I visited this beautiful Nottinghamshire farm to find out about their exciting expansion plans
I’m sure I’m not the only one who can spend hours surrounded by animals.
They offer a calming presence and a sweet innocence that makes all seem right with the world - at least at that moment in time.
It’s difficult not to feel content when you’re watching goats graze and otters glide through the water while soaking up the summer sun.
So it’s perhaps unsurprising that the delightful animal farm is now one of the most popular areas at Wheelgate Farm.
The popular Farnsfield tourist attraction has boasted animals as part of their visitor experience for many years, with all the traditional farmyard animals being cared for alongside more exotic species.
It’s an area Wheelgate bosses are now understandably keen to enhance with plans to expand the farm to take in a wider variety of animals well underway.
And as Tim Chapman-Hart, a farm supervisor at Wheelgate Farm, it is yet another exciting development for the place he loves.
“We have tried to implement all the different animals that you would normally see on a farm, but also we have got some of the exotics, more of the reptiles and the capybaras,” he said.
“We are expanding into the fields behind us and we are really excited about it. I have been here a couple of years and seen how the farm has come on since then. It is expanding really quickly.
“We have got some more enclosures being built ready for some new animals and we are looking at more rare breed farm animals.
“I don’t see this as my job, I get paid to come and look after the animals which I have always enjoyed all my life.”
Perhaps the visitors who most enjoy the farm experience though are the younger children who are seeing certain animals for the very first time.
For Tim, who rates otters Pebbles and Bam Bam as his favourite farm residents, dealing with kids is a part of the job that he simply loves.
“It is nice seeing kids enjoying the farm, especially at a young age when they have no fear of animals,” he added.
“They want to go up and interact with them and, because I have worked with primary and secondary schools prior to this job, I can go up and liaise with them as well and talk with them and not at them.
“You play it to the audience really and it is so nice to see them going back smiling.”
A few steps away you’ll find a selection of birds of prey, who are proudly looked after and displayed by Mercer Falconry as part of their work to conserve and educate.
Visitors will find the highly knowledgeable Cerys Clarke busily buzzing around caring for the birds, keeping the aviary in order and delivering informative talks and flying demonstrations to the public.
Cerys, who has been in the role for around nine months now, is fully aware of the importance she is playing in educating the next generation.
“If you don’t teach the children what to protect, how can they protect it? How can they help nature if they don’t know much about it,” she reflected
“That’s why I am proud to be in this job and educate people about birds because they aren’t as well known. I have met some kids who haven’t actually known what a bird of prey is.
“It is really important we are teaching them all aspects of wildlife. We are just happy that we get to show off our birds of prey and show how amazing they are.
“Every single bird has got a different personality. We have two red kites and even though they are brother and sister, and of the same age, they are completely different birds. As soon as we walk in we can tell who is who based on how they are behaving.
“Some birds are really confident and others shy, but just putting in that extra work to try and make things as positive as possible when flying just helps to slowly build up that confidence. We always do it at their own pace.”
As part of that education process visitors are now able to get up close and personal with our feathered friends through a falconry experience.
Feeling the thrill of a magnificent owl flying inches away from your head before gracefully landing is an experience visitors are rushing to take up.
“We get a lot of interest in our experiences and it is going really well. People can come and actually fly the birds,” added Cerys. “We just put the food on the gloves, stand back and essentially they do the hard work for us.”
For more information on Wheelgate and the farm experiece, visit here.
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