点评:Quite disappointed in the re-opening of Greenmeadow Community Farm. I’ve been going for years as a child, still enjoy going as an adult to see the animals. Used to love taking my two nieces and now my youngest nephew.
Firstly, where are all the animals? The animal barn used to be bustling with all sorts of animals, now they’ve been cut back, not as many as they had before. Couldn’t see the pigs very well as they’ve built the brick walls too tall and I’m 6 foot! Only way you can see them is poking your head around the doorway or bend down to look into a dirty Perspex window. Fields are bare also. Surely the animals are your main feature, why not feature them?
Cuddle corner was very popular, but not long enough as the staff escort everyone out after 2-5 minutes for more people to come in. The animals are now kept on a bench table/tray, which is great so the animals don’t run off, but they only have two benches for a rabbit, 1 or 2 Guinea pigs and a poor tortoise sat in the corner. I missed it before when each child or person could get some time with an animal each, would spend about 10 minutes holding the animals.
There’s no wishing well out front? Or duck pond, that’s been moved around the back side and up hill where hardly anyone goes. Some of the classic rustic feel of the farm is missing in favour of making it feel modern, which is a shame.
Adventure Play is my biggest complaint. Why do we have to walk up such a steep hill? Could they not build some steps at least? Only one hand rail on one side, so people walking up the hill are bumping into people walking down? I imagine it’s especially tricky if you’re pushing a pushchair up. The play area looks fun, but there’s a great big green hill to the left side which has a couple of benches placed about. Again, you have to trudge up a steep muddy hill to reach them. Please add some proper steps. Would also be good to flatten that area so we don’t have to climb up so much to sit down, add some benches and tables. Why not add more playground equipment like swings, slides, roundabouts, etc?
The Play Barn by the entrance is nice and has a cafe in there, but not enough seats for parents or carers. A lot of people standing around with cups of tea and snacks with nowhere to sit. There’s a great big shelf to one side with lots of farm merch taking up space. It’s not even anything fun for the kids, like farm toys or trinkets. Just bland black and beige hats, tote bags and such with the farm logo slapped on. It’s taking up space for badly needed seating. A sofa would be great.
Would also be good to get a soft play area for babies and toddlers, as the hard wooden structures I feel aren’t suitable for young children. Soft mats in a quiet area with puzzles and soft toys. Maybe some tables with colouring or craft items, activity sheets, word searches. Just a nice quiet area for kids to play and maybe a place for parents to rest.
Rex the Dragon is still here, looking absolutely fantastic with a fresh coat of paint, looks better than ever! Shame he doesn’t drop water from his mouth anymore, but I believe he hasn’t been able to do that in years. I can understand the safety concerns, but it was nice to have him splash water on us, especially on those hot summer days. I’m just glad he’s still around, as he’s absolutely iconic to the farm!
The restaurant I have mixed feelings on. Last time I visited, I had the fish and chips, today I had the smash burger, both were lovely. But I do feel the menu is (I can find any other better word to describe it - sorry) pretentious. Way too fancy, especially for families with super young children. Kids and most adults want something simple like chips, sausage, beans, chicken nuggets, fish fingers etc. Very expensive menu items if you’re paying for the whole family, even the kid’s menu was too much. My nephew got the sourdough pizza and chips, which had huge portions, really unnecessary. I haven’t tried the breakfast menu, which admittedly does look lovely, but I wish was available all day, as that would be my ‘go to’ choice. The menu needs to be more like what you would find at a friendly Cafe, cheap and cheerful. Not a high street posh restaurant, which risks alienating their customers. Surely the main customer base is children and families looking for a reasonably priced day out. The local membership is great value for money it’s a shame the food is so expensive.
Raglan Farm Park may not be as clean and may not have as many animals, but they have quite a variety of different animals to see up close, huge amount of indoor play with plenty of seats and sofas for parents, great amount of playground equipment outside and a nice simple menu. It takes a while to travel there, but we enjoy our visit for the whole day. I was really looking forward to Greenmeadow re-opening again, hoping it could recapture the magic that I experienced when I was young, but it still has a long way to go. I recognise that it’s still early days, many of the areas are still being built and not quite ready, so hope things get better soon in the future. The staff are lovely and willing to help with any questions.
