Families with critically ill children to get a much-needed boost thanks to help from a Staffordshire farm park
Added by Love Business East Midlands | 1 May 2025
Staffordshire farm park pledges support for the UK’s first holiday village offering critically ill children and their families a magical free holiday to recuperate and reconnect in the Staffordshire countryside.
The National Forest Adventure Farm, in Burton on Trent, is hoping to raise thousands of pounds through charity events this year for the new holiday park called Kids’ Village.
Kids’ Village, which is looking to raise £5 million, has planning permission for 10 4-bedroom holiday lodges to offer families a place to reconnect, make memories and relax away from the stresses of life with a critical illness.
Tom Robinson, who owns the National Forest Adventure Farm with his brother Ivor, said when they heard about the Kids’ Village mission they wanted to do what they could to help.
He said:
“When we set out to create the National Forest Adventure Farm our aim was bringing families together through fun activities in the great outdoors. Kids’ Village very much shares our ethos and when we were looking to choose a charity partner we couldn’t wait to help. Kids’ Village is an ambitious and heart-warming project offering families, facing the most difficult of times, the chance to enjoy fun and special moments in the countryside.
We are honoured to be able to support their fundraising and will be holding a variety of charity events and fundraising activities at the farm to help raise as much money as possible as well as increase awareness of the project locally.”
Kids’ Village has been designed with child-like imagination to create magical opportunities for families of children and young people up to the age of 18 with a critical illness. It is inspired by the Fletcher family and their experience of having daughter Sammie, who is now 29 and the Founder of Kids’ Village, diagnosed with cancer at age 9. As a family they went to America for a respite holiday and wanted to bring something like it back to the UK. In 2023 they had their planning application approved after being donated a piece of land in Wychnor, not far from Burton and Lichfield, by a local farmer.
Work started in December with Kids’ Village due to open in the summer of 2027 when it will support around 4000 families every year.
Katrina Cooke, Chief Executive at Kids’ Village, said:
"We’re thrilled to have been selected as the National Forest Adventure Farm’s charity partner for 2025. The farm park has a fantastic track record of supporting local causes, and we are delighted to have been selected for 2025. As two local organisations dedicated to creating joyful, magical experiences for families, it feels like the perfect partnership."
Last year, the National Forest Adventure Farm raised £7,000 for homeless charity Burton YMCA and broke through its £20,000 target in its 20th year.
This year the team are hoping to exceed that target with events including the annual Moonlight Maze event as well as staff setting up a charity team to organise fundraising ativities from sponsored sports events to entertainment nights.
The National Forest Adventure Farm is a family attraction based just outside Burton on Trent on farmland owned by the Robinson family. In 2004 brothers Ivor and Tom started to diversify the farm with the first ever maize maze on the site. They then launched the National Forest Adventure Farm in 2011 after converting agricultural barns to create Scarecrow Joe’s Restaurant, soft play area and animal barns. The attraction was born from a vision by the brothers of providing a fun safe environment in which families can explore and spend time together in the countryside.
Today the farm park contains 40 acres of open space including an animal barn with goats, chickens, pigs, horses, cows, rabbits and guinea pigs, pedal Go-Karts, frisbee golf, Jurassic Canyon sand and fossil dig, tractor rides, JCB Big Dig Zone, giant jumping pillows and its latest addition – the UK’s longest mega slide providing 200ft of outdoor fun.
For more information on upcoming events visit www.adventurefarm.co.uk
