Smithills Open Farm

Smithills Open Farm

Explore The Farm. Meet The Animals. Open 10am to 5pm all year round! Tickets. Smithills Open Farm. plan your VISIT. Opening times, directions, prices – all you need to know about planning that perfect family day out with us

Aside from the animals, there are a lot of other things to do at Smithills Open Farm too. We have bouncy castles, an adventure playground, an inflatable assault course, donkey rides, a tractor tour, a souvenir shop, and a caf? that sells everything from homemade ice cream to sausage, chips and beans. Yummy.

The farm itself is constantly evolving, with new animals coming to stay every week. We provide homes for everything from cows, pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits, llamas, owls, meerkats, donkeys, ducks, skunks and deers. In fact, we have over 25 different types of residents. Some are more furry than others. But all are lovely. Even our Burmese pythons.

The Grimshaw Family have farmed in Lancashire for over 100 years. Anthony Grimshaw moved to Smithills in 1986 with his young family to start a dairy farm. In a short space of time he had built up a herd of 120 cows which he milked twice a day. Ever since moving to Smithills, farming in the heart of the country estate, Bolton Council encouraged us to develop a visitor attraction alongside Smithills Hall and Smithills Coaching House.

As dairy farmers we relied very much on milk price from the super markets. In 1999 due the huge decrease in milk price leading to financial issues, the decision was made to sell all the cows to help fund the beginnings of Smithills Open Farm. Visitors could come to the farm and enjoy meeting animals. We opened the farm to the public in Spring 2001 from March until September. It did take a few years to establish ourselves, relying mostly on word of mouth to advertise.