Big Sheep and Little Cow Farm

Big Sheep and Little Cow is a small family farm attraction in Bedale, built for young children who want to get their hands on the animals. Every visit starts with a guided tour of the farm lasting 75 minutes, where children touch, stroke and feed the animals with a member of staff alongside. The admissions page introduces some of the residents, among them Flopsy the lionhead rabbit and Harold the African pygmy goat.

After the tour, the rest of the day is for play. The ticket covers the Woolly Jumpers Playbarn indoors and the play areas outside, so a wet day still works. Because every visit is booked and numbers on site are limited, it suits families with toddlers and primary-age children who like a guided, unhurried visit.

From Tea Time Cafe at 87 Market Place, the farm is about 30 minutes by car, heading west across the A1(M) to Bedale. Use DL8 1AW in a satnav. The farm's site gives the postcode and town only, so ask about parking when you ring to book.

Plan on driving. This page covers the trip by car, and the booked tour slot means arriving on time matters more than usual: late arrivals are not refunded.

Arrive in good time for your tour slot. The guided tour comes first and takes 75 minutes, with time to hold, stroke and feed the animals. All animal contact happens on this supervised tour, which the farm says follows the practice of the National Farm Attractions Network, of which it is a member. Children stay with a responsible adult throughout. At the end of the tour everyone washes their hands, and shoes and pushchair wheels get a clean.

Then head for the Woolly Jumpers Playbarn, with slides, rope bridges and ball pools. Socks must be worn in the playbarn. Outside there is a Combine Harvester play frame, electric quad bikes and go-karts on two tracks sized for different ages. The barrel train runs round the fields for 2 extra, weather permitting.

For lunch, the playbarn has its own cafe with outdoor seating, and picnics are welcome outside.

The guided tour is the heart of it. Because every animal encounter happens with staff on hand, children get properly close to the animals and parents know what the next hour holds. The indoor playbarn is included in the ticket, which makes this a sound choice when the forecast is mixed. Adults pay the same as children, and family tickets bring a family of four to 44. Term-time weekday afternoons are cheaper again at 9 a head.

Book before you go: the farm takes bookings by phone on 01677 422125, by email or by Facebook message, and every visit needs a booking. Pack socks for every child and for any adult heading into the playbarn. If you print the activity book at home, bring your own pens. Term-time Wednesday to Friday afternoons cost 3 less per head than weekends, though they run only from 12 noon to 3pm. Plan term-time visits for Wednesday to Sunday, since Mondays and Tuesdays appear only in the school holiday hours. For the Christmas and New Year period, check the farm's Facebook page, where it announces events. Dogs stay at home. Bedale is the farm's own town, so its centre is close by for the rest of the day, and Thorp Perrow Arboretum is just south of Bedale for older children.