MY daughter tossed a handful of food pellets into the water and it became a boiling, threshing mass of giant trout. "Stick your hand in there and they'll strip it down to the bone in seconds," I joked, presuming no one had slipped a few piranha in there as well.

We were visiting Kilnsey Park Trout Farm, situated in beautiful Wharfedale, just a short distance from a famous overhanging cliff known as Kilnsey Crag.

This is a working fish farm, producing up to 150,000 giant and rainbow trout a year, using crystal clear water from Sykes Beck Spring in the hillside above. The water feeds a series of raceways where the trout mature and several fishing lakes, as well as driving a hydro-electric power plant to supply all the park's electricity needs.

The park offers under-12s a chance to try their hand at trout fishing, with all tackle supplied.

My daughter was more interested in feeding the fish than catching them, and also in visiting a freshwater aquarium where you can get up close and personal with native fish such as roach, bream - and of course trout.

Another big attraction for her was Chestnut the red squirrel. The park has a thriving colony of these cute creatures; sadly they have to remain in enclosures to protect them from those confounded, competitive greys.

There was also a pair of pygmy goats called Bonnie and Clyde, and a fairly good adventure playground, and in the summer you could walk through a protected wild flower meadow, which contains rare orchids and more than 150 different species of wild flowers and grasses.

We rounded off our visit to the park's shop, where the produce on offer included smoked trout, trout fillets and even trout pate.

Fact file:

Kilnsey Park. Take A59 via Harrogate and then B6160. Park between Grassington and Kettlewell.

Admission: adults: £3.50, children/concessions £2.50, family £10.

Open daily, 9am to 5.30pm.

Information: 01756 752150, or visit www.kilnseypark.co.uk

Updated: 16:08 Friday, May 20, 2005