Devon farm named one of Britain's top ten attractions in review ranking

Pennywell Farm near Buckfastleigh has been named the ninth best visitor attraction in the UK, according to new research analysing customer reviews.

The ranking, compiled by media agency One Day Agency, looked at Tripadvisor reviews for 472 attractions across the UK, weighing up both the percentage of five-star reviews and the total number of reviews received.

Pennywell scored 74.88 out of 100, with 86.08 per cent of its 4,232 reviews awarding the maximum five stars.

The farm, which sits about 12 miles from Torbay and a similar distance from Totnes, is home to more than 150 animals and offers a different hands-on activity every 30 minutes. It has become known for its miniature pigs and pig cuddling sessions, alongside activities such as bottle-feeding lambs and goat kids, and daily shows and displays.

Pennywell was opened by Christopher and Nicola Murray in 1989, after they developed the site from scratch with no existing buildings, power or water supply. It overlooks Dartmoor National Park.

Pennywell was one of two South West attractions to make the top 10, alongside Brunel's SS Great Britain in Bristol, which placed sixth.

The research also placed two specialist bird of prey centres in the top three overall, with Hampshire's Hawk Conservancy Trust Bird of Prey Centre taking first place, ahead of London's Up at The O2 in second and Turbary Woods Owl and Bird of Prey Sanctuary in third.

Alexandra Gonçalves, paid media manager at One Day Agency, said smaller, specialist attractions could have an advantage because the experience often felt more personal, with visitors spending more time speaking to knowledgeable staff and seeing the enthusiasm of the people running the venue.

The study required attractions to have at least 100 Tripadvisor reviews to qualify, with eight arenas and stadiums removed from the original dataset.