Visiting Essex with a baby: Barleylands Farm Park
Although we’re based in London, one of our favourite family pastimes is to journey to the city’s beautiful surrounding counties. Having the option to fold up our pram and chuck it in the boot gives us so much freedom. Not just in terms of timing and what we can bring, but also in our choice of destination. Barleylands Farm Park in Billericay, Essex, is one of our most reliably entertaining places to visit with a baby. In fact, we love days out here so much, it was where we spent our son’s first birthday.
First, let me share a quick rundown of the key information you’ll need to know to plan your visit. After that, we can get into the realities of visiting on one such winter day out.
Visitor information
Getting there
From our home in East London, it’s a straightforward 40-minute drive (compared to 90 minutes by public transport). There is always ample free parking too. However, Barleylands is also accessible by direct bus from the nearby Billericay or Basildon stations. Be sure to check out their detailed breakdown to find out which route is best for you.
Barleylands Village
Before you get into the Farm Park, you walk through Barleylands Village. This is a hub of cute artisan studios and small businesses that are fun to explore.
There are also two main places to eat:
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The Magic Mushroom Restaurant.
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The Tiptree Tea Room and Cafe.
The latter is where we always tend to go. For both adults and kids alike, I highly recommend their sandwiches. For babies, though, I would still advise bringing your own packed lunch.
Activities for children at Barleylands Farm Park
Inside the Farm Park, there are countless activities for all ages, and it’s near impossible to be bored! Their timetabled activities include meeting and feeding some of the bigger or more exotic animals both indoors and out, small animal petting in the barns, pony grooming, and tractor/trailer rides.
All-day activities include:
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pedal tractors
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an outdoor adventure playground
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a zip line
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a large bouncy pillow
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indoor soft play barn with slides (with a separate area for babies)
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a wildlife walk (with bug hotels, beehives, hedgehog houses, pond life and more)
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a nocturnals and exotics house (home to fruit bats, skunks, tree frogs, turtles etc)
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a cosy animal barn (to see the more classic farm animals)
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a Discovery Centre (to learn about the history of farming in Essex)
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a walk-through bird aviary, birds of prey walk and poultry corner
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a showdown shed (where you can shoot each other with foam balls)
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an undercover sandpit
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and, for a small extra fee, the Barleylands Speedway and Farm-ula 1 race tracks.
Phew!
They also do plenty of seasonal and themed events so it’s worth visiting their website to see what’s coming up.
Our latest family trip to Barleylands
Now, full disclaimer (because one thing I want this blog to be is honest), the most recent visit we took to Barleylands with our baby lasted a grand total of 40 minutes (about as long as the drive from London to Essex)!
Our son had been feeling a bit under the weather in the days beforehand. A trip to the farm therefore seemed the perfect solution to get him out of the house and into some fresh air.
He is currently 15 months old and utterly obsessed with ducks. As soon as he saw his first duck in the big pond beyond the park’s entrance, he was sold. In fact, ALL he wanted to do was look at the ducks.
We took him to the soft play for a little bit. Then we walked to the barn to feed the bigger animals and pet the gorgeous little rabbits they had there. But nothing compared to his beloved feathered friends.
He only wanted “Duck, duck, duck.”
So back to the pond we went, and stood there for a good ten minutes. Even as the heavens opened and doused us completely, our son wasn’t phased. He was so engrossed, he let us perform a quick change out of his coat and into his puddle suit, all without breaking concentration.
Eventually, we called an end to the Duck Watch and, in fact, the rest of our day. The rain didn’t look like it was going to let up. It had also been busy enough indoors before the elements drove the Half Term crowds into shelter.
Some (duck) food for thought...
As we walked back to the parking lot, I was initially disappointed by the money spent to stand in the mud and gaze at a rainy pond. Not a lot of money, mind you. But still, showing him the Canada geese at the park near our house would have been free!
Then my husband reminded me that the success of a day out with our baby wasn’t about our experience. The number of activities or time spent are adult criteria. Instead, it was about the joy and wonder our son experienced. And the innate understanding that his parents are willing to let him explore his own curiosity, wherever that might lead.
By that metric, we’d smashed it.
Besides, there will always be plenty left over for the next time we make the trip to Essex to visit Barleylands with our baby.
Although, preferably in the summer!
