London City Farms

If I did not have a toddler in tow,
I would have never known
that London is home to -not one-
but more than ten city farms!

And I'm talking about real farms;
with all the animals toddlers dream about:
cows, pigs, horses, donkeys,
sheep, hens (the Toddler's favourite)!

We visited two of them, in east London,
 and here's what we saw:

Hackney City Farm 

Situated in an old brewery
surrounded by a leafy garden,
Hackney City Farm has pigs,
donkeys, sheep and lots of hens.

It also has a lovely cafe,
which serves tasty meals,
and a garden where kids can learn
about different plants and trees.

Baby Lu was thrilled to see
hens and chickens wander freely,
while Mr K and I really liked
the country-style cafe and the bucolic setting.

Spitalfields City Farm

At a short distance, is Spitalfields city farm:
a very organised farm
with an educational approach 
(they hold gardening sessions
and have a Young Farmers' Club).

You'll see sheep, goats, pigs, ducks
ponies, hens, rabbits and one cow.

There's also an indoors activity centre for kids
to draw, read books and play (in case it rains).
The big attraction is the donkey rides 
they offer for a small fee.

The Toddler enjoyed playing in the treehouse,
while I strolled around
their beautifully maintained vegetable gardens.

This escaping the city within the city
was fun, relaxing and educational;
given the Toddler's new fascination for hens and cows,
I think we're going to be spending
quite a few bucolic days in central London!

Hackney City Farm (free entry) more info  

Spitalfields City Farm (free entry) more info