The World Of Country Life

We were on holiday last week and stayed at Devon Cliffs holiday park in Sandy Bay, Exmouth. We have been there before and had fond memories of The World of Country Life which is in walking distance from the holiday park.

Sunny Days

We were so lucky with the weather while we were away, but the forecast had been not so good for Wednesday, so this was the day we decided to go. If memory served us right, there was just as much to do under cover as there was outside.

As usual, the forecast was wrong and we had another sunny day. This meant lots of fun in the outdoor adventure park. The kids were enthralled with the all wooden combine harvester, which was a newer addition as we did not remember it before.

There is so much to see and do at The World of Country Life, I wouldn’t be able to fit it all in one blog post, but I’ll try and include some of the best bits for now.

A Trip Down Memory Lane.

There could be no other way to describe this than a trip down memory lane.

You get to walk down a replica of a Victorian street, minus the cobblestones (which is a huge plus for wheelchairs and buggies.) They are not just shop fronts either, you can go inside and examine the historical exhibits. There is even a pub with a piano and bar games you can play. 

There is so much more in the exhibition centre, from old farm machinery, to fantastic old cars and even a couple of mini trains.

I think you could spend a whole day just walking around the museum. I must have over a hundred photos from in here and I didn’t spend much time looking at the old cars, I left that to Graham.

The Animals

Well, you can’t have Country life without animals and this place has plenty. You can feed the goats and sheep in the field, they are happy to come for a feed and a stroke. You can’t feed the Donkey but he’s happy to come for a stroke over the fence. There are also ostriches strutting their stuff out in the field. 

Over in the Old Farmyard you can meet a mummy pig with her piglets which are just too cute, but my favourite was the two Alpacas, Sven and Olaf. I think I can guess where their names are from. 

More Animals

We were so lucky, we arrived at the goats just in time for their daily walk. It was hilarious, the kids were told to just follow the goats and not pull, but to let go of the lead if they ran off. We were lucky enough not to have any runners, but the kids had a real fun time walking their goats. Some were insistent on headbutting any other passing goat, and some were just too stubborn to move. I’ve got some videos to edit to show how much fun they were having. In the meantime here’s a photo.

There were lots of Birds of Prey to see too. Each day they do a show but we didn’t catch it on our day. We also didn’t catch the ferret racing, but there is just so much to do, and we didn’t have time for everything.

The kids had so much fun walking the goats, we didn’t think that anything would top this. Then we went on the Deer Train. We had been on before on our last trip eight years ago, but I hadn’t remembered much about it. I think mostly because I was 6 months pregnant and not prepared to hand feed the animals, and the girls were a lot younger at the time, two and four years old. This is an amazing experience, but you need to be prepared to be hands on and not afraid of animals getting really close and personal. (oh, and to be prepared to get a bit messy too!)

Life Loving talks about another goat walking experience in Kent at Buttercups Goat Sanctuary.

The Deer Train

The train is open carts pulled by a tractor and everyone climbs aboard expectantly. The train then rumbles along and the driver, through speakers in each cart, tells you about the unusual sheep in the field. Then he tells you about the deer and llamas that you pass as the train goes around in a circle then stops. 

While circling the driver has thrown out feed for the animals and they come rushing over. Then the driver walks up and down the cart filling everyone’s hands with feed and the animals get right up close to fill their tummy’s. The deer are so beautiful and friendly and once they’ve moved on, the llamas come up for their turn. Finally it’s time for the babies to feed, there is a pecking order here. 

The cart was filled with squeals and laughter as the animals came up to feed. Hands and clothes got mucky and I remembered what I’d forgotten before. The girls had been terrified last time, and I couldn’t feed, so we’d huggled up in the middle of the cart to avoid them! This time though, was amazing. Even better than the goat walking!

More Fun

We had fond memories from our previous trip of the large pirate ship play area, which is indoors on a bed of sand, so great for any weather. The ship can keep kids playing for hours, there is so much to explore and once their imaginations get going you’ll find them role playing their own pirate adventures. Well, that’s what my kids did. I remembered joining in last time, holding my then two year old, Boo’s hand and helping her climb the decks and walk across the rope bridge. This time they didn’t need any hand holding and Graham and I enjoyed a nice cup of coffee while they played.

A Great Day Out

The World of Country Life is really worth a visit, it’s a fabulous day out for the kids but there is loads for the adults to enjoy too. 

The kids (and Graham) also had fun on the air bouncer and the huge slides. There are also swings, roundabouts, trampolines, soft play centres, bouncy castles, sand pits and so much more.  

Accessibility is really good, I had no trouble at all in my wheelchair, although the battery was getting very low towards the end. Pushchairs would be no problem at all, and there are plenty of paths if the grass gets wet or muddy. I had to transfer from the wheelchair to go on the Deer Train but there is a sheltered area to leave wheelchairs and pushchairs. There are two steps up onto the train cart and the seats are wooden and hard inside. 

The pricing isn’t too bad either, it’s £55 for a family of five (£45 for four), which is great value. I checked my Kids Pass the day before and found out I could save on two of the kids tickets, a total of  £22.40! Once inside they have a few rides dotted around that will eat up your pound coins (conveniently we didn’t have any, but the kids were fine with that anyway.) We didn’t have food there but the coffee was reasonably priced, and you can always take a picnic, there are plenty of tables both inside and out you can use. We had to pay an extra £1.50 for the Deer Train, but you get the food included (Which is normally £1 a bag) It’s really worth it. 

Kids Pass

I saved over £22 on admission to The World of Country Life with my Kids Pass. You can save too on all sorts of attractions and eateries. You can try Kids Pass for yourself for just £1 for 40 days.*

Disclosure: I am a KidsPass Mumbassador. *If you don’t cancel your account at the end of your trial you will be charged the full membership.