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Pennywell’s 2020 Highlights

What a year it’s been! We have enjoyed seeing so many lovely visitors this year despite the challenges and unusual circumstances that 2020 has brought.

So, here’s our review of the Pennywell year so far:

January

It was back to work straight after the Christmas break and there was plenty going on behind closed gates. Along with all the usual January maintenance, our new miniature donkey and pony paddocks were being fenced and prepared for visitors to enjoy a really close experience with these special, friendly animals.

Preparations were also in place for our Springboard for Tourism event where tourism businesses can get together before the season to share ideas and kick off the new season in style.

February

The farm was ready, the team were ready and the visitors came . . .  . along with Storm Dennis!

It was one of the wettest half terms in memory but visitors still had a great time and made use of their VIP return tickets, meaning they could come back as often as they liked during the half term. We saw some families every day which is fantastic!!

March

New pygmy goat kids, new piglets, lots of anticipation for a busy Easter and then lockdown. The stock team remained at work to look after the animals and the animals waited and waited . .

 April, May

Life went on. The animals had no concept of what was going on and enjoyed a very chilled and relaxed springtime. There were plenty of new animal babies and a chance to do some farm maintenance in nice weather which is a real rarity.

June

Finally, we received the news that we had been waiting for which was that Pennywell could open from 5 July. There was so much work to do to prepare the farm to be COVID safe and the management team had to come up with a completely different way to offer the visitor experience but we did it.

July

The feeling on the day we reopened the farm is hard to describe. Everyone was relieved to be back at work, happy to be able to open, excited but slightly nervous. We significantly limited the number of visitors on that first week and we were all desperate to make sure that they had a safe and wonderful experience.  We were blown away by the response. Visitors were so happy to be there, grateful for being able to visit and hugely appreciative of all the safety measures we had put in place.

August

August was fantastic. Although still limiting the number of visitors to allow for social distancing, the whole month was a sell-out and once again we welcomed visitors who were grateful to be able to visit. It was actually a very special August as lower visitor numbers meant that the contact between team and visitors (always socially distanced of course) was more personal and we all enjoyed some memorable interactions and conversations.

September

September carried on pretty much as August had and remained sold out on most sessions. We started to get some amazing entries to our photo competition with the chance to win a family season ticket for the 2021 season.  If you have visited us and have some great photos to share, there is still time! Click to Enter

October

Our younger visitors enjoyed some visits from Little Explorers and were able to make lots of noise during the parent and toddler musical play sessions which took place on a Wednesday morning. We enjoyed a bright and busy half term week rounding off an unusual but happy and memorable 2020 season.

November / December

Christmas is coming! It took a while to make the decision but even with the second lockdown altering our plans, we decided that Christmas at Pennywell is just too important to miss.

A magical journey to Bethlehem, a live Nativity Play, refreshments, Elves Sweet Shop, close up and encounters with the animals, topped off with that all important visit to Father Christmas.

Our Christmas experience for 2020 is more popular than ever so if you want to book tickets, you’ll have to be quick!

Season Ticket Early Bird Sale

We also have a limited number of 2021 season tickets on sale now. We have decided to restrict the number of tickets on offer to make sure that we can continue to keep visitors safe until things return to normal. We have great plans for 2021 and would love you to be part of them.

Season tickets make a great Christmas gift that just keeps on giving!

There’s so much more to come!

Whether you join us for the Pennywell Christmas Experience or plan to visit in 2021, the whole team and the Pennywell animals all look forward to welcoming you!

This story appeared on November 17, 2020 and is tagged as: Christmas Nativity | COVID safe | Devon tourist attraction | Pennywell. Pennywell Farm | season tickets