St Ann’s with kids: farm animals, books and play
St Ann’s has two useful anchors for a family day: Stonebridge City Farm’s animals and gardens, and the books and children’s sessions at St Ann’s Valley Library. An ordinary farm visit can be informal and unhurried, while the library offers different reasons to return, from baby-and-toddler songs to LEGO, stories and movement. The best plan depends on your child’s age and whether you want outdoor exploring or a shorter indoor activity. Keep the farm’s visitor areas and the library’s term-time sessions in mind when choosing when to go.
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Start with the farm
Stonebridge City Farm is free to enter, with donations welcome. Animals, gardens and green spaces give families several ways to spend time together without booking an ordinary visit. The barn opens at noon, so a morning arrival is not the same as having every animal area available immediately.
Picnics are welcome at the benches, but not around the paddocks or in the barn. There is a small car park which can fill quickly. Buses 24, 25, 26 and 27 stop nearby at St Chad’s Road or Handel Street; the owner also lists the 39 at Roden Street.
- Stonebridge City Farm
Meet farm animals and explore gardens in a free community space in St Ann’s.
Find the right library session
St Ann’s Valley Library sits in the Valley Centre on Livingstone Road. Its automatic entrance and ground-floor layout are useful practical details for a visit with little ones. Browsing together can be a complete outing, or you can choose one of the branch’s advertised programmes.
Totstime is designed around babies and toddlers, with stories, songs and instruments. LEGO Club offers children individual and shared building projects. For ages three to seven, Storytime with Craft combines tales with making and colouring. That story session is term-time only: check before planning a school-holiday visit.
- St Ann’s Valley Library
A ground-floor library with books, children’s sessions and space to read.
- Totstime at St Ann’s Valley Library
Songs, stories, instruments and puppets for babies and toddlers.
- LEGO Club at St Ann’s Valley Library
Build your own LEGO project or work together on a group creation.
- Storytime with Craft at St Ann’s Valley Library
Stories, themed crafts and colouring for children aged three to seven.
Move, make and return
Mini Movers gives children aged zero to four an opportunity to dance, move and play. It is delivered by the Renewal Trust and Boogie Beat Music and Movement at the library on term-time Fridays, with no booking needed.
Stonebridge’s Family Connections programme offers free informal family activities throughout the year, involving animals and gardens. These are not a promise of a session on any particular day: use the farm’s current events information or contact the farm before travelling specifically for an organised activity.
- Mini Movers at St Ann’s Valley Library
Music, movement and play for little ones aged zero to four.
- Family Connections at Stonebridge City Farm
Explore farm life, animals and gardens through informal family activities.
Plan around the real date
Special activities can add a different dimension to a local visit. The current listings include a half-term recycled-materials craft session at the library and a Bridge Builders farm walk for parents from St Ann’s and Sneinton with their children.
For a booked event, read the eligibility and sales deadline as well as the start time. For the ordinary farm visit, check current opening hours, remember that the barn opens later, and notify the farm if you are bringing a group of more than ten. For library programmes, keep term-time limits separate from special holiday events.
- Reuse and Recycle Crafts at St Ann’s Valley Library
Make something imaginative with leftover craft materials this half term.
- Walk, Talk & Brew at Stonebridge City Farm
Meet other local parents while children spend time with the farm animals.
