Cogges Manor Farm is steeped in history but bang up to date for lots of family fun. There’s plenty to keep everyone occupied and although most of the attractions are outside, there is still enough to keep you entertained inside too.
The 13th century manor house is a beautiful backdrop and a fascinating visit. They often have activities in the kitchen with crafts or cooking, or venture into the 17th century farm buildings to understand more about butter making in the old dairy. All the volunteers are very friendly and great at talking to children.
As you venture outside, the kitchen garden is beautifully laid out and bursting with fruit and vegetables. Both my kids were fascinated to explore the garden and run up and down.
Outside the manor house itself, Cogges Manor Farm is full of a variety of activities.
Farm Animals
Cogges Manor Farm has a long tradition of keeping animals. There are variety of chickens that and you’ll see the merrily waddling about.
You can pick up food from the farm shop when you arrive and feed the goats, they know immediately what’s coming. Shetland ponies, sheep, guinea pigs and rabbits are also all on site. Animal handling is run by volunteers at twice a day.
Inside the stables they often have story telling during the school holidays.
Outdoor Fun
The adventure play area at Cogges Manor is great. There’s plenty of space on the large timber fort to climb, hide, slide down and play fun imaginative games. There’s also a zip wire for rapid exits if the pirates are after you or a wobbly bridge to test your balance skills.
Around the adventure play area, you can explore further into the wooded area. Den making is a must as well as balancing along fallen logs or just exploring and looking for bugs.
The farmyard courtyard has lots of little ride on tractors too.
Eating and Drinking
There are lots of areas that are perfect for a picnic. My personal favourite is in the apple orchard. If you fancy a hot drink and something made for you then there is a lovely café, I can highly recommend the sausage rolls. There are plenty of tables outside the café and a timber tractor so the kids can go and play and you can still keep an eye on them.
Family Activities
On top of all of the above, there are also family focused events that run at Cogges Manor Farm so keep a look out on the website for the latest details.
The Witch’s House at Halloween is a great event. They completely dress up the house as if it’s lived in by witches and it’s not all plastic tat. They use lots of items from around the house to make it feel very real.
Visiting Father Christmas at Cogges is also a magical experience. It feels a lot less commercialised than other santa grottos and last time we went, Father Christmas was great at reading a story and answering a lot of questions.
Forest School
We’ve also been to a great forest school session run by the Hedgehog Club at Cogges. Taking place in their woodland, there’s lots of variety and activities and of everyone loves toasting marshmallows on the fire.
Cogges Parking
One thing to note in advance is that there is a short walk from the car park to the farm but it’s clearly marked and the path is wide enough for a pushchair. If you’re using sat nav then the use OX28 3FR to get to the Cogges Hill Road car park.
