Come and get involved in Santa Claus’s great arrival at Matlock Farm Park! Stand either side of Main Lane and see him arrive around 12:00 noon in his BIG red tractor, waving to all of the happy children, and followed by a lovely pony parade led by his trusty elves!

There’ll be photo opportunities with Santa Claus, festive pony rides* and of course all of our wonderful animal and playtime interactive fun, including small animal petting, wallaby encounter, meerkat talk and more, with so many animals to see, pet and feed as you wander the park too.

**PRE-BOOK ONLY – early booking advisable** 

An experience ideal for children with Autism and other learning difficulties.

We’ve been in deep discussion with Santa Claus to provide a special experience for your loved one. Our Relaxed Santa Experience offers a calmer, longer experience at a pace suited to you. Upon booking, choose a specific time slot and then let us know the requirements of your loved one – you may also wish to call us prior to visiting to discuss their needs in more detail. Siblings without additional needs are also very welcome to join in.

On arrival, meet with our friendly staff member first to familiarise yourselves with the area and we will finalise details for a most memorable experience. You will also receive a picture timeline storyboard for your loved one to use.

To begin, you will have the chance for a special one-to-one small animal petting session before meeting Santa Claus with our friendly, sensitvie staff. Then our gently spoken Santa can either greet you in his low-lit Grotto, or come outside for a more relaxed chat. Santa can be seated at a distance in the Grotto or even sit on the floor rather than in his chair. Visiting Santa is a magical experience for everyone, but we want to make sure we tailor your visit to your own needs. Your loved one will also be able to select a gift of their choosing from Santa, with sensory items available.

Following your visit with Santa, you will be able to use our sensory transition room to provide you and your loved one a calm, safe and inviting atmosphere

NB. You may prefer to purchase tickets for our standard ‘Christmas Experience’, which is available on other dates. However, these sessions will be busier with heightened fun. The Relaxed Santa Experience is designed for loved ones who prefer a calmer experience, where we can deliver an encounter based on your loved one’s requirements

What does your ticket include?

* Entry to the Farm Park for the whole day!

* Extended Santa Claus encounter

* Private small animal petting

* Use of our sensory transition room

* Support of Autism trained staff

* Photo opportunities

* Gift for child/under 2 years ticketholders

* Gift for accompanying adults

* Return general entry pass for those attending

** PRE-BOOK ONLY – early booking advised. INCLUDES ENTRY to Matlock Farm Park for animal, festive and playtime fun!**

Make Christmas extra special for your children this year with our magical Breakfast with Santa event!
Your day will start with a group welcome from Santa and a delicious breakfast served in our Garden Room Cafe. The Big Man in Red will then come along to visit your family during breakfast and, knowing the names and interests of the children in your party, have a lovely chat all about them and their Christmas wishes.

Santa will have his BIG sack of gifts with him and he will provide a gift ‘specially prepared and labelled for your young loved one.

Following breakfast, there will be more photo opportunities and a special story time in a separate room with Santa’s sister, Mary Christmas! Find out more about Santa Claus’s reindeer and the children receive a bag of magical reindeer food to sprinkle at home on Christmas Eve.

All adults will receive a hearty breakfast cob of bacon, sausage, egg & hash brown (or vegetarian alternative), plus refillable tea or coffee. Children will have a choice of Pancakes with fruit and syrup, Beans on toast or a Mini Full English.

The event starts at 9:00 am prompt, when breakfast will be served. Including seeing Santa, the event will last up to 1 – 1.5 hours and farm park entry for the remainder of the day is included in this ticket, when children can enjoy lots of animal, playtime and festive fun!

**Pre-book, ticketed event only**

We’ve had confirmation from the BIG man in red that he’s returning to Matlock Farm Park to see all of our wonderful visitors.

First stop will be our Christmas Crafts with the super friendly Chief Elf and her accomplice. Whilst hearing what’s been happening at back at the Noth Pole this year, children will be able to get stuck in making food for Santa’s Reindeer and take this home with them ready to put out on Christmas Eve. Children will also make a lovely decorative keepsake to take away and be able to write a letter to put in the North Pole post box or hand over to Santa himself.

As you exit the Christmas Craft rooms, you will go to our Christmas canopy area to see Christmas scenes and find answers to fun riddles.  It will then be time to try out our Naughty or Nice-o-meter to find out where you sit on Santa’s list! How will the grown-ups in your group fair?

Finally, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! You will be taken down to meet Santa himself in his beautiful grotto and chat about all of your Christmas wishes. Of course, Santa will provide children with a lovely early Christmas gift and your group will also receie a compliementary return pass to Matlock Farm Park!

As your experience includes day entry to Matlock Farm Park, you can enjoy our lovely animal and festive activities around the park before and/or after your Christmas experience.

What does your ticket include?

* Entry to the Farm Park for the whole day!

* Reindeer food to take home for children

* Decoration to take home for children

* Letter for Santa

* Grotto entry

* Photo opportunities

* Naughty or Nice check

* Quality gift for Children

* Return general entry day pass for each person

Don’t miss this ever popular Half Term event – see:

• The return of our PUMPKIN PATCH, for children to pick their own pumpkin using our little wheelbarrows and carve at our carving station. FREE Pumpkin for each child paid entry ticket holder!*

• A daily SPOOKY TRAIL to follow in our FORBIDDEN FOREST, with prop based sets and riddles galore!

