Access Statement for Farmer Ted’s Farm Park
Introduction
Farmer Ted’s Adventure Farm is an interactive farm park and play facility for families with children aged 0 – 14 years, school groups and group days out.
We are located in the West Lancashire countryside, 13 miles from the centre of Liverpool.
The facilities on site consist of a large building housing the main restaurant, toilets and soft play areas, one for children aged under 4 years and one for those aged 4+.
The main hall is a vast open space for events and houses a play area in one corner, a catering outlet, gift shop, toilets and a balcony along the one wall with slides (not accessible to wheelchairs).
The farm park has an animal barn running down the centre with a Shaun the Sheep themed adventure play field to the right and a mini beast centre and other play fields to the left and rear.
A theatre and classroom are located at the far end of the animal barn.
The play areas surrounding the animal barn have compacted gravel pathways and level grass surfaces allowing customers to visit some animals out in the fields and to observe the bird of prey flying display and sheep racing.
The play fields have been extended over the years with a bridge, crossing the track used for barrel rides, linking two of the fields. Access to either side of the bridge is available to wheelchairs and pushchairs from either side.
A tractor ride takes customers on a ride around the farm and in the summer months a barrel ride operates as an additional activity.
The site is all on one level and fully accessible.
A map of the site is available on the website www.farmerteds.com and a large table map on site allows you to easily locate the attractions on site.
To discuss your individual needs and requirements please do contact us in advance and we will do our best to accommodate you at the event.
Pre-Arrival
We are located on the B5195, a winding country road 5 miles from Ormskirk and 5 miles from Formby. The site is 13 miles from Liverpool and is 10 minutes away from the end of the M58 and M57 motorways.
The nearest railway stations are Maghull (5 miles) which can be accessed from Liverpool or Preston (via Ormskirk) or Formby (5 miles) which can be accessed from Liverpool or Southport.
Accessible taxis can be booked from Ormskirk: 01695 573333, Maghull: 0151 526 5050 or Formby: 0151 933 6000.
Car Parking and Arrival
Parking is available on site with designated Blue Badge parking available 10 metres from the main entrance. At busy times stewards on the gate will direct Blue badge holders to the designated parking spaces or visitors can be dropped off at the main entrance.
The car park is level with some grassed parking areas and some tarmac / gravel surfaces and lighting is installed throughout the car park.
A concrete slope of 8 metres leads from the car park to the main entrance with a handrail on the right-hand side.
Entrance doors to the site are automatic and these open to a width of 1.4 metres.
Main Entrance
Once inside the floor of the main hall is concrete and level.
The area is well lit and uncluttered.
The payment desk has a sliding glass window to assist people lip reading and is 120cm from the counter to the floor.
A concession price is available for carers and details of prices can be found on the website.
Wheelchairs are available on site and can be borrowed for the duration of your visit, although prior booking is recommended.
Attraction on Site
On admission all customers are able to take a photograph of the daily timetable of activities. This can be provided in a printed format if requested and a copy is usually available on the website.
Blackboards and information boards around the site also provide information to customers as to the activities available and their location, safety tips and signage. Tannoy announcements are also made to alert customers to the next activity on site.
Background music plays continuously in the main hall, main restaurant, in the maze, on the Shaun the Sheep field and on the tractor ride.
A video screen in the main hall operates most days.
Around the site are 3 LED information screens that alert customers to special events and daily information. These may contain flashing images.
External doors from the main hall are automatic and open to a width of 1.4 metres.
Internal double doors to the restaurant are pushed or pulled to open. They can be opened to a width of 2 metres.
Seating is available around the site on benches, picnic tables and small tables and chairs with arms.
The floor surface in the main hall is tarmac and the main restaurant has laminate flooring.
Lighting in all areas of the site is mainly fluorescent with some LED, spot lights and natural light.
The animal barn has a tiered seating area in which some animal activities are held. There is plenty of space at floor level for wheelchairs and pushchairs and benches are also available. Animal activities are also available in Hall 3 to allow more customers to participate and to provide a more spacious area for activities.
The tractor ride is not accessible to pushchairs or wheelchairs and an area is provided to leave these if customers wish to take the ride. The tractor ride is bumpy as it follows a farm track and access to the trailer is via 4 steps (35cm from ground level, 2 x 30cm steps and a top step of 5cm) and through a gate 90cm wide. Seating is on a padded central seat (48cm high) looking out of the window opposite - assistance is available to help customers access the trailer if requested.
The barrel ride is one person per car, however children aged under 4 can sit on an adult’s knee if they wish. Seat belts are provided and all barrels are fitted with roll bars.
The fields are accessible to pushchairs and wheelchairs although in wet weather these can become muddy in places. The fields undulate and help would be needed to get a wheelchair to all areas. Pathways of compacted gravel provide routes across fields and to the various activities.
The covered sand pit would require assistance for a wheelchair to access the 16cm lip on entry.
The mini beast centre and theatre are fully accessible although pushchair access to the theatre is restricted during busy periods.
