Hounslow Urban Farm — Attraction in London

This is a local farm I guess a little close to my heart. I’m in my 30s and remember my parents bringing me here as a kid. It still has the exact same play frame and lay out now as it did then! Not sure if that’s good or bad? Nostalgic for me for sure! It’s a lovely farm with minimal extra activities and the costs reflect that compared with the likes of hobbledown or bocketts which have farms but also “adventures” ie huge parks and soft plays etc. Even still I thought we would spend 2hrs at this farm and we were there 4hrs with 4 & 8 yr olds not wanting to leave. They have animal encounters set at certain times of the day (we planned our day for the afternoon one) We went to where the pay in kiosk told us and we see rabbits, chinchillas and “magical” chicks. It was sort of get a space where you can sort of thing. No structure but staff were so kind and informative about the animals and also very protective (in a good way) when kids were too much etc! In a tent somewhere else on farm (which we were now unable to go see) they were showing “exotic animals” snakes, reptiles etc- be wary of that. We would have personally preferred to see the exotic animal show and would have gone there if we’d known it was all separate. - Proper gutted we didn’t know there was two! At the SAME TIME!! What?? Tell me that then?? Let us choose? Apparently if they don’t split it gets too busy etc fair enough but maybe do extra sessions or give a choice and allot only certain number per sesh? I dunno? Reckon could be managed better personally but I get it.. it was super busy and lots of parents don’t even rein in their annoying & poking kids?! If that’s you?! Take care of you kids?! Damn! Annoying.

We saw an owl show which was super cool and the staff were amazing and so informative. He was doing great tricks we got to pet him. Overall a great experience.

They also have a wallaby in an enclosure that appears to be alone. I don’t know much about them or whether this is normal/natural for them but at the time it felt really upsetting to see for the adults in my group.

The cafe was ok not a lot of choice but staff very personable and friendly and want to make your day better.

They have bouncy castles inside for kids to play too. Oh and legos and drawing.

All round it is a good day out. Such good value! When you come in you can buy animal food £1 and feed select animals which is fun.

I love the fact this farm has been here for years and still here and not a corporation!

I will continue to visit with my children and family. I recommend this farm to all families but don’t expect bockets or hobble down. This place is way smaller and way more personal. - and half the price!!...

Visited this farm today. Was not very impressed by the overall appearance of the place. I know we have had a lot of hot weather but everywhere was parched, with not much/any natural shade for most of the animals to keep out of the sun (or the rain).

There was a duck that was limping (I did notify one of the staff), a chicken that had an injured foot which was hopping around. The 3 cows looked skinny, standing over their empty food bowls, with no water visible and no natural grass for them to feed on. I mentioned the cows to a young male worker who said "we have different priorities" which I took to mean it was more important for him to sweep up the area where most people would be visiting than care for the cows.

There was a green looking stagnant pond that didn't look inviting for any anything? Even the fish pond at the entrance to the farm was very overgrown with pond weed/plants and not a lot of room for the amount of fish that were in there to swim around. Why can't somebody think for a short time about the animals that are living there making money for the owners who don't seem to be doing all they can for the welfare of their animals.

In one of the pens around the courtyard there was a small ferret like animal (sorry can't remember it's name) that was just walking up and down in the same trail, backwards and forwards constantly (as previously mentioned by another visitor) obviously not stimulated at all and probably going mad by being kept in an inadequate pen.

Also there were loads of flies in the canteen. On a positive note the food I had (tuna and sweet corn sandwich) was quite nice.

Please can the staff stand back, take a look at this farm and maybe visit some other farms that can manage to keep their animals in a more natural/better environment.

Sorry for such a bad review but I was not happy on my visit here and I will call the farm personally to express...

Just awful. I wish I’d read the reviews here before going. This is not the place that I had happy childhood memories of 25 years ago.

It’s so bad I don’t even know where to being with the list of issues and failures here but I’ll try my best.

Firstly the entire site is sad and dated. Everywhere you look something is in desperate need of repair or even just a bit of love. Fences look like they’re about to collapse, little ones will get splinters and there’s wires poking out in places.

The animals look sad and by the looks of things the majority of volunteers (mostly teens) look sad too. There was a bars with some some dirty old soft play and toys, and a bouncy castle that looked like it was from the 90s - behind it looked like it should have been fenced off but it wasn’t - I repeatedly had to stop my toddler from running behind it. There was some sort of dumping ground at the side of the play area for a ton of box files and paper works labelled tropical zoo. The mats surrounding the castle were old and ripped. The machines all round the edge were plastered with out of order. And the toilets were horrific.

They had some unattended rides that looked abandoned, we walked up to one to see if my son could play but the operator was sat with his feet up on his phone. Everything was run down and sad looking, the children’s play area had nettles growing all over it. This used to be a lovely place - but now it just seems like a money maker with extortionate prices with zero evidence of money going back in to it.

Seeing the animals made me feel really sad, and guilty for giving this place my money. Never ever will I visit here again. I feel awful about going in the...