Sky Farm Park is a unique family day out in West Sussex where you can get up close with nature. Meet herds of majestic red, white and sika deer, and even get the opportunity to feed them.
Devoated to deer, it’s real working farm where you can amble through the races (fenced paths linking the fields) and get up close to the deer.
Located in the heart of the South Downs National Park, surrounded by lush farmland stretching down to the banks of the River Rother – it really is the perfect location for a family day out. The scenes are breath taking and the perfect place to explore the area.
Arriving here was like something out of a dream, it was the perfect autumn morning with a bright blue sky and frosty grass under our feet. Stepping into the deer paddocks was incredible, there were fields upon fields with all these beautiful animals. I personally didn’t realise just how many different types of deer there are. Along the route there was also information boards which were great as meant we could learn along the route about each kind.
Our first stop was the Red Deer which is the UK’s largest wild land mammal. Did you know a stag’s antlers, grow at the rate of up to 2.5 cm a day, and can stretch up to a metre wide with up to 16 branches. The antlers, shed and regrown each year – simply fascinating.
Isabella loved feeding these, they were so gentle and took the food right from her hand. She was even able to stroke them, having never been this close to a deer before it was amazing to see them up close. I was actually surprised at just how big they were.
We then came to the Sika deer (who were a lot smaller in comparison) they have white spots on their coats with a white caudal patch on their rump and a short, white tail. Isabella kept giggling as these ones as they were making cute little grunting noises, and she kept trying to copy them.
A lovely sighting was the White Red deer which are rare in the UK, with only a handful of sightings in the wild reported over the last few decades. The white colour is explained by leucism, a unique condition that has resulted in their hair and skin losing its natural colour.
Now the Fallow deer were my favourite, they reminded me of Bambi and their coats were magnificent. We spent ages with these – feeding them the special deer food. We were very fortunate that a worker stopped by here, and was telling us all about the history of the deers at the park and how some were orphans when they arrived. It was lovely to hear about these animals, and learn some of their names too.
Once we had seen all of the deer and explored the beautiful scenery (there is also a river walk but the ground was too boggy for us, so we opted to do this on our next visit) we headed off to the playground armed with a hot chocolate and a snack.
This adventure playground was epic, I haven’t seen one as amazing as this before and it was honestly huge. I even had a go myself at climbing the towers and balancing along the rope beams. This alone was like a child’s dream, and Isabella didn’t know where to start. The playground has been handcrafted from robinia, a splinter-proof hardwood with a greater density than oak. Each piece is individual, keeping the tree’s natural shape and making it a truly magnificent playarea.
The children can crawl through tunnels, slide down poles, tackle a treetop walkway, invade a hilltop fortress, clamber up nets and generally satisfy their lust for adventure. A separate fenced-off play area dedicated to under 5’s has a sandpit, swings, climbing area and a mini fort with a slide. There is so much to occupy the children here, it’s like a playground of dreams and for parents there is plenty of seating areas where you can sit and relax whilst the children play and explore.
As the playground is situated within the beautiful grounds of Sky Park you are able to see the magnificent deer from here as well and views of the beautiful South Downs countryside.
