THE Dorset Heavy Horse Farm Park is finally able to welcome back visitors this weekend after struggling during lockdown.

The popular Dorset award winning visitor attraction, near Verwood in east Dorset, has been struggling with no income due to Covid-19 restrictions and being closed for four months.

The farm park has had on its shoulders the burden of having to supply over a ton of hard feed plus hundreds of pounds in hay, straw, vets and farrier fees to 20 Heavy Horses, and a menagerie of farm animals including alpacas iron age pigs, donkeys and chickens.

Owner and director Elaine Street said: “It has been a very challenging and worrying time over the past few months said.

“The ethos of what we offer visitors is a totally unique hands on and engaging experience through our daily timetable.

“At first it was proving near on impossible to find a way to redesign our educational daily shows and farm tours, wagon and tractor rides, but with much hard work and thought we have achieved this.”

The Dorset Heavy Horse Farm Park will be re-opening on Saturday, August 1 at 10am.

With greatly restricted visitor numbers, the attraction has been awarded a Visit England "Good to Go" industry standard.

This demonstrates that the park is adhering to respective Government and public health guidance, have carried out Covid-19 risk assessments and have safety measures in place.

Elaine added: “We are far from "out of the woods " so to speak, and it has been really challenging trying to find a way to reopen our Farm Park with the social distancing in place, as it is completely the opposite to what we usually offer our visitors, we encourage total "hands-on" with the Heavy horses and farm animals."

To control visitor numbers, pre booking will be required through the farm park’s website: dorset-heavy-horse-centre.co.uk