This week, Occombe Farm is celebrating the first birthday of its family visitor attraction, Occombe Farm Park & Play. Opened last year, on 28th March 2022, the Farm Park & Play’s unique mix of natural play and animal encounters has secured its place as a valuable addition to Torbay’s visitor attraction offer.
Izzy Warren, General Manager, Occombe Farm said: “We look back on our first year with huge pride. Many of us have worked on the delivery of Occombe’s renovation right from the first plans five years ago. We set out to create a unique and fun place to visit whilst generating funds towards our charitable conservation work across Torbay, through Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust”.
“It has, therefore, been immensely rewarding to see the farm come alive with visitors and animals in the last year. It’s perhaps poignant too that we reach this first-year milestone at the same time we welcome our first newborn animals to the farm too.”
The timely arrival of newborns is a first for the farm. In the last few weeks, kids (of the animal variety) have joined the goat family, including twins. Lambs have also been born to the Dartmoor grey-faced flock.
From the very beginning, Occombe has established a new world of unique natural play. A concept of outdoor play – indoors. A vast play space where a giant winkle shell (with slides and sound effects) takes centre stage. Where you can climb, slide and jump on a replica cliffscape of Berry Head. Make music in a woodland forest and outside, climb to the top of a massive straw bale maze.
There’s been standout events. A gang of twelve comical scarecrows checked into Occombe for October half-term. Santa joined in the fun for sell-out Festive Playdates in December. In January National Storytelling Week was marked with daily story times. So successful, storytelling is now a regular feature of the farm’s daily activities. There’s more to come including an unusual Easter Trail that asks us: “Do Goats Lay Eggs?” Perhaps the Scarecrows will be back in October too?
Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust is the local conservation charity behind Occombe’s transformation. It has been a significant achievement. Everyone at the Trust is very proud of what has been accomplished. The Trust’s story is evident across Occombe. The natural play space represents Torbay’s natural heritage. Now Occombe is firmly embedded as a shop window for the Trust to share its stories, role and work in conserving Torbay’s beautiful green spaces.
Occombe now employs a workforce of c.60 people initially creating many new and some quite unique roles for our local community.
And so onwards. There’s more to come and heaps more fun planned. Occombe has only just got started..
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