Last month we took Forrest to the second Countryside Lincs event at Lincolnshire Showground (you can see my post on last year's event here)
If you're a long time reader you'll know that I am inordinately proud of this county, its farming heritage and its wonderful produce, so it's no surprise that these type of events are just my sort of thing. Forrest is following in my footsteps, he loves animals, tractors and basically anything to do with farming. 'Tractor' was one of his first words and he knows more about farm machinery than most adults I know (thank you Tractor Ted!) So an event like this - aimed at teaching children about farming and agriculture in their home county - was guaranteed to be a hit, especially now he's a bit older and understands more of what's going on.
Farmer Forrest!
The event is interactive with tons of activities for children, all based around food, farming and the countryside. Local producers, crafters, animals and farmers all come together to teach children about our county's heritage in a fun way. There are six indoor and outdoor zones
Explore It
The Farmyard
Falconry Displays
Bake It
The Tractor Zone
Make It
Each has plenty to look at and get involved in, such as petting the animals in the Farmyard Zone, having a go at making cheese or sausages in the Bake It zone and bug house building and candle rolling in the Make It zone.
Forrest's favourites were the Falconry Displays (he is a big fan of owls) and, obviously, the Tractor Zone. This kid is never happier than when there is a tractor in view and - joy of joys - there were even tractor and trailer rides available for budding little farmers! There was also a teeny model farm, complete with little vehicles, barns and animals, which he was entranced by
My favourites were the animals
I'm not going to lie, the local produce is always a big draw for me and it seems that Forrest is much the same. He tried lots of sausage samples from Uncle Henry's (all academic as we already know we love them!) and some delicious goats cheese from Goatwood Dairy. We left with a full rucksack of local goodies as usual!
A surprise hit was The Sheep Show - I wasn't expecting to be that impressed by a talk about sheep but the four sheep that were brought onstage were so chilled out and happy to just stand there and be admired, it was really sweet. And there was a live shearing demonstration by a really charismatic chap who managed to be entertaining for the children as well as throwing in some (virtually undetectable) more adult material for the parents - it was a riot!
The event was really well attended and everyone seemed to be having a great time. There was so much to see and do and it was extremely well organised, as is every event at the Lincolnshire Showground - the organisers clearly know their stuff and manage to think of everything you might need or want without making you feel that you're being over-managed or herded in a certain direction, if that makes sense? Basically they provide everything you could think of and just let you get on with enjoying the day
I always find it a bit heart warming to see families spending some time and having fun together. Must be my age.
If you fancy a fun day out in Lincolnshire with plenty of educational activities for children I highly recommend Countryside Lincs. You can find more information on the Lincolnshire Showground website here - worth a look just for the lovely video of all the children getting stuck into the different activities!
