Despite practically driving right past on my way to work for the last 8 years, I had no idea this farm existed until a friend mentioned it recently. I couldn’t believe I’d never noticed it, and had to go along for a visit.
Langleybury Farm is such a sweet place to take little ones. It’s a charity run farm that was once part of Langleybury School, and is located on the outskirts of Watford, just off the A41. They have limited opening times (currently weekends and Bank holidays) and tickets need to be booked online in advance.
At the entrance there is a small gift shop selling animal feed, snacks, drinks and ice creams. They do have a BBQ area but this wasn’t in use when we visited. There is a large picnic area though, with lots of benches, covered and uncovered seating areas. There were some beautiful trees in blossom too, which made for a lovely spot to picnic in.
Located within and to the side of the picnic area are two play zones – a small one with slide, swing and tunnel for under 5s, and a bigger one with balance beams, rope bridges, a big slide and basket swing, suitable for 5 -12 year olds. The equipment all looked really modern and newly put in place, and was really popular with the little visitors. The toilets and baby change are also located in this area.
From the picnic area you head through a gate to see the farm animals. There’s a one-way system in place, but the farm is small and you can go round as much as you want.
The route round is wide and although a bit uneven in places, plenty of people had prams with them. Everyone seemed to be following the route, which is just the right size for a preschooler to walk round, stop for lunch and then have another turn.
We saw goats, sheep (including super cute newborn lambs), donkeys, ducks, owls, rabbits and tortoises. We had lots of fun seeing the free range chickens, who were on their first day of freedom from their own lockdown.
My daughter was very impressed with the peacock too, who obligingly showed off his tail while we were watching him. We even found a zipline halfway round!
With the new and fun play area, a great sized selection of animals to see and plenty of space for a picnic, Langleybury Farm is a lovely choice for a low-key farm visit and morning out.
