really well organised and there were lots of lambs and baby goats needing feeding so all the children that wanted to got a chance to feed a baby animal a bottle.
All children are given a ticket for the next available lamb feeding session when you arrive so that everyone who wants to gets a chance to feed an animal.
Mrs Dowsons ice cream
The ice cream is made on the farm using milk from their own dairy herd. We really enjoyed our ice creams. There were a wide choice of different flavours including some unique ones like Creme egg flavour (my favourite).
Other food and drink at Mrs Dowsons farm park
In the courtyard to Mrs Dowsons you’ll find the Dowsons farm grill selling a range of burgers, chicken and hotdogs, all locally sourced.
Events at Mrs Dowsons farm park
As well as lambing live, there are lots of events across the year at Mrs Dowsons. They have a very popular dinosaur event each summer holidays and their Christmas event looks fantastic too.
They also have wild camping nights in the summer and goat yoga sessions!
How long do we need for a visit to Mrs Dowsons farm?
I’d say to plan at least a half day but I think you could probably spend all day here. There’s plenty to do and see.
My own children would have spent hours on the indoor playground alone!
What age is Mrs Dowsons farm suitable for?
My own children were 7 and just turned 11 when we visited. They both really enjoyed our visit. There were plenty of younger children enjoying it too.
I’d say that Mrs Dowsons is great for children under 12.
How much does it cost to visit Mrs Dowsons farm park?
Tickets need to be booked in advance online and the price does vary depending on the event or if no events are on.
Find current prices and book here – Book Tickets | Mrs Dowsons
Nearby places to visit
Find nearby family walks here – Pram friendly walks Lancashire.
Find the best parks in Lancashire here.
Another great place for ice cream and a play is Billy Bob’s Preston.
Find more great Things to do in Lancashire with toddlers here.
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