[Gifted] We’ve just come back from The Great Easter Grotto event at Marsh Farm. I had been looking forward to visiting since we were invited last month, but this morning I wasn’t feeling so optimistic. Both my daughters are unwell (my eldest, M, spent most of yesterday in bed) and were dosed up on Calpol, no one got much sleep last night and it was forecast for rain throughout the day. When we arrived M was giving us her best “I’m too cool for this” attitude especially when the Mad Hatter appeared, but there must have been some Easter magic at work; we had a really lovely family day out. Our first visit to Marsh Farm was definitely a success.

The Great Easter Grotto is open at Marsh Farm every day until the 22nd April 2019. As well all the normal activities at the farm this Easter Holiday the attraction in South Woodham Ferrers, Essex has a number of Easter themed activities including an Egg Hunt and the new Easter Grotto.

Trading in the Easter Eggs

Marsh Farm Easter Activities

If you head to the Easter Egg Hunt sign (number 11 on the map) children get given a basket to collect 6 coloured eggs from around the farm. Children under 2 can visit Marsh Farm for free but if you want them to get the chocolate you can pay £2. A few of the eggs are back towards the entrance so you might want to pick up your basket before exploring.

The Easter Grotto is new for 2019 and makes a nice edition. You are welcomed into a decorated room by Hip and Hop (a chick and a rabbit) who explain that the Easter bunny has fallen asleep and needs some Easter spirit to wake him up. Everyone is encouraged to learn a dance routine before heading to another room where the Easter Bunny is taking a nap. I won’t give away the (predictable) events but they involve more dancing and a chocolate treat to take away. There were lots of photo opportunities with Spring/ Easter backdrops around this experience which was an additional bonus.

The 3D cinema shows a short film featuring the Easter bunny at set times throughout the day, you can have photos with the Easter bunny (he appeared for photos on the stage in the soft play) and you can colour in your own bunny ears near the entrance.

Being spring and a farm there are plenty of baby animals to see during the visit including some super cute kids (goats) and lambs, but my favourite was in the Hatchery where you can watch chicks hatch in an incubator. They also have 4 cages with different age chicks in starting with super fluffy day old ones. 

I like green eggs (no ham)

The Easter Bunny

Colouring in rabbit ears

Day old chicks

What Else Is There To Do At Marsh Farm?

Marsh Farm promises all weather fun and our visit on a day filled with April showers tested that claim. While the soggy tractor ride wasn’t the most fun I’ve ever had and it was a shame that the giant play towers, bouncy pillows and other inflatables were too wet to enjoy even when not raining there were plenty of other (free) activities outside we did enjoy when it was dry. These included the carousel and tea cups, digging for jewels (or fossils) in the Jewel Hunting sand pit, racing round the maze to see if the chicken or the egg would come first and crazy golf. 

Then there were the places undercover where we could hide from the rain including several animal enclosures, the theatre and the Play Barn. The theatre has the 3D film showing throughout the day and at midday on our visit was a Magic and Mayhem show by Bam Bam. This was absolutely worth delaying our lunch for. The magic may have been basic but it was well performed and the jokes made it a highly entertaining experience. He balanced subtle humour that parents will get with more obvious jokes which had both my girls in fits of laughter, even my too-cool-for-this 7 year old. The Play Barn is home to the restaurant as well as a good size soft play with a nice area for toddlers as well as older children. 

We were at the farm for 5 hours and had a great time, but we still didn’t experience everything. Throughout the day there were a number of activities including feeding and meeting animals which we didn’t have time to see on this visit.

Playing Crazy Golf

A pile of pigs

Visiting Marsh Farm

Food

The main place to eat is at the restaurant in the Play Barn which has a selection of hot and cold food. Children’s meals cost £3.95. You can also buy some food from in the gift shop area at the entrance, but opening hours (and dates) for this and other snack places vary.

Pushchair Access

You can get around the farm easily with a pushchair, but it will need to be left outside at times e.g. for events in the theatre or if you go on the tractor ride. There isn’t any pushchair parking and they are obviously left at your own risk.

Toilets and Baby Changing

My one criticism of the visit would be the toilets. I visited 2 of the 3 toilet areas and they could both have done with a refresh. There is a baby changing table in the Indoor Play Barn and a Changing Places toilet near the Hatchery (which I didn’t check out). 

Finding Marsh Farm

The Farm is open every day between 10am and 5pm, but most of the activities start at 10.30am and end at 3.30pm.

The address of Marsh Farm is Marsh Farm Road, South Woodham Ferrers, CM3 5WP. Parking is free or you can get there by public transport: it’s about 20 minutes walk from South Woodham Ferrers train station and there are a number of buses that stop by the farm coming from Basildon, Wickford and Chelmsford.

Easter Egg Hunt Prizes

Yellow Eggs

Sleeping bunny

Bunny ears to colour