In a sleepy Somerset village just outside Minehead and Dunster lies a quaint cottage. That cottage is home to Nicolas Grant-St James and his family.
It's also home to 27 golden retrievers. Welcome to the Golden Retriever Experience - the blown-up-on-TikTok family-run attraction just outside of Bristol that I think everyone should go to at least once in their lives.
Run by Nicolas and his daughter, Lauren, they bought their first goldie, Bella, in 2006 - in 2008, they decided to have their first litter of puppies, became accredited breeders through The Kennel Club, and so the pack grew. I purchased tickets to the experience for my boyfriend's birthday after seeing an Instagram Reel (how Gen Z of me) on the now hugely popular, yet somewhat of a hush hush phenomenon - and I don't regret doing so.
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Nicolas Grant-St James is a dog whisperer. His 27 golden retrievers are highly trained and endlessly affectionate, and as a breed known for their loyal nature and boundless cuddles, the family were encouraged to open their 'Disneyland for Dogs' to the public.
It was in the throes of lockdown that The Golden Retriever Experience went viral. With videos of ticket holders cuddling a sea of dogs on TikTok and Instagram, I, too, was all too ready to throw my money at the attraction.
I booked tickets for my boyfriend for his birthday as a surprise, knowing he misses his late dog, who, too, was a golden retriever. As the proud renters of a box flat in Bristol, dog ownership is a very far distant pipe dream for us, but we adore them, so neither of us could wait to visit.
However, the cost of £65 per person for a two-hour session felt a little steep - and there's no way I'd have justified the cost had it not been for a special birthday, and had I not saved up to visit. What I will say is that, for a once in a lifetime opportunity to be cuddled by 27 dogs, I don't regret spending the money one bit.
Students, military personnel and NHS staff and seniors can access a discount at £55 a ticket. Tickets for children aged two-12 are £35 per person, and infants under the age of two visit for free.
We stayed in Minehead for the night to make the most of our Somerset getaway, to see the sea and get out of Bristol city centre. On arrival to the family home in a quaint village nearby (the address is hidden until you get your tickets, for the security of the VIP pups) I didn't know what to expect.
A rather lived-in cottage and paving slab and grassed-over yard made me feel like I was invading in family life. However, the staff, all young women who live locally and quite clearly adore their jobs, welcomed us to the cottage with ease.
You join your two-hour session with other members of the public, as it is a group experience and the dogs are very used to entertaining a few people at a time. At first, wandering into the yard and standing as a group, probably all anxiously wondering how on earth we're going to fill the next two hours with small talk, I was concerned the experience would be tainted by my own inability to be social enough for this extroverted animal experience with strangers.
Yet as soon as the staff opened the gate for the golden retrievers, who were hidden away in their training area patiently waiting the arrival of another audience, they bounded over with careless abandon and snuggled up next to each of us. Then ensued an hour of cuddles, tummy rubs, and getting to know the pack.
We all bonded over the unique personalities of each of the goldies, as many of them literally lay down in our laps to be cuddled. With names like Narnia, Hermes, Flash and Pixie, these dogs put us under a spell for two hours - and I've realised exactly why therapy dogs are essential.
One of the mums, Penelope, decided to come and cuddle me and spend an hour smiling. She is the proud mum of four new puppies at The Golden Retriever Experience, who were all putting up enough of an hilarious performance for strangers to bond over two hours.
After an hour of cuddles and bonding, where we found out all about the 27-strong pack and their quirks, the dogs were let back into their training area for a short break. We were then directed through to a field that Nicolas and his family own, and the dogs came bounding through again.
For the last hour of our experience, we played a giant game of catch with multiple balls and 27 dogs. Everyone attending had multiple chances to throw the ball, and seeing nearly 30 dogs running around a field, jumping to catch as many balls as possible, makes your heart sing.
When it was time to go, at risk of sounding dramatic, I was genuinely sad to leave. An afternoon at The Golden Retriever Experience is genuinely like relieving that boundless joy of childhood - the concerns of adult life melt away for a little while.
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