The Ice Cream Farm

What The Ice Cream Farm does

The Ice Cream Farm is a family-owned visitor attraction located in Tattenhall, Cheshire, UK, with origins in a dairy farm founded by Tom and Margaret Fell in 1980. The ice cream business began in 1986 as a farm-gate parlour producing real dairy ice cream, and a £5m redevelopment completed in July 2015 transformed the site into a major family entertainment destination, securing a Guinness World Record for housing the world's largest ice cream shop with over 50 award-winning flavours. The attraction encompasses indoor and outdoor play areas, Europe's largest indoor sand and water play area (Honeycomb Canyon), multiple food and beverage outlets including Sticky Paws restaurant, Pizza Piazza, Pit Stop and The Parlour, the world's first ice cream drive-in, a retail shop (The Impulse Emporium), and a calendar of seasonal events.

The business operates as a single physical site plus a separate Drive In location, with online ticketing and event booking delivered through the third-party ROLLER platform. Revenue is generated across eight streams: entry tickets (from £1.50 per adult, £2 per child, infants under 12 months free), Play Pass attraction credits (4/10/20/30 plays, each nominally £4.50), food and beverage, ice cream retail (including Click & Collect take-home 1-litre tubs), annual family memberships (Single Scoop £30/4 people; Double Scoop £75/5 people), three tiers of birthday party packages (£12.50-£18.50 per child), seasonal events (Santa's Grotto, Easter, fireworks), and retail. Customer segments are families with children, including dedicated monthly SEN Sessions for children with special educational needs and local community groups within a 30-mile radius.

In 2019, the leisure side (The Ice Cream Farm) was separated from the manufacturing and wholesale side (Cheshire Farm Ice Cream, owned by Jonathan Fell's brother Graeme Fell) into two distinct legal entities, although the businesses continue to share an office. The company is privately held by the Fell family with Jonathan Fell as Owner and CEO, employs approximately 60 staff, and is headquartered at Newton Lane, Tattenhall, Cheshire, CH3 9NE. It holds B Corp certification, RoSPA Gold Award for indoor play safety, a Food Hygiene Rating of 5, and the NAS Autism Award (2025), and in 2017 became the most visited 'free to enter' rural attraction in the UK with over 830,000 visitors.

Name

The Ice Cream Farm

Legal name

The Ice Cream Farm Ltd

Website

https://theicecreamfarm.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Ice Cream Farm is a privately held family visitor attraction in Tattenhall, Cheshire, combining a Guinness World Record-holding ice cream parlour with indoor and outdoor play areas, multiple food outlets, and seasonal events, serving primarily UK families with children.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Family Visitor Attraction

NAICS

Amusement Parks and Arcades (7131)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Ice Cream & Gelato Shops (THAFAGAA)

Keywords

• Family visitor attraction
• Ice cream retail
• Children's play attractions
• Birthday party venue
• Family entertainment centre

Headquarters

HQ city

Tattenhall

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Entry Tickets: Admission fees for entry to the attraction including parking and unlimited play in Daisy's Garden. Tickets priced per person with infants under 12 months free.
2. Play Attractions: Revenue from individual attraction access at £4.50 per play or via Play Pass bulk purchases (4, 10, 20, or 30 plays at discounted rates).
3. Food & Beverage: Sales from multiple food outlets including The Parlour (ice cream), Sticky Paws restaurant, Pizza Piazza, Pit Stop, and The Coffee Barn.
4. Ice Cream Sales: Retail ice cream sales from the world's largest ice cream parlour with 50+ flavours, plus Click & Collect take-home tubs and The Ice Cream Drive In.
5. Annual Memberships: Single Scoop (£30 for up to 4 people) and Double Scoop (£75 for up to 5 people) annual family passes with unlimited entry and free Play Passes.
6. Birthday Parties: Three party packages: Ice Explorers (£18.50/child), The Loft Takeover (£18.50/child), and Party & Play (£12.50/child), with minimum guest requirements.
7. Events: Revenue from special events including escape rooms, character meet-and-greets, seasonal events (Easter, Christmas, fireworks), and Santa's Grotto.
8. Retail: The Impulse Emporium retail shop selling toys, books, confectionery, take-home ice cream tubs, and souvenirs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Ice Cream Farm operates a physical family visitor attraction in Tattenhall, Cheshire, combining indoor and outdoor play experiences with the world's largest ice cream shop featuring 50+ flavours of award-winning ice cream. Core revenue drivers include entry tickets, pay-as-you-go and bundled play attractions (Play Passes), ice cream and food and beverage sales across multiple outlets, annual family memberships, and birthday party packages. The site also includes the world's first ice cream drive-in and Europe's largest indoor sand and water play area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Ice Cream Drive In: World's first ice cream drive-in where visitors can drive in, park up and chill out. Adjacent to The Ice Cream Farm for customers who want just ice cream.
• Sticky Paws
• Cheshire Farm Ice Cream

