I have wanted to go and see the tulips in the Netherlands for many years, but never managed the trip. When I saw that Farmer Copleys in Pontefract, North Yorkshire, had their very own tulip festival, I was determined to visit.
Booking our visit with accessibility in mind
As with every family outing, there were a few things I needed to look into before booking tickets for all four of us. When out and about, we usually need to rely on our mobility buggy in order to move around safely. While not as wide as most wheelchairs, we still need sites to be accessible. After a quick scan around the Farmer Copleys website, I could see that accessibility was largely weather dependent as the tulip festival is effectively just a big field. There is, however, some disabled parking and while there are no Changing Places style toilets, there are general disabled loos. I decided to take a chance on the weather and book tickets. It is worth noting that ticket prices are all the same – there is no option for concessions. I paid £46 online for four tickets plus a booking fee.
The day of our Farmer Copley visit
On the day of our visit, we got incredibly lucky with the weather. It was dry all day, and the sun even peeped out from behind the clouds for an hour or two. On arrival at the site it was clear that there were a lot of people around. The carpark for the event is a big field, and it was very full when we arrived for our 11am slot. Despite this, some friendly carpark attendants were able to direct us to a designated disabled parking area with spaces right at the entrance of the event. It was easy to park up and we were only 30 seconds away from both the event entrance, and also the disabled loos. Score!
Checking in was easy with the QR code that had been sent to my email at the time of booking. One singular QR code was the ticket for all four of us, so I didn’t have to spend time faffing around looking for four separate tickets. Anything that saves time when trying to navigate events with two disabled kids is a nice plus.
Once checked in we headed for the tulip fields for the main event. A big rock got stuck in the wheel of the mobility buggy and we had to stop for a minute to work out what the problem was. A member of staff saw us trying to puzzle it out and took the time to help us. It’s a really small thing, but a gesture that means a lot to us when so many people would have moved along and left us to it.
Rock removed from the buggy, we entered the event. The first area we came to was full of food tents and a few fairground rides, but we could clearly see rows upon rows of colourful tulips nearby. Thanks to the dry weather, we had no problems navigating our way across the refreshment field to the tulips.
Despite the very busy carpark, for the most part, the tulip fields didn’t feel too busy. We were always able to find a row or two without any other people in where we could quietly explore at our own pace. The children were both quite happy to look at all the flowers – there was a huge variety on offer to see. We saw flowers of every colour imaginable, and lots of different shapes and textures – it really was a magnificent spectacle. It goes without saying that this whole event was a superb photo opportunity, and we saw lots of other families taking the time to snap a few pictures in the colourful rows of tulips. We even saw some people who seemed to have brought whole tripod setups for taking optimal photos – I seriously admired the dedication!
While we didn’t make use of them, there were a handful of designated photo spots dotted around. We saw lovely ‘selfie frame’ type set ups, a phone box filled with giant flowers, a huge fiberglass cow painted in bright colours, and a rowboat full of tulips sitting on a little pond. All really cracking additions for those wanting to get some nice photos, but not really something that was for us.
We happily spent about an hour wandering the rows of flowers, just looking at everything. There were a couple of points where we sat down for a quick snack in an empty row, where I was able to try and get some nice photos of the children amongst the tulips. I should point out that the rows of tulips are planted fairly close together, and while we could just about manage to navigate our mobility buggy through the rows without squashing any flowers, I think a wheelchair would really struggle. Wider buggies and wheelchairs would still be able to access the outside perimeter of the flower fields, but I don’t think it would be quite the same experience.
There was a designated ‘pick your own’ field for those people who wanted to take home a bunch of flowers, but again, this part of the event didn’t look very accessible to me. I found myself wondering how much a bunch of flowers to take home was – I didn’t see anyone picking more than five stems which makes me suspect that they were very expensive!
Once we had finished in the fields, we headed back to the field where the refreshment tents were, so we could stop and eat our packed lunches. Sadly, there weren’t enough tables and picnic benches for the number of people around, so we found a spot on the ground instead. We didn’t really mind, although it would have been a different story if the ground had been damp or if the weather had been wetter.
Farmer Copleys farm shop
Before we left for the day I wanted to have a quick look at the farm shop on site – I love a good farm shop. We relocated the car to the disabled parking right outside the building and I took my son inside for a nosey. It felt quite busy but it was still possible to navigate around without getting stuck among the throngs of people. We spotted some delicious looking fresh fruit and veg, a truly glorious looking deli counter, and although I didn’t see it myself, there must have been a dairy section because I saw people walking around with pints of yummy looking flavoured milk. We were doing well with the ‘just looking’ brief, until we headed for the exit and had to walk past both the cake stand, and the ice cream booth. Both of these got us and we ended up leaving with a big slab of cornflake cake and a massive ice cream in a waffle cone. I was pleasantly surprised that our purchases didn’t seem to be preposterously priced.
The final verdict
We spent about two hours on site overall, and I am glad we went. Admittedly, we would have had a very different experience if the weather had been bad. Because it was a dry day, we found the whole event to be accessible and very pleasant. While the disabled facilities weren’t state-of-the-art, they met our needs and we were able to manage. The staff were friendly and clearly happy to help, and once inside the event, it didn’t feel rammed with people and we were able to move around pretty easily, even with the mobility buggy. The twins had a nice time, and when the twins have a nice time, so do my husband and me!
I have seen that Farmer Copleys offer strawberry picking from late May onwards, and provided our newest family member hasn’t decided to make an early appearance, I think I will book us in. If everything is as well organised as the tulip festival, I am confident that we will have another nice day provided it’s not pouring with rain.
Honestly, for the price we paid, I wasn’t sure if it would feel like we had gotten our money’s worth, but actually I think we did. My one caveat here is that I think accessibility for wheelchair users could be a bit better, and if you are a wheelchair user, please be aware that the rows of flowers are quite narrow!
