Wigfield Farm

Latest News

**PUBLIC NOTICE**

We will be closed to the public and to students until further notice due to COVID-19. All students will be working remotely.We will personally contact all bookings ASAP.

Apologies for the inconvenience caused.

Please follow us our social media platforms for updates on our animals [Facebook, Twitter and Instagram].

PLAYGROUND EXTENSION

Work has started on the playground extension….how exciting! We will be putting up temporary fencing across the playground to keep the public safe. Students will be doing the bulk of the stone removal using the tractor and trailer.

OTHER PROJECTS TAKING PLACE ON THE FARM

• Clearing and resurfacing the back pathways
• Finishing painting the raccoon and meerkat houses and pig barn.
• Putting in a maintenance track for the new temporary goat paddock next to the meerkats.
• Putting in woodchip paths for the other goats (to limit muddy patches in the paddocks)
• Finishing the kickboards in the car park.
• Cleaning the open fronted barn in preparation for the ewes coming in for lambing!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Unfortunately due to COVID-19 we will not be running our Easter holiday activities…however we are planning lots of activities for when we reopen.

BRAND NEW ARRIVALS!

TIMONE AND PUMBA

Timone and Pumba are male rare breed Golden Guernsey Goats. They are 4 years old and have been at the farm since the 17th of November 2019. Timone is the lighter one on the right and Pumba is the darker one.

Golden Guernseys were nearly wiped out during the Second World War when most of the livestock on Guernsey was slaughtered in the German occupation. A small group was hidden in a basement on the island by Miss Miriam Milbourne. This allowed the whole breed to survive.

CLYDE

You may have seen his face already in the local news! South Yorkshire Police were called to this naughty goat on the run in Darnall after he escaped from an allotment. After establishing he couldn’t return home they sought our help to house this fugitive for the RSPCA.
So after a ride in the back of a police car (yes, on the actual back seats!) and hitching a lift from our friends at Graves Park Animal Farm he arrived with us on Wednesday 30th October. We will be housing him on a temporary basis while we assess his health and behaviour to determine whether he would be a good fit for us or if he would be better off at a quieter farm.
Our animal team have decided that due to his skill in evading capture he should be called Clyde, as in Bonnie and Clyde!
So welcome Clyde, we hope you behave yourself here.
Follow our social media for updates on Clyde  #naughtygoat

NORMAN

We also have another new arrival at the farm, but this one has a less dramatic story behind it…and his name is Norman!
Norman is a 4 year old whitefaced woodland tup and he has joined us on the farm to be part of our rare breeds breeding programme. The whitefaced woodland originated in the Pennines on the borders of Derbyshire and Yorkshire (Woodland Valley) and an alternative name for them is the Penistone sheep! Named after our neighbouring town due to it having held a sheep fair ever since 1699, so Norman can be considered a local lad.
The whitefaced woodland is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust’s sheep watchlist so pedigree breeding of this sheep is incredibly important. With that being the case our Animal Team are currently on with the task of finding him some lovely ladies to join him at the farm!
Why not pop down and visit Norman? He’s been making friends with his new neighbour Clyde the goat, I think they’ve been discussing who has the best horns!

NEW MIDWEEK ACTIVITIES PLANNED FOR BABIES AND TODDLERS

We have been busy planning more weekday activities aimed at babies and toddlers and these will be based in our Activities Hub. All activities and events get advertised across our Facebook, twitter and Instagram pages. We also now have online bookings available for these sessions via the ‘Book now’ button on our Facebook page.

* For more information click on the events and activities page.

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About Wigfield Farm

Wigfield Farm is set in Worsbrough, Barnsley and has three main functions:

• A working farm producing livestock
• A base for Barnsley College Horticulture and Animal Management courses
• An Open Farm and Visitors Centre accessible to the local and wider community

A large part of the practical tasks during the week are actually undertaken by students following one of our many programmes of study giving them a real working environment to develop their skills and knowledge.

The farm is situated approximately 2 miles south-west of Barnsley next to Worsbrough Country Park. It is near to the Dove Valley Trail section of the Trans-Pennine Trail, and provides a perfect visitor attraction for adults and children.

We have a wide range of animals including meerkats, cows, goats, Shetland ponies, donkeys, alpacas, pigs, sheep, chickens, guinea pigs, rabbits and much more. There is also a rodent room and an aquatics room featuring many different varieties of fish and other aquatic life.

Our students take a walk on the wild side in our exotics room where they care for and study a variety of reptiles. Although this area isn’t open to the public, you can view our reptiles, snakes and lizards at public events, if you book a birthday party with us, or as part of a VIP animal experience.

The farm operates a cafe serving light lunches, snacks and refreshments.

Part-Time Courses

We hold a number of short courses at Wigfield Farm throughout the year. For information on all our courses please visit Barnsley College’s Animal Care  and Horticulture page.