A Family Outing to Cream o’Galloway

Cream o’Galloway organic ice-cream, frozen yogurt and frozen smoothies are found in retail outlets throughout the United Kingdom. If you have enjoyed their products, why not visit them and see how the products are made? The Cream o’Galloway Dairy Company, which is situated on Rainton Farm in Gatehouse of Fleet, Scotland, is open to visitors from 10 am daily from 15 March to 2 November 2008 – and they have plenty of activities to keep the whole family entertained, whatever the weather.

This award-winning tourist attraction invites visitors to tour the farm for a look behind the scenes. During the tour, which includes a guided walk around the farm, the milking parlor and other notable areas, visitors will hear about the farm’s history, the conversion to organic farming and daily farm activities. The farm tour is timed to include the dairy herd arriving for afternoon milking, and ends off with a free scoop of delicious ice-cream, frozen yogurt or frozen smoothie.

On the Cream o’Galloway nature trails, visitors can expect to see foxes, roe deer, colorful dragonflies and butterflies, toads and frogs, as well as close to 60 species of birds as they follow the trails that wind past two wildlife lochans and a wildlife hide, as well as young and ancient woodland. To add an element of excitement and education to the excursion, there are a number of nature trail puzzles for children to complete during their walk.

With global warming and carbon footprints being prominent issues, Cream o’Galloway are fully committed to conserving the environment. To this end they have planted 40,000 broadleaf trees and source most of their power from the Gatehouse of Fleet’s community owned turbine. Solar power provides approximately 50 percent of water heating for the farm’s households and recycling of waste is a top priority.

A fenced-in area around a section of the newly planted woodland allows dogs to safely run free, while their owners enjoy a walk through the young crab-apple, ash and oak trees which are the habitat of many interesting birds and insects. Picnic benches in the “walk the dog” area allow visitors to enjoy their lunch along with their four-footed friends.

Cycling tracks in three levels of difficulty are a popular activity, and cyclists can either bring their own bikes, or hire one of the many mountain bikes available at Cream o’Galloway. Beginners can enjoy the green route, while the red route provides experienced cyclists with some exciting challenges.

The adventure playground, which is split into four levels and open to both adults and children, includes a bouncy bridge, a zip-wire, balancing beams, monkey-bars, scramble nets, a 50-foot tower reached via climbing ropes and exited via a chute, hoops, nets, ladders, ropes, tunnels and more. If the weather is unfavorable, the indoor Smuggler’s Warren is the perfect place for children to have fun and for adult’s to re-live their childhood.

Of course a visit to Cream o’Galloway would not be complete without enjoying some ice-cream, and with 30 flavors to choose from, making a decision can be difficult. The Ice-Cream Experience allows visitors to sample a selection of Cream o’Galloway’s wares while hearing how the products are made, how the names of flavors are decided and a host of interesting facts, such as why the Cream o’Galloway peppermint choc chip isn’t green. Certainly a visit to Scotland’s Cream o’Galloway is the type of fun family outing that memories are made of.