Families are most welcome and it is a wonderful place for children to have fun and explore. All ages are welcome, from newborns upwards. The guest rooms are at the far end of the house (with no immediate neighbours) so you don’t need to worry about babies waking anyone up or children making too much noise. I can also provide child-friendly breakfast options - please let me know if you have any special requests when you book. If you are arriving by train and need collecting from the station I have one child car seat available.
Indoor facilities and equipment for children include a high chair, child fire guard, stair gate, child toilet seat, plastic cutlery and crockery, plastic table mats and tablecloth, toys, games, puzzles, books, pencils and crayons and even an indoor hammock/swing. Please do ask if you need to use the washing machine.
Accommodation: the beds are equipped with waterproof mattress protectors, waterproof pillow protectors and there is a ground-level single bed available in Jodwyns and a child bed rail. A travel cot (mattress available but no bedding) and an air mattress suitable for smaller children (up to approx. 10 years) are available and can be used in whichever room you choose, or on the landing: there are blackout curtains on the stairs and in the bedrooms, but not in the (private) sitting room. Please note if choosing to use the landing that the stairs are old and therefore rather creaky.
Outdoors: the driveway and terrace directly outside your entrance are fenced in and therefore are secure for children. Temporary fencing can be put up in your seating area in the garden to keep babies and toddlers in an enclosed area/away from the pond or to keep curious goats and chickens away, but please supervise small children when exploring the garden or playing with the animals. There is a swing in the garden and a den under some bushes which your children will love. There is also a rowing boat (life jackets available for little people) and an all-weather tabletennis table. The potential for adventures and games in the garden is only limited by your (or their!) imagination and many new ones have been invented recently…
The animals are all friendly, and if your children would like to get to know them with some guidance, I am very happy to introduce them and provide carrots to feed the goats and grain to feed the chickens and ducks. They are also welcome to help me collect chickens’ eggs.
Child bikes of various sizes are available to borrow, including helmets, and for children too young to cycle there are 2 child seats on adult bikes and a double trailer.
Hitcham also has a lovely large playground for children – the best for miles around! – a lot of which is made of wood with hand-carved animals to climb on. It is approximately 1.5 miles away from the house and can be reached by car, bicycle or a 25 minute walk across the fields along footpaths.
For full information on activities at Crossways Farm, please click here. For family-friendly outings, please see Places to visit: most destinations mentioned are suitable for children, but of particular interest may be the farms which all have farm trails and allow children to feed the animals; they also have activities and events for children seasonally or throughout the year (as do the additional destinations for families and some nature reserves and historical buildings and gardens). Please do ask if you would like more information.
Babysitting is available between the hours of 7pm and 10pm if you would like to have an evening out, if you and your child(ren) are happy with the idea when we have met.
If you have any queries or needs that are not mentioned here, please do get in touch.