JUST four months after Roves Farm was devastated by fire, it threw open its doors at the weekend to celebrate 20 years of being a visitor centre.

The family-run farm, near Sevenhampton, held a Family Fun Day on Saturday and attracted huge crowds of visitors who joined in the celebrations.

There was a variety of events for children and big kids too, including welly wanging, animal racing and tractor rides. All money raised on the day will be donated to Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Pippa Burr, whose father Rupert, 57, owns the farm, said she was delighted with the success of the day.

“The day has been great and the weather has been fantastic,” she said.

“The most popular events amongst the children have been soaking the members of staff in the stocks and sitting in the diggers.

“Our actual 20th anniversary was on May 20, but we always intended on celebrating this weekend even before the fire happened, because May is a busy month for us.”

Back in May, the barn originally used as a visitor centre was destroyed by fire which is thought to have been started by an electrical fault.

The tidy-up that followed included installing toilets and painting and redecorating another barn to be used as the main reception and focal area and making children’s play equipment from scratch.

Pippa said: “It has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but it was so nice to open and have people back here again. Our visitor numbers are now back to how we wanted them to be.

“We never thought for one minute that we wouldn’t be able to go ahead with the event – even on the evening of the fire, just hours after it had happened, Dad came up to the house and told us what he wanted to do for the new visitor centre. So today isn’t just about celebrating our 20th anniversary, it is also to celebrate what we have achieved over the last few months.”

Roves Farm boasts a devoted fanbase, tractor and trailer rides, nature walks, a willow maze, an adventure play area, an area for toddlers, huge expanses of wild flowers and woodland and other attractions, in addition to being a working farm.

For more information visit at rovesfarm.co.uk or call 01793 763939.