A day out at Adam Henson’s Cotswold Farm Park left two YouTubers stunned and they soon shared their thoughts on the £11.95-a -day Gloucestershire family attraction
Adam Henson came close to losing his family farm in 2001 when the Foot and Mouth epidemic virtually destroyed his business. But the offer of a job on the BBC’s Countryfile helped save his bacon and, 25 years later, Cotswold Farm Park is a thriving business again.
It welcomes the public for up-close and personal encounters with the livestock as well as rearing the range of rare breeds that Adam’s father became famous for. However, not everyone’s happy, with one TripAdvisor reviewer complaining that she’s been “fleeced at every possible opportunity”.
So Izzy and Matt Stockwell from the Explore Home Repeat YouTube channel set out to discover whether Adam Henson’s Cotswold Farm Park is a ripoff, or a great family day out.
In the end, Matt says, he was left “surprised” by some visitors’ negative reactions, saying that perhaps people had arrived with some serious misconceptions.
Matt and Izzy had timed their two-hour visit to coincide with lambing season – from February to May with a peak around March or April.
Reviewing the site map just inside the farm’s entrance, Matt said: “There’s loads of stuff around – you’ve got Tractor School, the Discovery Barn, an Animal Barn, and a huge great big area for all the animals.
“I can see donkeys, sheep, goats, pigs, cows and there looks to be a good selection of kids’ playgrounds as well so there’s tons to explore.”
The couple – along with baby Sienna – were lucky enough to see two brand new baby lambs which had been born only that morning.
The farm’s attractions are geared very much towards young primary-school age children, with giant trampoline-like “bouncy pillows” to play on as well as dozens of farm animals for the kids to feed and stroke.
There’s an educational element to the activities too, Matt points out, with “loads of information sort of going through the whole process of lambing – explaining the different stages and how they keep them in these pens”.
While the Stockwell family did manage to see the twin baby lambs, little Sienna was much more impressed with the pygmy goats in the Discovery Barn.
There’s a lot to do for young animal-lovers. “They’ve got areas where you can stroke the animals and there’s a giant rabbit here you can just sit there and stroke,” Matt said. “He seems very chilled out about being stroked because he’s just fast asleep.”
While some visitors have complained that prices in the farm’s cafeteria are a little on the high side, with a cup of juice costing £3, Matt pointed out that there’s provision to sit at tables and enjoy a home-made picnic too.