All hand washing facilities on the farm park are positioned at a height of between 80 – 90cm and are operated by touch sensors. Wheelchairs can fully access these facilities.
Public Toilets
There are three toilet blocks on site;
The first block is situated adjacent to the main entrance and contains an accessible toilet in both the ladies and gentleman’s toilets. A small ramp provides entry to this toilet block.
Both toilets have a door width of 1 metre and a height from floor to seat of 48cm.
In the ladies toilet the clear space for a wheelchair is to the left of the toilet when facing it. Horizontal grab rails are located on the left of the toilet against the wall and on the back of the door. Vertical grab rails are located again to the left of the toilet and on the wall immediately behind the toilet on the right hand side and on either side of the hand wash basin.
In the gentleman’s toilets the layout is reversed.
The second sets of toilets are in the main restaurant building and contain a separate unisex accessible toilet. This toilet is accessed from a level floor surface and has a door width of 1 metre and a height from floor to seat of 48cm. The clear space for a wheelchair is to the left of the toilet when facing it. Horizontal grab rails are located on the left of the toilet against the wall and on the back of the door. Vertical grab rails are located again to the left of the toilet and on the wall immediately behind the toilet on the right hand side and on either side of the hand wash basin.
Each accessible toilet is fitted with a red alarm cord for use in an emergency.
The third set of toilets is located at the far end of the park and is accessible for users of the theatre and play fields. There is a step up of 8cm to access the building and door widths are 89cm. Baby change facilities are available in the ladies but wheelchair and pushchair access is not available here.
All toilets have non slip silica screed flooring and are well lit with fluorescent lighting.
The hand wash sinks have hot and cold lever operated taps.
All toilet blocks have baby change facilities.
Catering
There are four catering outlets on site:
The main restaurant (Farmer Ted’s Grill) is accessed from the main hall and has a door width of 2 metres. Tables are laid out in rows with space between for wheelchair access. Seating is a mixture of wooden and leather chairs with no arms. All table heights are the same with a clear height underneath of 64cm. The area is lit with LED lights and the floor is laminate wood.
Food is ordered at the counter by the customer and brought to the table by the staff. Customers with dietary needs should speak to a member of staff who can consult with the chefs and provide information on suitable dishes or adaptations.
Menus are printed and available on the table but can be read out to customers if required.
Crockery is white with the table coverings of pvc material.
The nearest WC and accessible WC is in the corner of the room.
A second catering outlet (Ted’s to Go) is located in the main hall on a level concrete floor. Seating is on picnic benches and small tables giving a clearance height of 69cm underneath for wheelchairs.
The area is well lit.
Food is ordered at the counter by the customer and either collected by the customer or brought to the table by the staff. Customers with dietary needs should speak to a member of staff who can consult with the chefs and provide information on suitable dishes or adaptations.
Menus are hand written on blackboards and usually printed and available on the table but can be read out to customers if required. All food from this outlet is served on disposable crockery.
The nearest WC and accessible WC is 20 metres away in the opposite corner of the hall.
A third outlet (The Snack Shack) serves drinks, sweets and ice creams only. This is located outside the automatic doors at the front of the animal barn with a serving counter accessible to wheelchairs. A wooden canopy provides cover over the serving hatch. Staff can come out to the customer if they cannot get to the counter.
A fourth outlet (The Coffee Pod) is located at the far end of the site opposite the event field on a flat concrete surface, accessible to all. It serves hot & cold drinks, ice cream and snacks. It has a canopy over the serving area. Again, staff can come out to customers if required.
Shop
The gift shop is located within the main hall opposite Ted’s to Go and adjacent to the sliding doors to the farm park.
There is a space of 2 metres around a central display for wheelchairs and pushchairs to move about.
The floor is level and made of concrete.
Products are displayed at a variety of heights but a member of staff is always present to assist in reaching items down from a higher shelf.
Background music plays in the shop.
Grounds
The floor surface on the park is a mixture of tarmac, gravel and grass.
The grassed areas are the play and picnic fields and so are by definition not level, and can be undulating in places.
All pathways are at least 2 metres wide.
The animal barn has 2 sleeping policemen set into the floor which are painted white.
A kerb on the right hand side of the animal barn (4.5cm high and 14-25cm wide) allows children to see into the animal pens more easily.
Additional Information
In the event of an emergency we have a fully rehearsed evacuation plan in place. All staff are fully trained in the evacuation routes and how to reach the main assembly point on the car park.
The fire alarm system which covers most of the site has several flashing red light beacons to alert visitors to an emergency.
Our radio system in place on the site can get assistance to anyone who needs additional help to evacuate the site.
Green & white running man signage is in use to lead customers to the exits and emergency lighting is installed in all buildings.
Guide/ Assistance dogs are allowed on site.
Contact Information
Farmer Ted’s Farm Park, Flatmans Lane, Downholland, Ormskirk, Lancashire. L39 7HW.
Tel: 0151 526 0002
Email: farmerted@farmerteds.com
