Jacksons at Jedburgh has provided a place for children, adults and families to fully immerse themselves in an agricultural setting by taking part in feeding animals, exploring the farm and meeting lambs and highland cows. The team makes sure that every visitor feels welcome and able to come onto site, with accessibility being a key factor motivating Jacksons at Jedburgh in all their work.
By always looking to the future and improving the site to accommodate visitor experiences and overall working conditions on the farm, Jacksons at Jedburgh have grown to become a top tourist destination in the area. The site offers a variety of different activities throughout each season, including four seasonal toddler sessions, the Lambing Experience in Spring, the Highland Cow Experience, Mini Farmers and special events for Hallowe’en. The Lamb Experience has received a lot of positive feedback, and whilst giving visitors a chance to get up close with farm animals, offers educational benefits too. Topics include teaching visitors about how farmers help orphan lambs to survive, daily animal husbandry and the differences between livestock on the farm. The business supports a friendly and welcoming staff environment which understands the pressures of the hospitality industry and celebrates the contributions made by the staff.
To be competitive in the region, Jacksons amended their opening hours so that they stayed open while other local businesses were closed, motivating tourists and locals to make the trip to the site. Jacksons truly values its staff, showing its respect not only through promotions, but also by offering incentives and opportunities, such as staff members creating their own experiences to add to the farm. By using the skills of the managers and holding regular meetings, updates to animal care, floor plans, facilities and accessibility improvements can be discussed and implemented smoothly, with work shared equally between the team and not shouldered by the owners alone.
Upon receiving customer feedback on the difficulties of finding the farm, Jacksons made several changes. The business overcame the issues of being in a rural area and the associated challenges such as invisible or overgrown signage by adding directions to the website and updating road signs.
Creating a circular walkway has drastically improved accessibility on the farm, enabling visitors to see Highland Cows grazing in their fields, but still retaining fences for visitors' safety. Since using the website to handle bookings, the team have been able to interpret the data to understand the most popular aspects of their business and find ways to improve these. While there have been many obstacles and difficulties since opening to the public, the team has always remained strong and committed, and ready to take on future challenges. The everyday arrival of excited visitors who are eager to get involved on the farm reminds the team that they are moving in the right direction.