翻译:对绿草地社区农场的重新开放颇感失望。我小时候去过好几年了,现在长大了仍然喜欢去看动物。以前很喜欢带我的两个侄女去,现在又带我最小的侄子去。
首先,动物都去哪儿了?动物棚以前挤满了各种各样的动物,现在动物数量减少了,不像以前那么多了。他们把砖墙建得太高了,我身高一米八,所以看不太清楚猪!你唯一能看到它们的方式就是从门口探出头来,或者弯腰透过脏兮兮的有机玻璃窗往里看。田野也光秃秃的。动物当然是你的主要特色,为什么不把它们也展示出来呢?
拥抱角很受欢迎,但时间不够长,因为工作人员会在2-5分钟后护送所有人离开,以便更多人进来。现在动物们被放在长凳、桌子或托盘上,这很好,动物们不会乱跑,但他们只有两个长凳,一只兔子、一两只豚鼠和一只可怜的乌龟就坐在角落里。以前,每个孩子或每个人都可以和一只动物相处,大约抱10分钟,我真怀念以前那种感觉。
前面没有许愿井?也没有鸭塘,它被搬到了农场的后方,搬到了几乎没人去的山上。农场失去了一些经典的乡村气息,反而营造出一种现代化的感觉,真是可惜。
冒险游戏是我最大的抱怨。为什么我们要爬这么陡的山?他们就不能至少建一些台阶吗?山坡一侧只有一个扶手,上山的人会撞到下山的人?我想,如果你推着婴儿车上山,那会特别麻烦。游乐区看起来很有趣,但左侧有一座巨大的绿色小山,山上摆放着几张长椅。同样,你得费力地爬上陡峭的泥泞小山才能到达那里。请加一些合适的台阶。最好把那块地方弄平,这样我们就不用爬那么高才能坐下来,再加一些长椅和桌子。为什么不增加一些游乐场设备,比如秋千、滑梯、旋转木马等等呢?
入口处的游乐谷仓很不错,里面有个咖啡馆,但没有足够的座位供家长或监护人使用。很多人站在那里喝茶吃零食,却没有地方坐。旁边有一个很大的架子,上面摆满了农场周边商品,占满了空间。里面甚至没有任何适合孩子们玩耍的东西,比如农场玩具或小饰品。只有一些印着农场标志的平淡无奇的黑色和米色帽子、手提袋之类的东西。这些东西占用了急需的座位空间。如果能放个沙发就更好了。
最好能为婴幼儿准备一个柔软的游乐区,因为我觉得硬木结构不太适合小孩子。在安静的区域铺上软垫,放一些拼图和毛绒玩具。或者可以放一些桌子,上面放一些涂色或手工用品、活动纸和单词搜索游戏。总之,一个安静的区域可以让孩子们玩耍,也可以给家长们提供一个休息的地方。
雷克斯龙还在,新刷了一层漆,看起来棒极了,比以往任何时候都好看!可惜它现在不能从嘴里喷水了,但我相信它已经好几年没喷水了。我能理解安全方面的顾虑,但让它往我们身上泼水还是很开心的,尤其是在炎热的夏天。我很高兴它还在,因为它绝对是农场的标志!
我对这家餐厅的感受很复杂。上次去的时候点了炸鱼薯条,今天点了Smash汉堡,都很好吃。但我觉得菜单有点(我找不到更好的词来形容它了——抱歉)做作。太花哨了,尤其对有幼儿的家庭来说。孩子和大多数大人都想吃点简单的,比如薯条、香肠、豆子、鸡块、炸鱼条等等。如果全家一起吃,菜单上的菜品价格非常昂贵,即使是儿童菜单也太贵了。我侄子点了酸面包披萨和薯条,分量很大,真的没必要。我还没尝过早餐菜单,虽然看起来确实不错,但我希望它能全天供应,因为那会是我的“必点”菜单。菜单应该更像那种亲切友好的咖啡馆,价格实惠,让人心情愉悦。而不是那种商业街上的高档餐厅,那样可能会疏远顾客。主要顾客群肯定是想找个价格合理的一日游的儿童和家庭。本地会员很划算,可惜食物太贵了。
拉格兰农场公园或许不那么干净,动物也不那么多,但里面有各种各样的动物可以近距离观赏,室内游乐场地丰富,家长可以坐下玩耍,户外游乐场设备齐全,菜单也简单易懂。虽然路途遥远,但我们玩了一整天都很开心。我非常期待绿草地公园的重新开放,希望它能重现我小时候体验到的那种魔力,但它还有很长的路要走。我承认现在还为时过早。许多区域仍在建设中,尚未完全完工,希望未来情况能尽快好转。工作人员非常友好,乐于解答任何问题。