Farm-a-Rama was a farming exhibition with a twist, which was added to Britannia Farm during its second season. The new attraction allowed aspiring farmers to learn all about the agriculture industry, complementing the area's existing attractions, where guests could get up-close and personal with farm animals and see real-life crops being cultivated.
The exhibition was opened in June 1990 by Ruth Archer from Radio 4's The Archers. This potentially makes Farm-a-Rama the final attraction developed under John Broome, but the first to open under Tussauds. And in what we believe to be the most unlikely brand partnership, Alton Towers teamed up with six farming industry bodies to sponsor the attraction:
- British Agrochemicals
- Flour Advisory Board
- British Wool Manufacturers Board
- The Fertiliser Manufacturers Association
- National Office for Animal Health
- Mushroom Growers Association
Each organisation was represented by an exhibit within Farm-a-Rama. For example, the Flour Advisory Board commissioned a veritable breadbasket of oversized bakery products, which guests could interact with. Most notably, you could walk through a giant hollowed-out loaf of bread, where all around you facts about flour would pop out of toasters, on slices of toast.
Meanwhile, British Agrochemicals took you into a fake field of corn, and the National Office for Animal Health introduced us to a Sheep Doctor - a medically trained ram, who was treating a sheep dog in his surgery. Within the exhibition you could meet a colourful cast of characters, such as Winifred Wheat, Brenda Barley and Percy Potato, or alternatively gaze through a giant magnifying glass at a monstrously-sized aphid.
The exhibition was designed to last three seasons, and three seasons was as long as it would last. Farm-a-Rama closed in 1992, no doubt when the contracts with the sponsors came to an end. The following year the area was transformed into Safeway Farm and for a while the exhibition centre was instead used as an education centre. However, the building soon fell out of use and would become a backstage area for nearly 20 years
But the story didn't end there... and in 2014 the former Farm-a-Rama exhibition space became home to Charlie and Lola in CBeebies Land. So these days, when you visit Jojo and Gran Gran at Home, just remember that once in the same spot you could have found yourself tunnelling through a giant loaf of bread!