- Families
A Cotswolds weekend with children: farm animals, penguins and a wildlife park
A two-day Cotswolds weekend for families with young children, by car: Adam Henson's Cotswold Farm Park and Bourton-on-the-Water's Birdland and Model Village on Saturday, the Cotswold Wildlife Park and Burford on Sunday.
- 2 days
- By car
- Base: Lower Slaughter
- Best for ages 2 to 12
- About 40 miles (65km) driving
Saturday: the Cotswold Farm Park and Bourton-on-the-Water
Day 1 · Bottle feeding and tractors in the morning, the Model Village and penguins after lunch
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9.30am
9.30am Things to do 3.5 hours here
Cotswold Farm Park
About 15 minutes by car from Lower Slaughter. Rare breeds, bottle feeding in season, soft play and a zip wire. Book online ahead; it is cashless. Its calendar shows it closed from 4 January to the end of February 2027.
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11am
11am Things to do 30 minutes here
Tractor ride at the Farm Park
Tractor rides usually run at 11am and 2pm, for a small extra charge. Lunch at the Ox Shed restaurant, or bring a picnic: picnics are welcome.
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1.30pm
1.30pm Village 30 minutes here
Bourton-on-the-Water
About 15 minutes by car. Park at Rissington Road (£4.40 for two hours, 2026), where the toilets have baby change, and walk along the river to the Model Village.
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2pm
2pm Things to do 20 minutes here
The Model Village
Bourton at one-ninth scale, behind the Old New Inn. Adult £4.95, child 3 to 13 £4, under-3s free (2026). Pushchairs cannot go in: leave them at the gate.
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2.30pm
2.30pm Things to do 1.5 hours here
Birdland
Two minutes' walk away. King penguins, flamingos and a dinosaur trail. Penguins are fed at 11am and 3pm. Adult £14.95, child £11.50 at the gate (2026); last entry 3pm, so do not linger over lunch.
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4.15pm
4.15pm On foot
A flat 2-mile (3.1km) loop from the middle of the village past a replica Iron Age roundhouse, often wet. Wear wellies. Walkers report cattle in some fields and a locked gate on the east side (October 2026); a path 40m to its left rejoins.
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5.30pm
5.30pm Eat and drink 1 hour here
Tea at the Willow
A pub on the High Street with food from 11.30am (noon on Sundays) to 8pm, 8.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays, baby changing, and families and dogs welcome. Then about five minutes back to Lower Slaughter.
Sunday: the Cotswold Wildlife Park and Burford
Day 2 · Rhinos, giraffes and a little railway, then the river at Burford
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10am
10am Things to do 4 hours here
Cotswold Wildlife Park
About 30 minutes by car. Rhinos, giraffes, lions and a narrow-gauge railway from April to October. Adult £17.50, child £12.50 online (2026); under-3s free.
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11am
11am Things to do 20 minutes here
Penguin feeding at the Wildlife Park
The penguins are fed at 11am and 3pm. Picnics are allowed on the lawns and in the shelters, or eat at the café.
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2.30pm
2.30pm Market town 1.5 hours here
Burford
About 10 minutes by car. Park free at Guildenford, by the river, which has toilets with baby change.
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2.45pm
2.45pm On foot
An easy 1.7-mile (2.7km) loop, mostly on pavements and lanes, from the car park up to a field west of the town and back by Sheep Street to the church.
In more detail
For a Cotswolds weekend with young children, base yourself near Bourton-on-the-Water and plan each day round one big day out: the Cotswold Farm Park on Saturday and the Cotswold Wildlife Park near Burford on Sunday. Fill the gaps with Bourton's Model Village and Birdland, a flat walk and the low bridges over the Windrush. It is about 40 miles (65km) of driving over the two days, in short hops.
How this family weekend works
Each day has one place that takes the morning, with lunch on site, and something shorter for the afternoon when legs are tired. The two parks are open every day except in their winter breaks, so the weekend works in most months; the Farm Park's calendar shows it closed from 4 January to the end of February 2027, and the Wildlife Park closes on weekdays from 4 January to 4 February 2027. Our guide to the Cotswolds with children has more ideas by age.
Saturday: farm animals and penguins
The Cotswold Farm Park, near Guiting Power, was opened in 1971 by Joe Henson to keep rare breeds, and his son Adam runs it today. The ticket includes bottle feeding of lambs and goat kids in season, a barn of chicks and rabbits, soft play, bouncy pillows, a zip wire and pedal tractors; tractor rides are extra. It opens at 9.30am, and it has a restaurant, the Ox Shed, and a Changing Places toilet.
After lunch, drive to Bourton. The Model Village is a copy of the village at one-ninth scale as it was in the 1930s, and takes about 20 minutes. Birdland, two minutes away, keeps England's only breeding King penguins, with flamingos, pelicans, owls and a trail of life-sized dinosaurs; keepers feed the penguins at 11am and 3pm, and last entry is 3pm. Most of its paths are level and it has a Changing Places toilet.
If anyone still has energy, walk the flat loop round Salmonsbury and the lakes on Greystones Farm, past a replica roundhouse and the banks of Salmonsbury Camp, an Iron Age enclosure. Back in the village, cross the Windrush by the Narrow Bridge, built in 1756; on the August bank holiday Monday the local football team plays a match in the river.
Sunday: the Cotswold Wildlife Park and Burford
The Cotswold Wildlife Park is at Bradwell Grove, about 2 miles south of Burford, and it suggests at least four hours. Rhinos, giraffes and Asiatic lions live in gardens round a walled garden, and a narrow-gauge railway runs from April to October, from noon to 4pm. Parking is free, and penguins are fed at 11am and 3pm. Last entry is 4pm in summer and 3pm in winter.
Finish in Burford, where the High Street runs downhill to the medieval bridge over the River Windrush. The town and river walk is an hour on pavements and lanes, ending at St John the Baptist, where a Leveller carved his name in the font in 1649; older children like finding it. The Tolsey Museum on the High Street is free on summer afternoons, but its rooms are upstairs.
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Swaps for rain, older children and toddlers
On a wet day, the Farm Park's indoor play barns and Birdland's café carry the morning; the Corinium Museum in Cirencester, with its Roman mosaics, is free for under-5s and £4 for a child (2026). See the Cotswolds on a rainy day for more.
With older children, swap Sunday for a ride on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway from Winchcombe, which runs on set days from spring to late autumn, with Toddington's engine shed the best stop. Or climb Broadway Tower, where the Cold War bunker tour takes children from age 10. With toddlers, Cogges Manor Farm at Witney has animals and an adventure playground; its main season runs from February half term to the end of October.Bibury Trout Farm lets children catch their own fish at weekends and in the school holidays.
Where to stay with children
Stay within ten minutes of Bourton and both days start easily. The Slaughters Country Inn in Lower Slaughter has three family suites, interconnecting rooms and two-storey cottages, a children's menu, and families can dine together until 8pm; children up to two stay free. Check-in is from 3pm and check-out at 11am, and parking is free on site. In Bourton,the Mousetrap Inn is smaller and has its own car park. See also places to stay in Bourton-on-the-Water.