MARCH 2023
Last summer, we spent a few days camping at Cotswold Farm Park. We thought this would be a fun way to incorporate a few kid friendly activities into our travel schedule. This was the first time we were staying at a large campsite with entertainment, so of course we have opinions… We did not dislike everything about our stay, but we did encounter some issues. In this blogpost you will discover everything we did like about Cotswold Farm Park, but also what we didn’t like…
Practical information
Cotswold Farm Park is owned by Adam Henson, a famous British farmer, author and television presenter. Adam is set on educating kids on animals and farmlife and preserving special farm animals on his farm park. So basically, it is an educational zoo with farm animals. You can buy a day pass for the park, or you can decide to stay in one of the accommodations, which includes free entrance to the park. A day ticket to the farm park costs 17,50 pounds for adults and 12,50 for children 2 years and up.
Cotswold Farm Park
The farm park is large and you will find all sorts of animals scattered over the grounds. Some of them can be visited in stables, while some of them live outside during the day. Cotswold Farm Park hosts many activities with the animals, all with respect for the animals. We held the chickens and watched a demonstration with cows. Besides animals, the park also features lots of playgrounds and play areas for kids, such as a giant sandpit, bouncy pillows and an area in which the kids could ride plastic cars. Overall, I found the park very clean and of course kid friendly. Hugo was 1,5 years old when we visited and he was quite young for most activities, I can imagine Cotswold Farm Park being a lovely visit with a kid that is 3 years old, who can enjoy more activities.
Cotswold Farm Park Campsite
There are several lodging options at Cotswold Farm Park, such as the campsite, cottages, safari tents and holiday homes. We stayed at the campsite, which costs about 55 pounds per night. We booked for two nights to have sufficient time to explore the park. The amenities of the campsite were good, there was a large sanitary area with sufficient showers, a washing machine and washing up area and we even had working WiFi. However, the campsite is quite big, with many small pitches, meaning you are guaranteed to spend time with your neighbors. And that is actually where our issues came in with our stay… We found that many of our neighbors didn’t behave properly, which really bothered us. We are not used to going to these kind of large campsites, with a lot of families with kids. We expected it to be fun to meet other parents and for Hugo to have kids to play with. However, this did not happen at all. Most families were staying for a longer period, they often knew other families at the campsite and definitely were not keen on making contact with others. Some parents behaved very stressed and did not seem like they were having a nice holiday. The kids seemed overstimulated by spending days in the farm park and on the playgrounds. There also was a rush hour in the bathrooms in the morning, because everybody rushes to the farm park to be the first ones there. In the evening there is another rush hour with kids screaming because they don’t want to shower. It just seemed like there were no rules for children in Cotswolds Farm Park, because the parents decided this would be a “fun holiday”. Our neighbors also decided to let the engine of their car running to get their baby to sleep, releasing all their exhaust fumes on our dinner. I found this incredibly rude behavior. Even though the Farm Park itself is lovely, we decided on not going to big campsites with entertainment anymore as it just isn’t for us.
The food
Cotswold Farm Park has one restaurant with a large terrace and indoor seating, called the Ox Shed. We decided to have lunch at the Ox Shed and the locally produced food was tasty and affordable. Next to this, they also have a takeaway menu and a farm shop. During summertime, the Ox Shed also has entertainment, such as having a singer perform or organizing a pizza night. Overall, this was very well arranged!
Flower fields
In the summer months Cotswold Farm Park also has a flower park. In 2022 this flower park featured wildflowers and sunflowers. Unfortunately, we were a bit too early for the sunflowers, but we ended up seeing those at Glebe Farm. The entrance for the flower fields is included in your stay, if you are not staying you need to buy a separate ticket. They announce when you can visit which flowers on their Instagram.
