Forge Mill Farm, Sandwell Valley

Yesterday we headed to Forge Mill Farm for an afternoon out and it was fantastic.

For One adult and up to three children, it costs just £4 to get in. For two adults and up to three children it is £6. And if paying separately Adults are just £2, children and concessions £1.50.

So, what is at Forge Mill Farm?

Forge Mill Farm is a working dairy farm with Pedigree Jersey Cows.

They have now also opened it as a visitor centre where people can go along and meet the animals.

Maize Maze

Every summer, Forge Mill Farm open up their Maize Maze. It is included within your entrance fee and is so much fun. The maze is huge and spans 9 acres. Me and the girls had a great time trying to navigate our way through.

The Maize is really high, towering over adult heads too, so you can’t cheat to find your way out. Which adds to the fun.

Once the season is over, this crop gets harvested and fed to the cattle.

The Maize Maze is open from 10am to 3pm (closing an hour and a half before the farm closes, for those who may take 90 minutes to find their way out). We did it in about 20 – 30 minutes.

Farm Animals

The girls loved being able to see all of the different farm animals. They had purchased a bag of food each (80p) to feed the goats and sheep and they loved this opportunity.

You could get really close to the animals, which Matilda really liked. She loves goats especially.

Jemima and Matilda both really liked the sheep and enjoyed stroking them and feeding them.

The farm also has two alpacas Daisy and Emily.

The farm has many Jersey cows too and a milking area so you can see the cows being milked and hear about the process (11am daily). We arrived after that session, but the girls still went and had a look at the room with the milking machine in. The farm like to make the cows feel comfortable when milking them, so they all go in the room individually. They can make up to 50 litres of milk a day. The girls were really interested in the process of how they end up with milk in their cereal.

Animal Holding

At 2:30pm every day of the school holidays, the farm have a chick holding session. The girls loved being able to hold and stroke the chicks.

I enjoyed Jemimas very serious concentration face whilst holding her chick.

Play Areas

There are a number of play areas within the farm.

You have the adventure play area just outside where you pay to get in. It has a giant tube slide, climbing chain wall and a swing. This area was just about okay for my girls but I would recommend it would be a good area for children aged 5 and above. They have extended the section since I last went and they have a lot of spare space filled with a bark floor, so I suspect they are going to add some more equipment, possibly for younger children.

We had a picnic here as they have picnic benches for people to sit on. And we love a good picnic. The shop sells sandwiches pre made too, along with crisps, drinks and packaged cakes. So you could have a bite to eat here, even if you don’t bring a picnic.

My girls also had an ice lolly later in the day which was just £1 each.

For younger children, they have a section with a sandpit filled with buckets and spades to play with. This section also has pedalled karts in too. Mine both haven’t learnt to ride a bike yet, so they couldn’t pedal these around.

Although they gave it a good try.

For those who can’t pedal, they have in a different building, karts that you put money in to make move. I didn’t have any change on me, but I think they take £1 coins.

The farm has a large craft table for children to use paper and pens to create and craft things.

Jemima loved standing drawing pictures.

They also had activities around the farm for children to do. My girls especially liked the section where they had to put their hands in boxes and guess what was in them.

Conclusion

Overall we had a lovely afternoon and spent less than £10 on the whole afternoon.

£4 entry for the three of us.

£1.60 for parking up to 4 hours (£2 for parking for over 4 hours).

£2 for two ice lollies.

£1.60 for two bags of goat/sheep feed.

It is such a lovely quaint little place to put on your to-do list for these summer holidays. We will definitely be back soon.

Address: Forge Mill Farm, West Bromwich, B71 3SZ

Opening Hours: 10am – 4:30pm.