Review of 'Reasehealth Lambing & Zoo Weekends 2026'

https://www.reaseheath.ac.uk/lambing-and-zoo-weekends/

Really targeted at young children and families, we still very much enjoy attending the “Lambing & Zoo Weekends” at Reaseheath College which is only a short distance from where we live which is why we visited in 2022 and 2023. When tickets came up again this year we once again booked in to have a look at how the local flocks were doing.

On arrival, drivers are directed to one of the many car parks in the college then walk to the event entrance which is often not very far away. The college is spread out over several acres and is quite leafy and wooded. After your tickets are scanned you are in the main market area of the event where this year there were a few more stalls which are mostly about fast food though it was nice to see Reaseheath had several selling their own produce such as burgers (they also had a room in one of the buildings where you could buy fresh meat and baked goods including their very good butter).

Passing through the market you enter the actual barn building area where one contained a number of big pieces of farming machinery, including combines and tractors along with a small pen holding several new-born calves. Generally, you are told not to touch any of the animals in the pens throughout the event.

Moving on through the buildings there is the familiar display of robotic cow milking which is always fun to watch with some cheeky cows moving into the machine (due to it giving them food) only to be shown the way out when the machine determines the cow has already visited quite a few times! Moving onto the focus of the event - The lambs, this year they had a small pen with a few sheep and their young lambs outside of the main birthing barns but otherwise the layout was the same as previous years: A barn with newly born lambs and their mothers along with a much larger barn with expectant mothers divided into the number of lambs expected: One, two or three (determined by ultrasound scanning).

Many people linger around the big barn waiting to see if anything will happen. Unlike our last visit, nothing did happen while we were there with the mothers managing to keep from birthing while in our presence (we learned a few were born over the course of the day we were there but we were not actually there to see them). Constant narration over the speakers talks about how it works and how birthing is generally managed which is hands off unless absolutely necessary…but keep an eye on them. The only step in if absolutely necessary, preferring to let the mother get on with it. They also told us which ewes to keep an eye on as they were showing signs of giving birth (they start panting, go off on their own…etc).

One of the staff came through the crowd with a new-born (orphaned) lamb for us to have a closer look at and, of course, pat. A nearby barn had a lamb you could hold and have your picture taken with but it had ENORMOUS queues to do so, as you might expect. This is only done with orphaned lambs as otherwise the scent of humans on the lamb may cause it to be rejected by it's mother never mind the distress at having their lamb taken away for a period of time.

Part of the event is access to the small college zoo which is a short walk away on the other side of a small woodland walk. The zoo featured talks by the various keepers throughout the day. We managed to catch a talk about the birds of prey by two young students which was quite interesting as they traded holding a small hawk.

The zoo has a wide assortment of exotic (llamas, wallabies…) and not-so-exotic (goats, otters…) animals outside and also inside the building. They even have a few aquariums and terrariums.

At £11 per adult, this is an affordable and very interesting event. Well worth visiting with lots to see and do, regardless of age. From year to year, it is generally the same thing but we still enjoy it.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2026-03-01

Location: Nantwich (England)

Address: Reaseheath College Nantwich Cheshire, CW5 6DF ENGLAND

Telephone: +44 (0) 1270 625131

URL: https://www.reaseheath.ac.uk/

Reaseheath College is one of the UK’s leading specialist land-based colleges based in Nantwich, Cheshire. We offer a range of full-time diplomas, apprenticeships and degrees, ideal for those looking for an exciting career in the land-based industries. (from web site)