Start the New Year with Brunch, Friendly Animals & Fresh Air!

Looking for a relaxed way to start the New Year? Join us at Matlock Farm Park on New Year’s Day for a delicious brunch*, fresh country air and plenty of family fun!

The perfect excuse to get together with family and friends, enjoy a leisurely bite to eat and make a day of it.

And with park entry massively reduced to just £8.95 per person (under 2s go FREE), it’s a fantastic-value way to head into the new year!

Your visit includes some of our favourite daily activities, with opportunities to meet and feed our animals, enjoy a wallaby encounter and say “hello” to the parrots. Plus, pony rides* too!

When it’s time to warm up, head inside to our heated Café or Coffee Lounge, or let the little ones burn off some energy in our Rainforest Play Barn and the all-weather covered Enchanted Hamlet Adventure play park.

New Year’s Day at Matlock Farm Park has become a favourite meeting place for friends and families looking to enjoy a chilled-out start to the year, surrounded by animals, scenic countryside and plenty to see and do.

📅 New Year’s Day
⏰ Open 10am–3pm
🥞 Brunch served from 10am
🎟️ Park entry just £8.95 per person – No need to book, just turn up!
👶 Under 2s FREE

Wrap up warm, bring your family and friends, and start the New Year with us! We hope to see you there! 😀

*Cafe and food outlet prices apply. Pony rides are weather permitting.

Join us for one of our amazing Junior Farmer days and experience what life is like on the farm! Spend the day with our staff behind the scenes and get to know our wonderful animals. Each of these days are tailored around different animals, but which one will you choose?

Monday 26th October – Farm day will focus on more native species including sheep, goats, rabbits and guineapigs.

Thursday 29th October – Reptiles will be mainly lizards, snakes and creepy crawlies!

What else can you expect on the day?

Learn how to health check animals

Clean out and prep food

Learn about their environment and how to keep them happy and safe

Enrichment workshop

Supervised playtime

Plus you’ll also receive an activity booklet and signed certificate at the end of the day! These sessions are for children aged 7 – 11years and must be pre-booked. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather and brings their own packed lunch and drinks bottle.

These sessions are pre book only and spaces are limited, please book early to avoid disappointment.

Christmas has officially arrived at Matlock Farm Park! Join us for a magical day of festive fun as we welcome the BIG man himself, Santa Claus, as he makes a spectacular entrance on his big red tractor!

Get into the Christmas spirit with our festive pony parade, filled with plenty of seasonal sparkle, while festive music sets the scene. There’ll be lots of fantastic photo opportunities throughout the day, so bring your cameras and capture those special family memories.

There will also be a rather naughty visitor too….The Grinch will be here with Cindy Lou causing mischief and mayhem!

And there’s an extra special treat for those who want to see Santa again! Pre-book a Santa’s Grotto Experience, in person for December, during Santa’s Arrival day and receive an amazing 30% discount – the perfect way to secure your magical Christmas visit in advance.

Come along, join the celebrations and help us give Santa the warmest welcome as Christmas comes to life at the farm! 🎅✨

Pre-booked, ticketed event only 

Grotto Dates: 5th, 6th, 12th, 13th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd December 2026.

✨ Make Christmas extra magical with a very special visit to Santa at Matlock Farm Park! ✨ 

We’ve had top-secret confirmation from the BIG man himself that Santa is returning to Matlock Farm Park this Christmas, and he can’t wait to meet you! 

Your magical adventure begins with a visit to our Christmas Craft Workshop, where our super-friendly Chief Elf provides a cheery welcome. Children can write their very own letter to Santa and pop it into the special North Pole Post Box, before getting creative with a festive decoration to take home. 

But before meeting Santa, there’s one very important question… 

🎄 Are you on the Naughty or Nice List? 🎄 

Take on our hilarious Naughty or Nice-o-meter and discover exactly where you stand! And don’t worry, we’ll be checking the grown-ups too… 

Then it’s time to head through our beautifully decorated Ice Tunnel, where another of Santa’s elves will be waiting to guide you towards the most magical part of your experience. 

🎅 Santa’s Grotto! 

Step inside Santa’s enchanted grotto and meet the man himself. There’ll be time to chat, share your Christmas wishes and capture those precious festive memories together. And, of course, Santa has a special early Christmas gift waiting for every child! 

But the magic doesn’t stop there… 

Your Santa’s Grotto ticket also includes full-day entry to Matlock Farm Park, so you can make a whole day of your visit. Meet our wonderful animals, enjoy festive pony rides* and activities and explore everything the farm park has to offer before or after your Santa experience. 

And there’s even more Christmas magic to take home, including a complimentary return pass to visit Matlock Farm Park again! 

🎁 Your Santa’s Grotto Experience Includes: 

• 🎅 A magical visit to Santa in his grotto 

• 🎄 Full-day entry to Matlock Farm Park 

• ✉️ Write and post your letter to Santa 

• 🎨 Festive Christmas decoration to take home 

• 😇 Naughty or Nice-o-meter experience 

• 📸 Magical Christmas photo opportunities 

• 🎁 A quality early Christmas gift from Santa 

• 🎟️ Complimentary return day pass to Matlock Farm Park 

🎅 Make this Christmas one they’ll never forget! 

With limited spaces available, pre-booking is essential. Secure your tickets early and give your little ones the magic of meeting Santa at Matlock Farm Park! ✨ 

The Peak District Highland Games returns on Sunday 29th August 2026, celebrating over a decade of bringing strength, spectacle and Scottish tradition to the heart of Derbyshire.

