Please note, our review is based on our visit in summer 2020, so available facilities and activities may vary depending on Covid restrictions.

Cotswold Farm Park in Gloucestershire was somewhere I’d wanted to visit for a while, so when we finally had the chance on our last visit to the Cotswolds, we really were not disappointed.

Cotswold Farm Park was founded by Joe Henson in 1971 to protect rare breeds of farm animals, and is now run by his son Adam Henson, who is a familiar face from BBC Countryfile.

There really is so much to do at Cotswold Farm Park for a day out with the family, whether you’re looking for events, activities, a place to play outdoors or somewhere educational to spend the day.

Booking & arrival

Booking currently needs to be done online before visiting the park and you let the team know your booking reference when you arrive.

There were plenty of parking spaces and clear signs to the farm park, making it easy to get to and park up.

The timeslots were for arrival times, but you could spend as much time as you like there once you are there. We arrived for a 1.30pm slot on a Saturday and as one of our first visits post-covid, we were initially nervous at the number of people around when we first got there, despite the limited numbers at the park. However, within an hour, people who had been there for the morning seemed to head home, and we had such a fantastic time, that we would not hesitate to head back.

The animals

No visit to a farm park is complete without visiting the animals and Cotswold Farm Park has plenty of these, both indoors and out.

We had an excellent time feeding the goats outdoors, seeing the beautiful Highland cows, as well as meeting the smaller animals in the animal barns – including the beautiful newborn piglets.

Animal feed is available when you arrive and there is plenty to learn about all the animals when you visit.

The trails

There are some beautiful walks around the Cotswold Farm Park, including a well-signposted 2 mile wildlife trail through the countryside and some lovely viewing platforms along the way too.

There is a longer walk that is 2 miles and a shorter 1 mile walk, both which you can see beautiful wildlife, rare breed animals and some spectacular nature along the way.

Play areas

Play areas are something Cotswold Farm Park is not short of and Lily was truly in her element.

There are huge amounts of obstacles to enjoy in the great outdoors including an obstacle course, zip wire, tire swings and more.

For the smaller kids, there are ride-on tractors, tractors to play on, and plenty of other smaller play areas.

There are bouncy pillows for all ages as well as a ride-on tractor area in the construction corner.

What’s more, for those who love exploring the outdoors, there’s a mud kitchen and a woodland walk play area for den building and more.

Lily absolutely loved the go-kart track, the bouncy pillows and the zip lines too!

Since we visited, the indoor play area is now open too which includes a sandpit in the Adventure Barn for £1 with pre-bookable slots, suitable for 2-6 year olds.

Food & drink

If you’re looking for food and drink when you visit, there are plenty of places to grab a drink, snack or meal for all the family.

There are limited number of tables available for pre-booking in the Ox Shed where you can enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner – check out the menu and reserve a table here.

We enjoyed a takeaway drink and ice cream from Dolly’s Snack Bar by the bouncy pillows. Even though the queues were quite long, it was a great place to enjoy a drink while Lily made friends on the bouncy pillows!

There is also the Milk Churn coffee bar available for takeaway drinks, sandwiches and children’s boxes in busy times and there are plenty of places to enjoy a picnic if you wish to take one with you too.

Accessibility & families

The Cotswold Farm Park team have been implementing different ways to make their farm park as accessible as possible.

Disabled parking is at the entrance and there are disabled toilets and baby changing available on the farm.

There are listening stations for those who are visually impaired to learn about the rare breeds on the walk, with buttons for children and adults.

Walkways around the farm park are wide enough for wheelchairs and pushchairs, and doorways are extra wide and ramped to allow access. All areas are accessible by wheelchair or with pushchairs, however some areas may be uneven due to being a farm.

For more information about the Cotswold Farm Park accessibility, click here

Events

Events are held throughout the year at Cotswold Farm Park for families to enjoy, including for Halloween and Christmas. Find out more here about their Enchanted Light Trail in 2020 or here for their latest events.

Shop

There is a fantastic gift shop with so many different gifts for children and adults alike, whether you’re looking for beautiful household items, children’s toys or mementos from your day. The staff here were so friendly and we even came out with t-shirts for just £5 too!

Face masks are now mandatory in the shop area and there are screens at the tills to keep you and the team safe.

The Campsite

The next time we visit the Cotswold Farm Park, we hope to check out their campsite – it sounds fantastic!

If you’re looking for an overnight weekend stay with the family or a summer holiday, it really looks great. There are camping pitches available as well as lodges, camping pods and glamping tents, all including tickets as part of your stay too.

We’ll give you a full review when we head down there, but for more information about camping at Cotswold Farm Park, find out more here.

Conclusion

Despite our initial nerves about it being quite busy, we had an incredible time at Cotswold Farm Park and would not hesitate to head back again. There was so much to do, enjoying the outdoors, meeting the beautiful animals and playing in all their fantastic play areas, alongside some great Covid-secure additions in place.

What’s more, the staff were all so friendly, passionate and welcoming, making it such a happy and enjoyable place to visit. Their events look fantastic, the setup is perfect for a fun day out all year round, and the campsite looks an amazing addition to make your visit extra special.

We hope to see you again soon!

Opening times and address

The farm park is open 9.30am-5pm daily and the Ox shed is open for breakfast from 8.30am each day and is free to enter – no tickets for the farm park are necessary. Tickets for the farm park must be booked in advance.

Cotswold Farm Park
Guiting Power,
Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire
Postcode: GL54 5FL

For more information and to book tickets, click here

We stayed at the Notgrove Holidays Glamping Pods, just 15mins away. Check out our review here.

Check out our favourite farm park and wildlife park campsites here