Trilakes Animal Park

The moment you walk through Trilakes, you're straight into proper farmyard chaos - and that's the whole appeal. It's a working animal park just outside Wokingham where kids get to meet goats, sheep, pigs and the usual suspects without the corporate polish of a major zoo. You can hand-feed animals, watch them being let out in the morning, and generally get stuck in rather than just pointing at things behind glass.

The setup is refreshingly low-key. This isn't a day-long expedition - most families manage it in two to three hours, which makes it ideal for a wet afternoon or a half-day activity during a park holiday at California Chalet nearby. The animals are genuinely interactive, and younger children (under eight) absolutely lose their minds over the feeding opportunities. Older kids tend to get bored once they've done the rounds, unless they're genuinely into livestock.

What you get depends entirely on visiting outside peak times. School holidays and weekends turn the place heaving, which rather defeats the purpose. Go midweek if you can and the experience is far more relaxed. The park itself is free to enter, though feeding the animals costs extra - budget a few quid per child. Bring your own picnic and settle in for an hour longer than you think you'll need.

Worth a stop if you're based nearby, but don't make it your main reason for visiting Wokingham. It's a proper little rainy-day saver, nothing more.