anyone heard whether Willows has shut re. e.coli?

[edam]

Dh thinks he heard on the news a local petting farm has shut, but I can't see anything online. Just wondered if anyone knows?

it hadn't last Weds because I was there (but it was so quiet!), but I appreciate this would have been more recent.

Maybe there will be a positive side effect that they'll have to drop the extortionate admission prices?

it was open yesterday edam. was sooo quiet

Don't know but I think I might be wary of taking kids there anyway if there is a dangerous strain of e. coli doing the rounds - as you may remember there was a bad outbreak there several years ago when it was still a working farm as well - they totally revamped it while it was shut and reopened as Willows. Iirc a child died that time . I knew someone who had links to the farm at the time and she was not surprised at the e.coli outbreak - think she felt that something dodgy had been going on for a while....

Didn't know that grapefruit.

Tbh I avoid going because a. it's hugely expensive and b. there are so many attractions - ds doesn't really look at the animals, is far too busy racing around the bouncy castles/slides/equipment. Feels like a bit of a waste.

wasn't it bowmans farm before it was willows

(Although as it turns out that is probably A Good Thing...)

there is a free farm in harlow, hmmm near ware, it is within a massive park, that has a great childrens play area

I used to take my dd there when she was little (she's 12 now) and I preferred it as it was then as it was more like a "real" farm. Think the e.coli outbreak must have been when she was a pre-schooler as it was a staff member at her nursery who had links to the farm so this could be 10 years ago... they changed the name when they re-opened.

I haven't been there for years as it's too busy during school holidays but my ds's have been wanting to go for ages - we didn't manage to go over the summer so I had been thinking of going at half-term - but now I think they will have to make do with the little farm at Aldenham Country Park (again!)

Think you are right about the name cookie

it was bowmans yes.

Aldenham is lovely - are your ds's still young enough to enjoy the 100 Aker Wood?

Oh yes - even dd still likes it - esp the stream!

alderham clearly is the one i was thinking of

Bowmans or Bowmansgreen (formerly Willows) rings a bell? From memory it was a little boy who died - very sad.

Aldenham is lovely, but then I'm biased having spent many happy days there this summer.

I was at Willows yesterday.

It was quiet but always is at the time I was there.