We discovered Folly Farm in Gloucestershire in about 1994 and visited at least a couple of times each year up until 2000. (The farm has now closed due to Tom Bartlett's retirement!) We even went at the end of  December once when we were just about the only visitors. The air was crisp and the ducks noisy,  but we had a great time. We also stayed on the farm campsite with friends one year, which was a bonus because it meant I could visit the ducklings before breakfast!

In February 2000, we were staying nearby for the weekend  so we called in for a visit. I talked to the farmer about our hen run, finding out whether I could put ducks in with the hens one day. When I said that I wanted to get ducks sometime in the future, he told me that the farm was up for auction (we had missed the sign on the way in) and was due to close in April of that year. Well, that was it, for years I had dreamed  of buying my first ducks from Folly Farm and so I had no choice. I bought them that day and we travelled back that evening with four ducks in a cardboard box!