• Matlock’s legendary HEADLESS HORSEMAN making an appearance late afternoon as the light goes down.

• On the spot PRIZES for best fancy dress!

• ALSO, 25th-31st OCTOBER: We will also have brilliant Live fun (not scary!) HALLOWEEN CHARACTERS to meet on your way through the spooky trail in the Forbidden Forest at set times of the day and around the park. Get the kids involved with Frankenstein making SLIME, join in with Witch Wanda’s BROOMSTICK FLYING LESSONS and have fun with Scarecrow down at the Pumpkin Patch!

• Daily CRAFT WORKSHOPS with Witch Wendolyn for the children, so they can take goodies home.

• OR 1st & 2nd NOVEMBER: GHOSTBUSTING FUN sessions throughout the day! Come along to make crafty ‘proton packs’ to help you with your ghostbusting, make your own slime in a workshop and join in on a fun (not scary) ghost hunt around the ghost route in the park, lead by Ghostbusting experts!

On all dates, there will be all the usual animal delights of Matlock Farm Park too, including Sheep Racing, Small Animal Petting, Meet the Reptiles, Meerkat Talks, Wallaby Encounters & Ferret Racing, as well as our daily Pony Rides** for children.

Lots of opportunity to play too, including our fabulous covered Enchanted Hamlet multi-zone play area, marvellous indoor playcentre The Rainforest and outdoor Jumping Pillow!

Okay, who’s coming?

Event included for annual pass holders!

*Pumpkins subject to availability.

** Small charge for pony rides

This Bank Holiday Saturday, come and join popular children’s entertainer Barney Baloney at shows throughout the day. There’ll be magic and ventriloquism fun with cheeky monkeys and more! 

10:30 Magic Show

11:30 Ventriloquism Fun

13:00 Magic Show

14:00 Ventriloquism Fun

15:00 Magic Show

Of course, there’s all the usual animal interactive fun around the park too, including sheep racing, meet the reptiles, wallaby encounters, small animal petting, children’s pony rides, not forgetting bags of playtime fun as well!

Event FREE with farm park entry.

Park open 10:00-17:00

*THIS EVENT IS PRE-BOOK ONLY on our separate event booking page- see link below. Early booking advisable*
Following the huuuge success of our first grown ups only event, we’ve decided to do another one! This time as a treat for getting through the summer holidays.

Animal lovers can be any age, so come and join us for a grown-up evening away from the kids, with guided animal activities and fun leisure time in the great outdoors!
With access around the farm park to meet, pet and feed a range of animals in their fields, you can also enjoy getting involved in sheep racing, ‘Meet the Reptiles’, small animal petting and mini alpaca walks.
The Jumping Pillow will be open* for some joyous jumping opportunities, with delicious food and alcoholic drinks also available to enjoy al fresco in our beautiful countryside setting.

At an AMAZING price of just £11.50 per adult, this will be another fabulous night to remember!

(Annual pass holders – please ensure you pre-book your free event ticket to accompany your annual pass).

This event runs 17:00-20:00 only on Friday 5th September

NB 18 years plus only permitted
*Jumping Pillow open weather permitting

**Limited spaces: must be pre-booked via EMAIL only**

 Our Farmer Experience Day is returning this August, this time for animal and farm mad 11-16 year olds! 

Join our friendly staff for a fun filled day of getting stuck in on the farm !

Start by entering the chicken enclosure and collect the hens’ eggs, clean out and feed the rabbits and Guinea pigs (with a little cuddling too), learn about animals’ needs, learn how to carry out important health checks, groom the goats, help maintain field pasture and more! 

After the experience, participants receive an information booklet and signed certificate.

This is a drop-off day session and participants will require a packed lunch.

Farmer Day experience: £80 per person. Can be taken as a single day experience OR combined as a two day experience with our Reptile Day on 12th August, for a discounted two day price of £150.

Limited spaces. For more information and to book, please email Josh on animals@matlockfarmpark.co.uk

** Limited spaces: pre-book via EMAIL only**

🦎 We are delighted to be welcoming more reptiles to the farm park and are now offering a special reptile day experience for 11-16 year olds! 🐍

Learn all about the needs of fabulous creatures including snakes, geckos, a bearded dragon and millipedes; create enrichment toys for great mental stimulation; get involved in reptile husbandry and, of course, enjoy handling; clean out and feed our different types of wallabies and more!

After their experience, participants receive an information booklet and signed certificate.

This is a drop-off day session and participants will require a packed lunch.

Reptile day experience: £80 per person. Can be taken as a single day experience OR combined as a two day experience with our Farmer day on 11th August, for a discounted two day price of £150.

Limited spaces. For more information and to book, please email Josh on animals@matlockfarmpark.co.uk

Junior Farmer Day is returning this August for animal and farm mad 7-12 year olds!

Join our friendly staff for a fun filled day of getting stuck in on the farm ! Start by entering the chicken enclosure and collect the hens’ eggs, clean out and feed the rabbits and Guinea pigs (with a little cuddling too), learn about animals’ needs, groom the goats, help maintain field pasture and more! 

After their experience, children receive an information booklet and signed certificate.

This is a drop-off day session and children will require a packed lunch.

Limited spaces. For more information and to book, please email Josh on animals@matlockfarmpark.co.uk