8 Awesome Farms In Essex | (inc. Boydell's Dairy Farm, Braintree Review)

For a fun day out in the countryside, why not head to one of the farms in Essex?! One of my personal favourites is Boydell’s Dairy Farm near Braintree. They have a great focus on hands on experiences, fun for the whole family! If you are not near Braintree, I share 7 other farms in Essex that include alpaca walking and farms that are larger attractions with indoor playgrounds and more!

Farms In Essex

Boydell’s Dairy Farm

🗺Braintree Rd, Wethersfield, CM7 4AQ

💰Adults £7 | Children £6 (under 3s free) | Food cup 50p

📅1st April – 31st August | Open Friday to Sunday & everyday during Essex school holidays

🕖10am – 1pm | 2pm – 5pm

Boydell’s Dairy Farm is a small family owned working farm that specialises in sheep milking. It has around 300 sheep that are milked regularly. Sheep milk is often used in cheese production and some of the products can be purchased at the far, including ‘Yoggipops’ which are yoghurt based ice lollies!

Animal Feeding

As well as the sheep, Boydell’s Dairy Farm allow visitors to get a hands on experience with many different farm animals. For 50p, you can buy a cup of animal feed to feed a wide range of animals, from the sheep, goats, a llama and more!

Boydells Farm white llama being fed by a girl in a red t-shirt

Hands on Experiences

Visits are divided into two sessions, 10am until 1pm and 2pm until 5pm. During this time there is a programme of events and educational demonstrations. These include bottle feeding lambs, cow milking and guided tours of the animals. I have visited Boydell’s Dairy Farm several times now and the talks are great for both adults and children. They are delivered with a humour that can be appreciated by all ages!

During my visit I was able to hold a lamb and a kitten and there was also chick holding too.

If you’re lucky you may even get to see a lamb being born! There’s a maternity section of the sheep barn where all the pregnant ewes and their newborn babies are.

Outside of the main barn area, you can wander around several of the fields that have alpacas, a llama, pigs and horses. An area that was developed during lockdown is ‘The Spinney’. It’s a wildlife area with trees and a steam where kids can play in the woods and build dens etc.

Facilities

Along with enjoying nature, there’s a play area, peddle tractors and a picnic area. Hand washing stations can be found all around the farm, there are toilets and a small shop that stocks a few gift/toy items as well as drinks, snacks, ice creams and sheep milk products. A large car park is on site.

Boydells Dairy Farm picnic area with a bridge over a small stream

More Farms in Essex

Blackwater Alpacas & Pygmy Goats

🗺Cut Hedge, Lane, Braintree CM77 8FR

For something a little different, how about alpaca walking in Essex? I wrote a whole post about this which you can find here: Alpaca Walking Essex: Blackwater Alpacas and Pygmy Goats. This is a pre booked experience which includes walking alpacas, feeding and holding pygmy goats and you may be able to hold baby chicks too. Children under 14 are welcome but they won’t be able to hold the alpaca lead while walking.

Stantons Farm Alpacas

🗺Witham Rd, Black Notley, Braintree CM77 8NH

Similar to Blackwater Alpacas & Pygmy Goats, Stantons Farm Alpacas also offer alpaca walking. Children over 10 are able to hold the lead as long as that are accompanied by an adult over 18. Those over the age of 5 may enjoy the Alpaca Farmer Experience, where visitors can experience the different roles of an alpaca farmer!

Barleylands Farm Park

🗺Barleylands Rd, Billericay CM11 2UD

Some of the farms in Essex are attractions that are closer to a zoo rather than a ‘working’ farm. Barleylands Farm Park has a range of farm animals as well as birds of prey, exotic animals, meerkats, a walk through aviary and wild cats. There are both indoor and outdoor play areas and a daily timetable of events including animal talks, meets and demonstrations.

Old MacDonald’s Farm & Fun Park

🗺Weald Rd, Brentwood CM14 5AY

Old MacDonald’s Farm near Brentwood has a range of farm animals plus reindeer, wallabies and meerkats! There are both indoor and outdoor play areas as well as some small children’s fairground rides. The entrance fee includes unlimited rides on most of the attractions.

Hasty’s Adventure Farm

🗺West Rd, Clacton-on-Sea CO15 1AG

Hasty’s Adventure Farm is a small farm near Clacton. It has a couple of play areas, including pedal tractors and grass sleds. The animal barn and paddocks are home to: chickens, sheep, alpacas, goats, calves and pigs. Animals can be petted but hand feeding/animal feed is not available.

White Elm Petting Farm

🗺4 White Elm Rd, Bicknacre, Chelmsford CM3 4LR

White Elm Garden Centre and Tearoom also has a petting farm with over 100 animals! These include: goats, alpacas, sheep, deer, rabbits, wallabies, rabbits, guinea pigs, miniature ponies and donkeys and more. Animal feed is available to purchase and almost all of the animals can be hand fed. Tickets must be pre-booked online on the garden centre website.

Marsh Farm Animal Adventure Park

🗺Marsh Farm, Marsh Farm Rd, South Woodham Ferrers CM3 5WP

Please be aware that Marsh Farm only allow adults to enter if they are accompanied by a child. They have farm animals (with some meet and greet experiences), a play area, soft play and crazy golf. They often have special themed events throughout the year.