Fond Farewell and Exciting new chapter at Tapnell Farm Park

Woman crouching beside a kangaroo in a grassy outdoor enclosure

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A fond farewell and an exciting new chapter at Tapnell Farm Park

Change is coming to the Farm Park this autumn as we take an exciting step towards the future - one that brings us even closer to our roots as a working British farm.

It does mean saying goodbye to some much-loved members of the Tapnell family along the way.

This September, our wallabies will be leaving Tapnell after ten wonderful years with us, as they head off on their next adventure at Longleat and New Forest Wildlife Park. Our Bugs & Beasties area will also be changing, with the animals currently living there moving to carefully considered new homes at the end of the month.

We know many of you have grown incredibly fond of these animals over the years, so we wanted to tell you a little more about why things are changing, give you the chance to say goodbye, and share a glimpse of where we're heading next.

Children crouch beneath a green canopy while gently petting wallabies, including a white joey, in a grassy enclosure.

Smiling girl sitting beside wallabies at Tapnell Farm Park

Ten years of wallaby memories

Our wallabies have been part of Tapnell Farm Park almost from the very beginning.

They arrived with us in 2016, when they needed a new home following the closure of Seaview Wildlife Encounter. Tapnell became their home and, over the decade since, they've become some of the most recognisable and much-loved residents of the Farm Park.

From daily feeds and keeper talks to countless family photographs, they've helped create an awful lot of happy memories here!

So, before anything else, we want to say a huge thank you to our wallabies for ten brilliant years at Tapnell.

We'll certainly be sad to see them go, but we're also really happy about what comes next for them.

On Wednesday 16 September, they'll leave Tapnell for fantastic new homes at Longleat and New Forest Wildlife Park, where they'll join new groups and continue to be very well cared for.

If you'd like to see them before they go, their daily wallaby feeds will continue up to and including Tuesday 15 September.

And we'd love to see your memories too. If you've visited the wallabies over the past ten years, dig out your favourite photos and share them with us on social media. We'd love to look back at their time at Tapnell with you.

So, why are things changing?

Over the years, our Farm Park has grown and evolved in lots of different directions.

As we look towards its next chapter, we've spent a lot of time thinking about what makes Tapnell different – and what we want a day at the Farm Park to mean for families in the future.

The answer was actually right under our feet.

A brown and white calf standing beside its mother in a straw-covered cattle shed.

A dark brown ewe stands behind her white lamb in a green field at a farm park.

Four pale pink pigs gathered around a metal feeding trough in a grassy farm paddock.

We're a real working British farm.

Farming and the countryside are at the heart of Tapnell, and we want that to sit much more confidently at the heart of the Farm Park too.

That means increasingly championing the wonderfully varied animals of British farming, creating more opportunities for visitors to interact with the animals and helping children discover more about where their food comes from, what happens on a working farm and the wildlife and nature that help our countryside thrive.

More interactive. More educational. And, most importantly, more Tapnell.

A patterned snake resting on a wooden ledge inside a log-filled enclosure.

What about Bugs & Beasties?

Our Bugs & Beasties area will be evolving as part of the same journey.

At the end of September, the animals currently living there will leave Tapnell for new homes that have been carefully considered by our experienced keeper team.

They've played their own important part in the Farm Park over the years, introducing visitors to a wonderfully varied collection of creatures and sparking plenty of curiosity along the way. So we'd like to say a big thank you to them too as they prepare for their next adventures.

The area itself will then begin an exciting transformation into a new educational and interactive experience, connecting more closely with the wildlife, nature and ecology found on and around a working British farm.

We're deliberately not giving too much away just yet. Plans are developing and we want to give them the time and thought they deserve before revealing exactly what's coming.

But we're excited about the possibilities – and we'll be taking you behind the scenes as things begin to change.

Cows grazing in a green field at sunset beneath a warm, cloudy sky.

Forage harvester and tractor collecting chopped crop in a field at Tapnell Farm

Looking towards 2027

The changes this September are just the beginning.

Over the autumn and winter, we'll be busy behind the scenes as we start bringing the next chapter of our Farm Park to life.

There will be changes to our animal areas, new ways to learn and get involved, and an even greater connection between the Farm Park and the real working farm around it. Our paddocks will also get time to rest and recover over winter - an important part of looking after the land and preparing it for another farming year.

And don't worry, having a brilliant day out will remain just as important.

Animals, play, learning and time together

Animals, play, learning and time together will continue to be at the heart of a day at Tapnell Farm Park - with plenty to discover both indoors and out, whatever the weather.

We'll have lots more to share about what's coming over the months ahead, and we'll take you along for the journey as plans become reality.

For now, though, it's time to celebrate some very special residents who have helped make Tapnell Farm Park what it is today.

Thank you to our wonderful wallabies for ten brilliant years at Tapnell, and to all the weird and wonderful residents of Bugs & Beasties who have been part of our story too.

We'll miss them, but we're excited for their next adventures - and for ours.

We hope you'll join us in wishing them all the very best as they head to their new homes.