It was my 3rd mothers day and I still feel new to this whole parenting malarkey. I spent my first Mothers Day taking my baby to the cinema to watch her first Disney movie (Wish). Last year we had a picnic on a beautiful sunny day in the park! So this year I asked my husband to plan us a surprise.

Taking advantage of the Mum’s Go Free offer we headed to Piglets Adventure Farm on the edge of York! We took a gamble with the weather and wrapped up in warm clothing and waterproofs to get us through the day. Wellies on we headed for our 11am entry.

As soon as we entered, my daughter Hilda went straight for the climbable pigs. She spotted the playground immediately and of course wanted to play on everything!

We’d also noticed a little queue for a tractor ride which we thought we’d check out later.

We didn’t get through much of the day before the drizzle started to come down so we decided to start in the animal barn. It was so busy in here we could barely see the animals and couldn’t really enjoy it! The combination of bad weather and the mothers day promo causing the park to be extra busy did us no favours.

We decided to scrap the animal barn and head over for the pantomime that was starting at 12. Bo Peep’s Show was taking place in a giant marquee and as the rain started to come down even more we figured this would be the perfect spot for shelter and maybe it would pass in the meantime.

The show was your usual cheese but our toddler sat still and watched it. I thought it was very cute! There were only three characters, Bo Peep, Grand Old Duke of York and the Wicked Witch but they made quite the impression on our little one. When I say she is still talking about them now, I am not kidding! About 10 minutes into the show Hilda became very scared of the wicked witch. We ended up leaving so we never saw the rest of it so I guess i’ll never know if Bo Peep found her sheep!

When we left the marquee, the rain had stopped, so we headed over to some of the play areas. I could see a massive beach area that looked really cool, complete with beach huts! You can even hire these huts out for the day but obviously in the wet winter we are having we didn’t do this.

We didn’t spend any time on the beach because our attention was quickly averted to the Dino Dig Zone! Hilda is obsessed with dinosaurs and this looked like fun. We got our spades and started digging for dinosaur bones and gems. This was a really unique activity that we really enjoyed as a family. For a busy Sunday I was glad it was surprisingly quiet too.

After finding all the dinosaurs we explored some of the activities on offer. The bouncing pillows looked fun but our daughter wouldn’t go on them. She has been on one before and had it all to herself so now as a result she doesn’t like to go on one when other children are bouncing – Her words not mine! So we headed over to the mini golf. It was about to be our first game of golf as a family but it didn’t last long because Hilda threw her golf club before we even started the first hole! Toddler tantrum in full force – It was clear the weather was getting to all of us.

We managed to have a go on the tractors just before golf at least. These were a cute addition amongst the many things on offer at the farm.

As we gave up on golf, Hilda spotted a princess from afar. It was Bo Peep but of course anyone with a big dress in a toddler’s eyes is a princess! We were now under strict instruction to follow the princess around the farm so she could meet her. Luckily we managed to catch up with Bo Peep who was accompanied by the Duke. I told them how our little one was scared of the witch and they thought this was adorable. They brought the wicked witch over so she could see wasn’t so scary after all! They took so much time making our daughters experience special. To this day she is telling people about how she met the Grand old duke of York. I don’t know how she remembers his name so well! Of course once we said goodbye to the characters she spent the rest of the day asking to go see “the scary witch”. Typical Hilda!

When entering the farm we were told the only time slot left available to feed the lambs was at 3.30pm. So we knew we would need to occupy ourselves for the day before we could go do this. We hadn’t brought any food for lunch and after a while we started feeling the full force of the cold weather. We looked around and couldn’t find any indoor places to eat. There was pizza on offer but all the seating was taken as people tried to huddle into picnic tables in the shelter. We didn’t fancy spending our money to wolf down lunch in the rain.

So we headed to the gift shop where we found the crafts area. Children were decorating Easter animals and eggs to hang up like a garland. We mostly just used this area as once again, a shelter from the rain! Such a shame we got so unlucky with the weather.

We spoke with a staff member here who told us the tractor was taking people up to the play barn where there is a restaurant you can eat in. We thought finally this could be somewhere we could head to eat!

So we ventured back outside and stood in the now pouring rain as we queued for the tractor. There was no shelter and no alternative option. You can’t walk to the play barn, you must wait for the tractor! So about 20 minutes later we were finally hopping on. It was so incredibly busy we couldn’t even get a seat but by this point we were pretty desperate to get up to the play barn and out of the rain!

Once we got up to the play barn we were dissapointed to find a sand pit we’d already spent most of the day in outside, slides that were far too big for a two year old and play equipment our daughter was too young for. It wasn’t the toddler friendly soft play we were hoping for. The queues for food were long and there were absolutely no tables to sit at and eat as they were all full. We felt completely deflated and just wanted to head back to the farm but knew once again we’d have to wait for the tractor! Honestly, in all my time visiting attractions all over the UK, i’d never found something so frustrating.

