Causey Farm

I was here for Farmaphobia — which runs for about two weeks around Halloween. The farm is repurposed to be a scare fest and they do an amazing job.
This year there were four ‘experiences’. They make great use of the dark and suggestion and, well, people jumping out and scaring you.
In practical terms crowd control is really good. They not only control the amount of tickets for a night, but also stagger your entry to each event so that there’s never really any crowd related danger … And so the people in front of you being scared doesn’t spoil the surprise/​fright for you.
You can tell the scarers get really into it and they make a great effort to get a response. I recommend going with your jumpiest friends as that’s the most fun. Three of the events were inside but they also have the ‘field of screams’ which uses the farm element of a huge cornfield to make a maze (a maze of maize if you will) and you will hear screaming all around you.
It might make a good date — at least you’d know a lot about the person by the end of it — like if they push you into a ghoul to get away themselves you’re probably not going to be bother with another date!
The organisers are very good at keeping groups together and if you are really lost or stuck in a corner unable to find the way out in the dark, the scary ghosts will help you. But they love a screamer and will get the maximum response they can out of people. They even have a few scarers wandering the queues to keep you entertained/​frightened while you wait. They’re so good at it that I began to wonder if our groups biggest screamer had been marked as they all seemed to know!
A great fun evening of entertainment!

I don’t think I can say enough good things about this place! I visited as part of a group for a Hen party & I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun.
We baked bread, which sounds a bit old fashioned but using the Bride as our instructor, the guide made it all so fun (and in fact it culminated in a food fight). We then took our left over raw dough to feed the piglets, then we held lambs, milked a cow & fed a goat. When the tour guide asked if we would like to see the bride catching a cock you can imagine the reaction of the group, but watching the bride chase a rooster around a chicken enclosure was probably the funniest thing I had seen in years (until the bog race, but we’ll get to that).
After this we went into a barn hosue where we were told to paint the bride’s life story on a wall and then the bride had to tell her story to ensure that everyone in the room knew every gorey detail of her life… Which we of course found hillarious! Then we went into another farm house which was a beautiful room that had a fire lighting & some bodhrans in it, but we didn’t have a drum circle (although I do believe that’s an alternative option). We did a ceilí! Which lead to many giggles.
With spirits high we went to the bog, which was a short hay ride away (us singing songs along the route too), where the guide told us we were to be split into 2 groups & race around a tree in the centre of the bog; one team carrying the bride & one team carrying another member of the party. It was dirty, messy, disgusting and probably the funniest thing I have ever ever done as part of a group!
After all that it was a lift back to the farm & in for tea & scones. Amazing!
Ok the pros of the day were:
1. our guide. He accomodated us with everything we wanted to do from feeding the piglets to trying to re-​arrange our tea break when we all got hungry in the middle of the day. He sang all our songs with us, joined us for tea and felt like part of the group rather than someone who was just showing us around. A nice touch on the part of the farm I feel.
2. Everything I have listed above! Just everything. It was all brilliant.
3. The tea & scones (which I believe were home made) & the jam that came with them was the best I’ve ever had! (Or maybe we were just starving by then.
Con’s of the day:
1. We were very hungry by the end of the day (this was more our fault than the farms, after a night of drinking a long day of activities is probably not wise on an empty stomach).
2. The bog was very messy & although you know to expect it it’s very difficult to plan for. My suggestion is to bring a change of clothes & shoes! We were warned by the person organising to wear wellies but when you get to the bog you cannot wear the wellies going in so that was pointless! Tea would have been much more enjoyable without the mucky/​wet feet!