Do you have some time to fill before your flight? Juxtapositioned next to Heathrow airport, cows and sheep are grassing happily with planes flying over their heads at Hounslow Urban Farm. At the farm, you’ll get the opportunity to see and interact with a range of farm animals.
The team at Hounslow Farm is friendly and helpful and will inform you about the feeding times and when you can interact with the animals. We also recommend that you buy a couple of bags of food to feed the animals. The goats and sheep are usually the most greedy and great fun for the kids!
Activities at the family-run farm
Hounslow is a family-run farm, and they are very organised in terms of having daily scheduled activities. Their daily activities include pig meet & greets and animal encounters, and during school holidays, they hold additional activities such as pony grooming. If you visit during springtime, you’ll often get to participate in bottle-feeding calves and lambs, but check their website in advance.
Touch and feel the animals at Hounslow farm
Opposed to most other London City Farms, there is an entrance fee (see website for latest prices). So is it worth it? Well, especially the animal encounters are brilliant – with so many animals to hold and touch (snakes, lizards, frogs). And the persons leading the sessions are always very knowledgeable and great with children. Animal encounters are something that you can experience on free of charge community farms as well, but it’s usually not organised daily, and you will have to book it in advance.
For children, it’s all about touching and feeding the animals. The opportunity to get close to animals is what makes Hounslow a great farm opposed to other farms where you are left to roam around on your own. This is also one of the very few urban farms in West London, as opposed to East London where you have plenty of free farms such as Hackney Farm and Mudchute Farm.
Barn area great for rainy days
In addition to the animals, there’s a little outside play area and a big indoor play barn, with bouncy castle and small ride-on toys. Our main reason for going is, of course, the animals, but it’s also handy with additional activities available. It’s great to have the option to go inside and play in the barn if it’s a rainy day.
Key Information Hounslow Urban Farm
- Paid entry
- Outdoor
- Type: Farm
- Borough: Hounslow
- Area: West London
- Tube: Hatton Cross
- Nearby: Kew Gardens
- Farm website