Meet the animals
Indoor soft play
Tea Rooms with indoor and outdoor seating (or take a picnic)
Pig Racing
Play area, maze and 'enchanted forest'
Free parking
Buggy-friendly
Best suited to younger children and toddlers
Located on the B3157 'Coast Road' between Bridport and Abbotsbury
Vurlands Animal Farm – a fun day out with the kids near Bridport
This was our first visit to Vurlands – a fun and easy day out with the kids before they returned back to school following the summer holidays.
Set just off the coast road between Bridport and Abbotsbury, this 20-acre animal park has lots to offer the younger visitor – I think it would appeal to families with children up to the age of around 10, but best for the under 8s.
Entry is charged at £6 for adults, £4.80 for children aged 5 to 15 years, under 5s are gloriously free – so at £10 for the three of us, it made for a good value day out!
There’s a whole host of animals to meet, with familiar favourites including pigs, sheep, chickens, goats, donkeys and Shetland ponies, along with some more unusual characters – rhea (ok, I admit, I may have thought they were ostriches), meercats, chipmunks, ferrets, tortoises, and the list goes on.
The animals were very used to their human visitors and many came over to allow the girls to stroke them – the donkeys and ponies were a big hit!
You can buy a bag of feed for £1 on arrival to feed the goats, which provided much entertainment.
In usual times – i.e. not in the middle of the COVID pandemic – there’s daily pig racing, and indoor soft play in the barn. At the time of writing, the soft play was closed – but they hoped to reopen in the near future on a bookable-slot basis – follow Vurlands on Facebook for updates!
As well as the animals, which are spread out across the site linked by grassy walkways (buggy-friendly throughout), there’s a small outdoor play area complete with pirate boat; a deceptively-challenging willow maze; and ‘the enchanted forest’ – fun for little ones to spot the hidden trinkets amongst the trees.
There are picnic benches so you can bring your own snacks, or pop in to The Eggcup tearoom next door which has indoor and outdoor seating. In high season, booking a table is a good idea for lunch as this tearoom is popular with locals as well as visiting families.
The Eggcup Tearoom has a children’s lunch menu with cooked and lunchbox-style options, along with cakes, cream teas and ice cream and a full menu for adults.
An easy, inexpensive day out ideal for toddlers and preschoolers, 15 minutes from Bridport/35 minutes from Lyme Regis.