Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Best Farm Experiences in Norway
Left: Gulli Gård is a great place to bring kids and take part in the activities available on the farm. Photo: Pernille Nygård. Right: Lise the pig lives a good life on the farm, where she plays with the children who come to visit. Photo: Karine Heggholmen.
A farm full of fun About 20 kilometres south of Oslo, there is a family-run visitor farm full of animals and activities, where kids can ride tractors and ponies, enjoy animal cuddles and create memories for a lifetime. Gulli Gård truly is a place for the whole family. By Line Elise Svanevik
In addition to being a fully functioning grain production farm, Gulli Gård has a great reputation as a pet farm with high animal welfare. Here kids can enjoy the animals as well as farm life and the adults can sit back with a cup of coffee and some waffles. Situated in the Norwegian area of Ås, Akershus, the farm features a range of different animals.
she gathered sheep, goats, pigs, alpacas, horses, hens and rabbits, which are all now a central part of the farm. There are plenty of things for kids to take part in, including the animal club, which runs every spring and autumn for children aged seven to 12, and a camp during the summer. “When we host the
96 | Issue 88 | May 2016
Fossum’s family has been running the farm for over 100 years, but the history goes back much further; 4,000 years ago, the farm was used as a place for animals to graze. Animal welfare and good experiences are the key themes at the farm, and it is constantly being upgraded with help from the whole family. Gulli Gård opened for the season on 1 May 2016 and is open on 15 and 29 May, every Sunday in June, July and August and every other Sunday in September.
“I grew up on the farm and took over after my dad in 2010,” says Janne-Christine Fossum. “I run it together with my partner, Thomas, but I also have my mum and dad on the farm, in addition to my three sons.” Before Fossum took over, there were no animals on the farm for about 15 years. Keen to reintroduce animals to the farm,
animal club, we have groups of around ten kids come over, and they get to help with the evening care of the animals, such as bottle feeding the lambs,” Fossum explains.
Janne-Christine Fossum re-introduced animals to the farm when she took over in 2010. Photo: Janne-Christine Fossum.
For more information, please visit: www.gulligard.no or like them on Facebook for the latest information.