We left the barn and spoke with the driver of the tractor who said in all his five years of working here, he’d never seen the farm so busy! Including summer holidays and half term. This was Mothers day on a bleak cold day in March. The only reason for it being so incredibly busy was the offer they had on. This definitely taught me that sometimes it isn’t worth saving some pennies.

By now, the rain had become unbearable. It was a torrential downpour but we still chose to walk behind the tractor to get back down to the farm, it had to be better than waiting in the barn for who knows how long! As we walked, we had a friendly chat with one of the staff members and this would prove to be a very good thing later in our day.

As soon as we got back to the farm we headed back into the pantomime marquee to shelter from the rain it was so bad. We’d caught the show again so this time we went down to the front to watch. It was much more exciting now because we’d already met them so Hilda was happy to see them again. Once again we didn’t stay until the end of the show so I still don’t know how it ends!

Once we got outside the rain had finally stopped! We also noticed that thanks to the rain, half of the people had left for the day. This was an absolute game changer. We headed for the animal barn and this time we got to enjoy the experience.

We started with the animals outside saying hello to the guinea fowl, bunnies, chickens and goats. Then we headed into the barn again. This time there was nobody in the barn so it was a great opportunity for us to view all the animals. We saw guinea pigs, more goats, very large pigs and difficult to miss alpacas!

It was a much more pleasant experience being in the barn without feeling overwhelmed and crammed in. We even had the time and space to give the pigs a brush!

What I loved about here was the ‘Piglet Mat Pen’. It was like a maternity ward but for pigs! I love piglets and I think they are so cute even as they get a little bigger. I like seeing them change even after only a few days. They were enjoying a snooze when we went in.

Before we stepped outside again we came across all the very cute little lambs. The staff member we’d seen earlier called us over and said they had a lamb who needed feeding. So instead of waiting until 3.30pm and having to queue all over again they let us do it now! We got our own unique experience and our daughter got to feed a lamb for the first time without the chaos. It really made our day.

After this we headed for the Farm Yard Trail taking us out of the barn and back in to the elements. This time the rain had finally gone away and the sun had come out! So we enjoyed viewing all the larger animals at a leisurely pace fully enjoying the trail. My favourite was the pony.

Now we’d finally seen all the animals, which was the main reason for us visiting in the first place, the sun meant we could go enjoy some of the rest of the farm.

We headed back to the golf course where we finally got that first game of mini-golf we’d been waiting for. This time it was far more enjoyable in the sun with nobody around!

We ended the day with a ride on the Pedal Go-Carts! I loved that all of this was included. There was definitely plenty to do for children here.

I think I might have enjoyed this more than anyone!

We never did manage to get something to eat but the weather played a huge part in this. We’ve definitely learnt to come prepared with a picnic at all times – Just incase! Luckily we always pack a little lunch for our daughter so she never goes hungry. We might get hangry ourselves but nothing compares to a hangry toddler!

We ended up having a great day but if it wasn’t for the final two hours on the farm, this post wouldn’t even be worth writing about. I am definitely a mum who doesn’t let rain spoil her fun. I am the kind of person who will go hiking up a mountain in the rain (we climbed Snowdon in it once) but truth be told, I really hate a rainy day. A family day out to the farm can easily be spoilt by this. Always check the weather forecast but take it with a pinch of salt. The best method in my opinion is to judge it on the day. Is it worth taking the gamble? In our case it payed off but truth be told it heavily impacted our day.

The farm was way too busy on Mother’s Day and whilst I’ve tried my hardest to keep this post positive, our experience was affected greatly by the amount of people trying to use the facilities. Of course the weather didn’t help but had it not of been so busy our experience would have been very different. Would we return? Yes! But definitely mid-week outside of half-term for me next time!

~ Visited Piglets Adventure Farm in March 2026 ~

Useful bits

Website: https://pigletsadventurefarm.com/
Location: 15 minutes from York city centre
Entry Fee: (Correct in March 2026) Adults £8.95 – Children 1+ £9.95 – Under 1s FREE
Bonus Factors: Free parking and plenty of it. Loads of outdoor space and activities all included. Picnic areas if you want to bring your own food. Various play areas for the kids to enjoy including water play, giant sand pit, dino dig and other areas. Easy to spend hours here playing and viewing the animals.
Verdict: This place is great for a day out but far better on a dry day. The majority of the activities are outside and rely on dry weather. Whilst a few of the animals are indoors, the space is small and easily gets crowded. The tractor ride on a busy day involves queuing and there is no option to walk to the indoor cafe located at the end of the tractor ride. Prices are steep for toddlers; this is one of the few attractions I’ve come across that don’t have a reduced fee for under 2’s or under 3’s. If you live close by and the rain clouds are nowhere to be seen get yourself down here early and you’ll have plenty to do all day!
TripAdvisor: Piglets Adventure Farm

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