Totnes Rare Breeds Farm is a family owned attraction, which relies on the work of volunteers and the great support of its customers. It aims to preserve endangered species of farm animals and the diversity of British wildlife.
It is also a fantastic day out! Totnes Rare Breeds may be small, but it is the perfect size to provide a friendly and personal service for all ages.
Tucked away behind Totnes in the rolling Devon countryside, once you find the Rare Breeds Farm you won’t want to leave.
Accessiblity
Run by enthusiasts, both the South Devon Railway and the Rare Breeds Farm draw you in because of the dedication of the staff and volunteers. Together they make for a very enjoyable day out. At Buckfastleigh station, staff will happily get out the ramp for wheelchair and small powered scooter users to board the steam train. There’s some commentary on the thirty-minute journey which takes you along the beautiful valley of the river Dart, passing fields of cows and even a bank of pixies! Assistance dogs can ride on the trains (£1 per dog). Once at Totnes Riverside station, it’s about one hundred yards along the platform and over the track to the Rare Breeds Farm. The welcome at the farm is instant and children are encouraged to feed, pet and observe many animals including owls, rescued hedgehogs, seaweed-eating sheep, chickens and goats. Visitors can go into some of the enclosures too. This is not a massive site, and the paths are level and surfaced with solid stone chippings. Knowledgeable staff will happily give blind and visually impaired visitors more information about the animals. The pens have wide entry gates to accommodate wheelchairs and pushchairs: assistance dogs can’t enter the pens but can remain in the Garden Café area.
Back at Buckfastleigh station there’s a miniature railway, an accessible railway museum and a shop selling gifts and kit for model train enthusiasts. The farm has no car park, but there’s disabled parking at the station. You can visit the Rare Breeds Farm directly, but you’ll have to pay to park at Totnes train station then walk over five hundred yards along a tarmac cycle path to reach the site. There’s an accessible toilet in the Buckfastleigh station restaurant and another at Totnes Riverside station. There are no toilets at the farm, so use the one at the station when you arrive or you’ll have a two-hundred-yard trip there and back.
The farm and cafe have been designed so that no one feels at a disadvantage. Having a great time should not be affected by (dis)ability. Therefore the whole site is wheelchair and buggy friendly with firm, flat paths. The pens have wide entry gates and the animals can be viewed from all levels.
Unfortunately no dogs can be admitted into the farm because of the animals, but can be left in the Garden Café area. Our friendly volunteers will be happy to help and guide visitors with visual impairments, or indeed anyone with particular needs.
Totnes Rare Breeds provides a very sensory day out - come to hear, smell and especially touch as well as to see. Everyone can get involved in this super-tactile experience.
Where a carer is necessary for someone to visit the carer is admitted without charge.
Disabled facilities are located with our other toilets on the steam railway platform.
