Pet Paddock

The Pet Paddock sits just outside Thame, a working farmstead where you can get up close with a small collection of domestic animals. It's the sort of place that works brilliantly for young kids - they'll spend a good hour mucking about with goats, rabbits, and the odd pony if you're lucky, though it's hardly a sprawling wildlife park. The setup is straightforward: bring some carrots, let the children feed whatever's in the enclosures that day, and watch them actually engage with something living rather than a screen.

Really, this is a five-quid-and-a-coffee kind of outing, the sort of thing you'd tag on to a weekend at one of the nearby sites like White Mark Glamping or Home Farm Camping rather than plan a trip around. Opening times and admission aren't always clear from what I could find, so ring ahead - nothing worse than driving out to find it's closed for a private event or the animals are being moved. Weather-dependent too; on a soggy March afternoon, mud comes up past your ankles and the novelty wears off fast.

It works best for families with under-eights. Older kids will find it a bit tame, and if you're after proper countryside scenery or a proper walk, you'd be better served by the surrounding Buckinghamshire footpaths. But if you need a morning's entertainment that doesn't involve spending a fortune, and your crew like animals, it's worth knowing about.