Products and services

• The Ice Cream Farm Visitor Attraction Physical family visitor attraction in Tattenhall, Cheshire offering entry to indoor and outdoor play attractions, the world's largest ice cream shop, multiple food outlets, and a retail shop. Suitable for families with children of all ages.
• Cheshire Farm Ice Cream Parlour Retail ice cream parlour offering 50+ flavours of award-winning Cheshire Farm Ice Cream to walk-in visitors.
• The Ice Cream Drive In World's first ice cream drive-in located adjacent to The Ice Cream Farm. Customers drive in, park, and order via QR code for ice cream delivered by golf buggy. Free entry, ice cream only.
• Click & Collect Ice Cream

Quantifiable outcome

• 830,000+ annual visitors
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Deva FestminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 11 August 2023Partnership with family-friendly festival at Cholmondeley Castle. The Ice Cream Farm offered free tickets to the festival featuring music, entertainment, comedy, and camping.
• AmaSingminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 October 2022Charity partnership hosting inclusive music workshops for local schoolchildren. AmaSing supports mental health through the arts. The Ice Cream Farm hosted 56 children from 25 Cheshire schools for a song composition workshop.
• Pettypool CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWork placement partnership offering students valuable skills and real-life work experience in a supportive environment. The Ice Cream Farm is also fundraising towards a minibus for the college via tap-to-donate kiosks.
• Cheshire Farm Ice CreamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated family business owned by brother Graeme Fell that manufactures and wholesales ice cream. Despite splitting into separate companies in 2019, the businesses continue to work together from the same office location.
• Chester ZoocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSustainable Palm Oil Ambassador partnership with Chester Zoo. The Ice Cream Farm examines origins of all ingredients and products to ensure sustainable sourcing.
• Green Small BusinessminorOthersEnvironmental certification partnership with committed actions and targets for sustainability improvements.
• Local Suppliers (~80% of supply chain)coreOthersApproximately 80% of suppliers are local to Cheshire, supporting the local economy and reducing carbon footprint from transportation.
• AFC TattenhallminorGTM or Marketing PartnerJunior football team sponsorship supporting grassroots sport and encouraging children to stay active and part of a team.
• Tattenhall MarinaminorOthersLocated across the car park from Tattenhall Marina, allowing visitors to arrive by barge via the Shropshire Union Canal.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Alton Towers Resort: Alton Towers is the UK's largest theme park resort in Staffordshire, operated by Merlin Entertainments. It operates in the same UK family attraction category as The Ice Cream Farm but at a much larger scale with thrill rides, accommodation, and water park as a full destination experience.
• LEGOLAND Windsor: LEGOLAND Windsor is a UK theme park in Berkshire targeting families with children aged 2-12, operated by Merlin Entertainments. It overlaps directly with The Ice Cream Farm's core demographic but operates at significantly larger scale with branded IP-driven attractions and resort facilities.
• Dairy Queen: Dairy Queen is a global ice cream and fast-food chain with thousands of franchised locations. It is broadly comparable to The Ice Cream Farm on the ice cream product dimension but operates a fundamentally different asset-light franchise model versus The Ice Cream Farm's integrated attraction-and-ice-cream destination model.
• Center Parcs UK: Center Parcs operates UK family forest holiday villages with extensive indoor and outdoor activity programmes. While it is a short-break destination rather than a day-attraction, it competes for the same family leisure budget and discretionary UK family spend that The Ice Cream Farm targets.

Direct peers

• Odds Farm Park: Odds Farm Park is a working farm-based family attraction in Buckinghamshire offering animal experiences, indoor/outdoor play, and seasonal events. It is closely comparable to The Ice Cream Farm in combining farm heritage, family entertainment, and food/ice cream offerings.
• Avon Valley Adventure & Wildlife Park: Avon Valley is a family adventure park in Bristol combining animal experiences, indoor and outdoor play, and seasonal events. It is directly comparable to The Ice Cream Farm in mixing farm/animal elements with family entertainment venues.
• Paultons Park: Paultons Park is a UK family theme park in Hampshire, home to Peppa Pig World. It is one of the most-visited UK family attractions and directly comparable to The Ice Cream Farm in targeting families with young children with multi-attraction ticketing and F&B on-site.
• Drayton Manor: Drayton Manor is a UK family theme park in Staffordshire featuring rides, zoo, and Thomas Land. It competes directly with The Ice Cream Farm for the UK regional family-day-out segment with comparable ticket pricing and similar target demographic of families with young children.
• Farmer Ted's Adventure Farm: Farmer Ted's is a farm-based family attraction in Lancashire combining animal互动, indoor play barns, and outdoor adventure play. It directly competes with The Ice Cream Farm in the Northwest UK family day-out market with similar pricing and play-based positioning.
• Matlock Farm Park: Matlock Farm Park is a family farm attraction in Derbyshire featuring animals, play areas, and seasonal events. It shares The Ice Cream Farm's rural family-venue positioning, multi-attraction model, and similar customer demographic across the UK Midlands/North.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/IceCreamFarm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-ice-cream-farm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Ice Cream Farm