Kington Small Breeds Farm to celebrate 35th anniversary with a country fete

A Kington farm park and attraction is celebrating its 35th anniversary on Saturday, July 4.

To mark the special occasion The Small Breeds Farm Park is having a Country Anniversary Fete at the farm on Kingswood Road, Kington

It is going to be a family fun day, which means not only can visitors see all the animals like a usual day but there will also be bouncy castles, classic vehicles collection dating from 1991 which is when the farm first started, lots of craft stalls, food caterers, face painting and much more!

Natasha Holder of the farm said: “We want to thank every single person who has supported the farm throughout the years, from visiting the farm, purchasing a season ticket, eating in the tea room or adopting an animal, it has all enabled us to get where we are today.

“We put our pride into our animals and as a team we love seeing the smiles on the visitors faces, it’s what makes the job so special, being able to share those moments with the public!”

The Small Breeds Farm is home to over 500 animals including rare breeds such as red squirrels, black swans, miniature donkeys with all unique personalities.

It is based in 10 acres of gorgeous Herefordshire countryside and is perfect for all ages come rain or shine!

The Farm has a special touch where visitors can have a personal interaction with the animals and go into the enclosures with them, whether it’s for five minutes or two hours spending time with them. The pygmy goats are a visitor favourite as they will be sure to climb all over visitors and love a fuss!

The Farm has a tea room on site that offers a variety of both hot and cold food with lots to choose from, including a range of cakes including gluten free, vegan or full of chocolate so everybody gets to enjoy a slice of cake and a hot drink!

Visitors can sit in the picnic area and have a stunning view of the greenery watching all of the animas playing and even some free roaming the Farm!

Natasha added: “Throughout the 35 years we have been able to do so much for our animals, one of the most recent programmes we have joined is the Red Squirrel Breeding Programme, we were able to build a brand- new enclosure for our red squirrels that they are thoroughly enjoying.

“This enables us to contribute towards increasing the number of red squirrels in the UK which is something we are proud to be apart of!

“One of our biggest achievements in the past 35 years was Small Breeds Farm won an award from the Herefordshire Tourism Awards for Best Attraction in Herefordshire. This was a huge achievement for us at Small Breeds Farm, we were honoured to be awarded this!

“Over the past 35 years, we have been able to breed rare breeds, such as our Royal Golden Gurneys Goats which is really special to us as there are only 1,500 Golden Gurney Goats in the world and we are home to 10 of them! This year one of our girls, Cybil, had two gorgeous boys that are so cheeky and full of character.

“We have also been very lucky to be able to breed a variety of our owls. Emily who has been on the farm for 10 years is very passionate about hatching rare owlets to keep the species around!

“Emily has recently started owlet feeding which is something you do not get to see everyday, the owlets get hand fed around four times a day.

“Emily was able to hatch a Rusty Barred Owl in 2022 which was a massive achievement as they are a rare owl species! In the last 35 years the owl garden has increased its numbers by a significant amount as we have 75+ owls for visitors to see. They are such majestic birds, each with their own individual differences!

“If you are a bird lover and have supported us over the past 35 years then we thank you for being able to keep our beautiful owl collection!

“Recently, we have had an amazing opportunity to join the Zoo and Wildlife conservation CICs Chaco Owl Project which aims to gain research for effective conservation planning for the species! We hope to raise money towards the important research equipment that will help contribute to the project!

“We have also been working on a new enclosure by the squirrel pen that we are preparing for as we have a brand-new animal coming to the farm, if you don’t already follow our social media then I recommend you do as it isn’t an announcement that you want to miss!

“Through the most recent years since Ella and Lewis took over the farm, Small Breeds Farm has held more events which have been a massive hit! Last year for the first ever time we organised Halloween Fest on the farm which happened every weekend in October, the event immediately sold out!

“It was so amazing to do something different on the farm and give visitors that scary experience by the spooky walk through the farm with actors! By the time Halloween was over we then organised the Christmas Lights with the animals which was also a success, this event has taken place for the past three years. The farm looks so magical during Christmas time with the lights flashing, all the animals inside cuddled up and Santa going around greeting everyone! It definitely was a way to get everyone into the Christmas Spirit!”