Now in its 11th year, the much-loved event promises another thrilling day of competition as some of the UK’s top strongmen and strongwomen go head-to-head in a series of crowd-pleasing challenges. Spectators can relax in the grandstand or settle onto traditional straw bales to enjoy the action-packed programme.

Among the highlights are the awe-inspiring Eight Tonne Tractor Pull, the Peak District Dinnie Stone Challenge, Tossing of the Caber, the 120kg Log Press, the demanding Stone of Destiny Carry, and returning this year again the Sword of Strength!

Beyond the arena, visitors can browse a lovely selection of market, craft and games stalls, while food and drink concessions will offer plenty of refreshments throughout the day. Join in with popular animal encounters too, including children’s pony rides*, reptile meet and greets, meerkat feeding sessions and much more.

Pre-book online or pay on the door. Early birds arriving with a 9-10am arrival ticket can enjoy 10% off breakfasts from our café until 10:30am. You can also enjoy our Meet the Kids walk-through experience (9:30-10:30am) before The Games begin.

*Small charges apply for pony rides. No dogs allowed.

Get ready for a ROAR-some day of prehistoric adventure at the farm! Come face-to-face with Zoom the T.Rex, Neo the Neovenator and adorable baby dinosaurs during spectacular outdoor shows throughout the day. Then keep your eyes peeled as these incredible creatures roam the park, giving you the chance to get up close and snap some unforgettable photos.

It’s dino-mite fun for the whole family!

Event included FREE with your farm park entry ticket!

Calling all little witches, wizards and musical theatre fans! 🧙🪄🎤

Step into the magical world of Wicked for a spellbinding day of singing, dancing and interactive fun with Elphaba and Glinda. Enjoy LIVE performances of your favourite Wicked songs, join in with vocal warm-ups, learn catchy dance routines, discover enchanted Wicked lessons, and jump with excitment to party dances and mini games.

Whether you’re Team Elphaba or Team Glinda, this is the perfect chance to sing your heart out and dance like a star!

And that’s not all! Your visit also includes our Fang-tastic Halloween Festival, packed with spooky family fun. Venture along the Spooky Trail through the Forbidden Forest; who will you meet along the way!? Be sure to dress to impress for on-the-spot prizes, pick your perfect pumpkin in the Autumn Pumpkin Patch and get creative with Witch Wendolyn’s Halloween craft sessions. Keep your eyes peeled too – you may even spot the legendary Headless Horseman!

There’s also all the usual farm park favourites to enjoy, including thrilling sheep racing, wallaby encounters, reptile meet and greets, indoor and outdoor play areas, and plenty more animal adventures to make it a full day of Halloween fun.

Event FREE with Fang-tastic Festival entry ticket!

Our hugely popular Halloween Festival & Pumpkin Patch returns this October Half Term with frightfully good family fun! 

🌳Venture into the Forbidden Forest to follow our Spooky Trail, packed with prop-based woodland scenes, ghoul games and spellbinding riddles. 

🧙Join Witch Wendolyn’s daily craft workshops to create enchanted keepsakes to take home. 

🪄24th October: enjoy magical meet-and-greets, fun sing-along sessions, catchy dance lessons, exciting games and wicked photo opportunities with Elphaba and Glinda (see What’s On page for full event details).

🎃Take a trip to our Pumpkin Patch where every child with a paid entry ticket receives a FREE pumpkin* to pick using mini wheelbarrows, before carving it at one of our carving stations. 

🏆Dress to impress in your most fang-tastic costume as there will be on-the-spot prizes for the best fancy dress! 

🐎Look out for Matlock’s legendary Headless Horseman riding through the park in the late afternoon, creating an unforgettable mysterious atmsophere. 

🧛‍♂️28th-31st October: The excitement continues with our playful (not scary!) Halloween Characters along the Spooky Trail and around the park. 

Your Halloween adventure also includes all the fantastic daily attractions, such as the exciting Sheep Races, Meerkat Talks, Wallaby Encounters and fascinating Creepy Crawly Sessions. Plus children can enjoy our popular Pony Rides*, the Enchanted Hamlet all-weather Play Area and indoor Rainforest Play Barn too!  

A spellbinding Halloween day out for the whole family! 

*FREE pumpkin for each child with a full paid entry ticket. Subject to availability. Small charges apply for pony rides.  

Get ready for a ROAR-some day of prehistoric adventure at the farm! Come face-to-face with a giant T-Rex and adorable baby dinosaurs during spectacular outdoor shows throughout the day. Then keep your eyes peeled as these incredible creatures roam the park, giving you the chance to get up close and snap some unforgettable photos.

It’s dino-mite fun for the whole family!

Event included FREE with your farm park entry ticket!

NEW DATE ADDED – SATURDAY 22ND AUGUST!!

Our Grown-ups only evenings on the farm have been so popular, that we’ve decided to put on an extra one in August!!

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 field animals, you can also enjoy getting involved in sheep racing, ‘Meet the Reptiles’ 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 a fabulous night to remember!

(Annual pass holders – please ensure you pre-book your free event ticket to accompany your annual pass).
This event runs on Saturday 22nd August as well as Wednesday 16th September.

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

*THIS EVENT IS PRE-BOOK ONLY. Early booking advisable*