When Play@ Lower Drayton Farm opened its doors in August 2020 it had four staff – now it employs a team of 67 and has been named Staffordshire’s Small Visitor Attraction of the Year.

A family-run beef and arable farm near Penkridge, Lower Drayton has been welcoming the public for nearly 20 years. The Brexit vote and the prospect of losing EU grants reinforced the need to diversify further – becoming a tourist attraction was the solution.

Play@ Lower Drayton Farm has enabled Managing Director Richard Bower to quadruple the farm’s turnover, create dozens of jobs and safeguard a business that has been owned by his family for generations.

He said: “I’m proud to be born and bred in Staffordshire, to have been educated here, to run a business here and to hopefully give back to our employees and visitors.

“I feel very lucky to be able to continue the good work of previous generations that have gone before me on the farm. Without them we wouldn’t be where we are now.”

Play@ has been recognised with several awards – it was named Best New Tourist Attraction of the Year in the 2022 Enjoy Staffordshire Food & Tourism Awards, Best Small Visitor Attraction of the Year in the 2023 Enjoy Staffordshire Food & Tourism Awards and was shortlisted in the School Travel Awards 2023.

A key focus within the business is looking after returning visitors. The introduction of memberships in August 2022 allowed attracted even more loyal customers, with more than 700 current members.

There has been significant ongoing investment in the attraction, with visitor feedback driving many of the improvements. Examples include the installation of a new grass toboggan run to the outdoor play area within the first 12 months and an additional, undercover bouncy pillow installed in summer 2023. 2023 also saw significant investment in the Dino Discovery Maize Maze with the addition of life-size animatronic dinosaurs.

The biggest investment to date was the Christmas event for 2023 – Jingle Ville. More than £250,000 was invested in converting a barn into a magical winter village complete with a set built by professional designers and a purpose-built cinema barn which will be used for events throughout the year. It proved a huge success with visitor numbers exceeding the target for year one.

Richard Bower has entered the Entrepreneur of the Year category of the Staffordshire University Business Awards and has entered Play@ Lower Drayton Farm into the Small Business of the Year and Innovation categories.