The Bank Holiday weather was absolutely perfect for a day trip to the farm – warm enough to not need a jacket, but cool enough for the dogs to come along too.
Glebe Farm, in Astbury, Congleton, is a small farm with its own little shopping village, farm shop and menagerie of animals. Open seven days a week, the farm is free to visit and also allows well behaved dogs on leads. When we arrived, we parked up – also free – and headed straight to the outdoor paddocks where Phoebe and Frank met three lovely donkeys, some baby goats, ponies, and sheep. They were both a little apprehensive, so made sure to socially distance! This picture of Frank really makes me chuckle – it looks like he’s gone on a school trip!
At the Glebe Farm shop, you can purchase animal feed and carrots for the residents, which also include alpacas, chickens, ducks and geese. There is also a small indoor -enclosure which is home to a 37-year-old Shetland pony, and two pigs who were surrendered after being bought as micro pigs, but got pretty big! We decided not to take the dogs in here, even though they were allowed, and instead pulled up a pew at a picnic bench.
There are some shaded benches, whilst others are out in the sun, but under the tables provided enough shade for the dogs whilst us humans had an ice cream from the shop. Although the farm is dog friendly – even having a pet grooming business on site – I think they’re missing a trick not selling dog ice cream like Frozzy’s or Scoops. We think they’d be very PAWpular! I did let them lick the remains of my ice cream pot, though, and gave them some water we’d bought from home.
There are more than 20 businesses at Glebe Farm which do change from time to time, as there used to be a pet shop there, but not any more. But it usually means that there’s something new to explore at each visit. If you’ve got children, too, there is a new playpark where they can burn off some energy, or work up a hunger for one of those ice creams. On the day we visited, there were also two miniature go-karts set up for kids to play on, and it was a great chance to introduce Phoebe and Frank to different sounds.
Naturally, the visitors of the farm were all big animal lovers, and a handful of people asked if they could stroke Phoebe and Frank, which doesn’t happen often. They were very grateful for the attention and enjoyed having a fuss before hopping back into the car for a drink at the pub.
I was really pleased with our trip out, as Phoebe can get quite pent up around animals – particularly birds – and make quite a lot of noise about it. But both Phoebe and Frank were really well behaved, and it made for a great training opportunity and mental stimulation. By the time we got home, they were shattered!
Glebe Farm is a really cute family day out if you’re near to Cheshire. You can easily spend an hour there, or much longer with children or if you want a good look at the shops. You don’t have to spend any money if you don’t want to, but the ice cream is £2-3 a pop and worth it. The farm shop is reasonably priced, with in-store butchers and a selection of locally sourced beers and spirits. I’d have liked to see more to buy for the dogs, like a chew or bag of treats to keep them good at the table, but ultimately, a lovely trip out.
