Animal lovers have the chance to make farmyard friends, with opportunities to feed, handle and see adorable animals at farms and wildlife parks all around Gloucestershire.
With spring welcoming hundreds of babies, too, discover the best places in Gloucestershire to coo over fuzzy newborn lambs, hungry goats and tiny chicks for a wholesome family day out.
Cattle Country Farm Park
Among the host of animal encounters available at Cattle Country in Berkeley, visitors can bottle feed the park's newest lambs and get up close to other fluffy residents in the Animal Barn, handling rabbits, guinea pigs, ducklings and baby chicks. There's even a chance you'll see lambs being born, with this year's lambing season expected to run from mid-February to early April.
Cotswold Farm Park
Experience one of the largest lambing events in the country at Adam Henson's Cotswold Farm Park, where hundreds of lambs are due to be born this spring. See the ewes welcome their new arrivals and enjoy live talks from lambing experts in the Animal Barn until Sunday 14 April 2024. Over 900 lambs and kids are expected to be born, so there's plenty of opportunity to see new life.
Daylesford Organic
Meet the new additions to Daylesford's flock, with lambing tours taking place at various times on Saturday 13 April 2024. Hop on a tractor trailer and ride out to the barns where the ewes give birth for a special tour and introduction to the lambing process.
Court Farm Shop
Stop by the animal area at Court Farm Shop near Cheltenham to catch a glimpse of new baby lambs snoozing in the barns and say hello to young calves, pigs and goats. Best of all, it's free to visit during the farm shop's opening hours.
Over Farm
Over Farm's Countryside Adventure is home to all sorts of farmyard characters, with everything from donkeys, pigs and sheep to slightly more quirky residents like llamas and ostriches to meet along its Animal Trail. Pick up a bag of animal pellets to hand-feed them and give them a good fuss.
Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens
Thanks to its successful breeding programme, there's a good chance of spotting baby animals at Cotswold Wildlife Park near Burford, which welcomes hundreds of births from a variety of species every year — including the UK's only zebra foal to be born in 2023. As well as exotic big cats and creatures from all over the globe, there's a lovely children's farmyard where visitors can get up close to friendly residents, too.
St Augustine's Farm
Located in Arlingham, alongside the River Severn, St Augustine's Farm is a wonderful place to meet little animals. With rabbits, goats, calves and — of course — lambs, there's no shortage of new furry friends to make. The farm opens for the year at Easter, with lamb feeding starting up just in time for those warmer spring days.
Butts Farm Rare Breeds
From bottle feeding lambs to donkey grooming, Butts Farm near Cirencester offers an adorable day out, with a petting area for visitors to interact with its smaller residents, too. The farm park opens for the season on Saturday 23 March 2024.
