White Post Farm owners aim to smash 100,000 visitor mark as tourist attraction thrives

Bosses at Farnsfield’s White Post Farm say they hope to smash the 100,000 annual visitor mark during 2014.

The family-friendly farm proved to be a massive success story during 2013 as a range of new animals, hot weather and special theme days attracted visitors in their droves.

Now the owners of the popular attraction, who celebrated their 10th year in charge on 1st February, hope to build on their growing success by taking this year’s visitor total over the 110,000 mark.

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Rebecca Allot, who took over ownership of White Post Farm along with Christina Mathoon and Simon Rouse in February 2004, said it was a big year ahead.

“Last year we had around 100,000 people visit us and it was an excellent year,” she said. “This year we are looking for 110,000 visitors, it is going to be a massive year for us.

“We have installed play areas for the kids, a mini golf course and things like that to move with the times, but we know that animals is the main reason why people come to visit us and they are our number one focus.

“We have a lot of animals and a lot of variety. Last year we had reindeers on show and that will be the case in 2014.

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“We try to make everything as hands on as possible, whether that is getting up close to a snake or feeding some of the animals. It is all about making things as fun as possible for visitors.

“Having a family atmosphere is something that we really pride ourselves on. Schoolkids are really important to us and we have an excellent relationship with schools from across the area.

“School holidays are always very busy and the summer months are a very exciting time for us.”

Over the last decade the impressive 25 acre tourist attraction has seen a massive transformation from its early life as a pig farm and has diversified to help create a year-round revenue stream.

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Rebecca added: “We already worked at White Post Farm when it was put up for sale.

“We thought it would be a shame if the farm was bought by someone else and one night when we were in the pub we decided that we would take it on.

“It was a bit of a gamble for us, but we knew the farm inside out and we wanted to see it improve.

“We have been faced with a few challenges that we did not anticipate along the way, but it has all been worthwhile.”

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The popular attraction, which has just 12 full-time staff, spends around £90,000 on food and a further £240,000 on animal care annually meaning every penny generated is vital for the overall success of the farm and its inhabitants.

Events last year included Hallowe’en events, a Santas Grotto, themed days with special visits from children’s tv characters as well as a range of other revenue-raising schemes such as a farm shop selling home grown products, a pet hotel, a pet shop and a mini garden centre.

For more information on White Post Farm visit http://whitepostfarmcentre.co.uk/

You can also get news of the farm’s latest ticket offers by following them on twitter @WhitePostFarm

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