Manor Farm, Blackstocks Lane, Nately Scures, Hook, Hants RG27 9PH
I’ve been dying to go to Miller’s Ark for ages, but it opens sporadically, so you need to keep an eye on their facebook page to see when they are open. They are essentially a petting farm and I only found out about them via NHM a year ago. They are just outside Basingstoke, on the road to Hook, just past the Hatch.
We had a lovely afternoon when we were there, despite the rain and winter gloom!
Play
There are LOTS of farm animals to see. Miss NHM was very taken with the chickens and the donkeys but she wasn’t very keen on the sheep who wanted to be fed.
We started on the left hand side of the farm, where you can feed the bigger animals, like the sheep and goats.
We then moved around to the shetland ponies and the pygmy goats.
You can get right in with the animals and up very close to them. Miss NHM was desperate to brush one of the ponies, and was very excited when she was allowed too.
My absolute favourites were the pigs. They love having their tummy’s rubbed, and the two pigs lying on the floor in the next picture, collapsed there after I’d rubbed their tummies for a bit. They were grunting happily whilst being rubbed (that sounds so wrong! lol) but it was very cute and amusing.
We also spent a lot of time in the petting section. You can handle rabbits and guinea pigs here and we spent a lot of time holding a lovely ginger guinea pig who purred when he was held (that means he’s happy!).
We didn’t go on the land train, as we didn’t have enough cash, but I’d like to go on it next time!
Tips
Take cash! As they are quite small there aren’t any card facilities on site.
They aren’t open all the time so check the Facebook page for details of when they are open.
Ask for a loyalty card. After five visits, you get the sixth free.
It’s not recommended for Pregnant ladies to visit farms.
Wear welly boots. This is a working farm, so can get very muddy when it’s wet.
Wash your hands after petting and handling any animals.
Food
Most meals are around £4 and were all homemade. Very reasonably priced.
I was gutted that we didn’t have enough cash on us when we were here as I wanted to see what it tasted like. Definitely on my list of things to do next time we visit.
Facilities
The washing facilities were basic, but worked perfectly. I don’t think I’ve washed my hands so much and so often, in a very long time! lol.
Baby Facilities
We completely forgot to check these out. Opps! Will do so next time we visit and will update this post then. I would imagine they have baby changing facilities as it’s aimed towards younger children.
Parking
Is free. This is a working farm though, so if it’s been raining, the car park can be quite muddy.
Prices
£7 entry free for everyone over 2 years old. Under 2’s are free.
50p per bag of food
£1 each for the land train
Rating 5 out of 5
We had a fabulous couple of hours at Miller’s Ark. The staff are all really lovely, very willing to help and offer updates on the animals. The animals all seemed very happy and it was lovely to visit somewhere that wasn’t too commercial.
It’s also very close to Basingstoke. Just up past the Hatch Pub in Old Basing, which I hadn’t realised!
Really recommended but take cash and wrap up warm and wear wellys!