LITTLE lambs brought big smiles to the faces of families visiting Roves Farm on Saturday as they were able to get up close to the animals just days after being born.

With lambing season well underway at the Sevenhampton farm, visitors this month could have the chance of seeing one be born before their own eyes as well as taking part in other farm activities such as feeding the animals in the Pets Corner to hopping on a tractor for a ride and blowing off steam in the play area.

Pippa Bolter, 28 a sheep farmer at Roves Farm said lambing season always attracts crowds especially families wanting to come and have a cuddle with one of the adorable animals.

“When a ewe is about to give birth, we try to let people visiting know so we can do demonstrations for people to see,” she said.

“We try to explain the whole process as it happens because 10 minutes after being born, the lambs will start to walk around and so it is nice for the children to see how quickly it all unfolds.

“The lambs are quite inquisitive so they don’t mind the children coming in to see them. They are laid back and happy so when the visitors come in they might be apprehensive at first but they soon go over for a cuddle.

“We get lots of children here who have never seen farm animals before and so it is really special when they are able to go down to the pen and sit and enjoy the company of the lambs and they just light up.”

The Poll Dorset flock, characterised by their very woolly heads and big pink noses, breed two months earlier than others on the farm with staff expecting around 130 lambs to be born this January which doubles when lambing season starts again in March/ April.

Due to the cold weather, January’s lambs will be kept indoors until the end of February where they then will be allowed to skip about the fields next to the visitor centre.

Many parents visiting the farm with their children were first timers and made the trip especially to see the newborn lambs.

Crystalee Hawker, 21 made the trip from Bristol with her son Jayden, five who said he was really excited to see them.

She said: “We thought it would be good day out and I love doing stuff like this where you see things you wouldn’t normally and it is a great things for the kids too.”

Kaycee Wickham, from Portsmouth, brought along her eleventh month old baby Elliot after googling things to do in Swindon.

She said: “It is lovely to do something with children and we didn’t know it was here. We looked online for things to do when visiting and this place popped up so we thought we’d come along and it is great to see all of the lambs.”