MAKING a living as a farmer is hard these days – but for many landowners the prospect of parting with animals is even harder. So when Phillip Palmer was forced to diversify from managing the family dairy herd near Poole in Dorset, he turned his spread into an extremely popular visitor attraction.

Farmer Palmer's Farm Park was founded in 1998 and is now an award-winning family attraction which is ideally suited to children aged eight and under. The attraction is neat in size, set in seven acres where little legs don't have to go too far to have fun, and it has extensive undercover facilities making it the ideal all-weather choice. There's a total focus on children aged eight years and under, specialising in toddler and baby facilities.

Friendly staff aim to exceed customers' expectations of a farm park and there's a kitchen that prepares and cooks its own meals and bakes its own cakes for its 100-seater restaurant.

But the clever part of it all is that the youngsters still feel they are part of a real farm where they can meet the animals and have some safe and exciting fun in some very unusual settings.

In the Milking Demonstration Theatre, a real cow is milked every day, while on Straw Mountain there are slides and tunnels set in straw bales, and all undercover. The Indoor Soft Playzone and Birthday Party Rooms are arranged to suit all kinds of celebrations, while a barn is full of pedal tractors, a bouncy castle, ball pits and picnic tables.

The Animal Barn has a busy timetable of hands-on animal events every half-hour. Ponies, pigs, goats, sheep and lambs, guinea pigs, rabbit, cows and calves are the stars of the shows.

Maybe there's time to visit the Sand Play Area with slides, swings and water feature or make yourself at home in one of the Wendy Houses. Farmer Palmer has even built his own giant Cow Bouncy Castle – that's for children, of course, not the animals!

Older children aren't forgotten, either. They have their own pedal go-kart track where even mum and dad can have a go.

Visit the animals in their outside pens or take some food along to the birds on the duckpond. Then there is the Woodland Walk adjacent to the river or take a tractor trailer ride, an exciting bumpy experience that lasts 10 minutes. Then round everything off with a tasty, home-cooked treat in the restaurant, which has highchairs and all facilities for mums with babies. Breastfeeding mothers are welcome.

This is a family-run business headed by brother and sister team Phillip and Sandra Palmer which has more than 95,000 visitors a year and more than 3,000 season-ticket holders who visit regularly. The tourist attraction hosts more than 450 birthday parties and more than 150 large groups per annum.

Farmer Palmer's Farm Park employs 14 full-time and 40 part-time staff and its annual turnover is £750,000. Visitor numbers have grown on average five per cent each year thanks to its mission to provide a clean, safe and enjoyable environment for children to play and learn in, and where parents can relax.

Farmer Palmer's Farm Park is on Wareham Road, Organford, near Poole, Dorset BH16 6EU. Call 01202 622022 or visit www.farmerpalmers.co.uk for more information.