The founders of Longdown Activity Farm near Ashurst, Bryan and Dawn Pass, celebrate the attraction’s 40th anniversary with a party for past and present staff

THE founders of one of the New Forest’s top tourist attractions have celebrated 40 years of animal encounters and education with a party for past and present staff.

Bryan Pass and his wife Dawn have run Longdown Activity Farm in Deerleap Lane, Ashurst, for the last four decades, overseeing its transformation to a leading hands-on farm experience.

Originally home to a 150 Friesian dairy herd, the site diversified to become a children’s education centre in 1983 which Bryan and Dawn named Longdown Dairy Farm.

In subsequent years the business grew with the introduction of many other animals including goats, cows, pigs, donkeys, rabbits, and poultry, along with a change of name to become Longdown Activity Farm.

Providing hands-on experiences in a safe environment has always been a key objective, with Bryan and Dawn working alongside their daughter Kerry and granddaughter Charley to offer educational visits, farms days for young people , volunteer training schemes and mobile farm visits.

Bryan and Dawn’s contribution to community life was recognised during the pandemic when friends, visitors and locals donated £48,000 through an online funding page to keep the business afloat.

Their journey through the pandemic has recently been featured in a book written by Bryan, The Longdown Lockdown.

No strangers to diversifying, in recent years Bryan and Dawn introduced a farm shop to support local producers as well as selling a range of children’s books and installing facilities for those with assisted needs.

With lots of plans for the future, Bryan, Dawn, Kerry and Charley say they intend to keep their pledge to educate about farming and animals in a hands-on and safe environment, to offer fun and play, and above all, to make it accessible to everyone.