Visit a Farm for Open Farm Sunday
Take a look at what to expect when you visit a farm on Open Farm Sunday and some ideas for where to visit. This year it’s on Sunday 7th June 2026.
It’s a great day out for families and children of any age interested in farming. Children can have the fun of tractor rides, feeding calves, watch sheep shearing and learning about British farming.
Farmers will be busy tidying up their yards and preparing for a great day out for families. Show how much we really appreciate what they do by taking an interest in their work this weekend. The events are usually free, although there may well be things to buy or tea and cakes, so take some cash along.
What to Expect on Open Farm Sunday
Most Open Farms will offer walks, animals to see and tractor rides.
Each farm taking part in the scheme will have different things to offer, so its worth having a look on the Open Farm Sunday website or the farm’s own web or Facebook page for more details. Farms may have pigs, beef cattle, small animals to pet or a farm shop.
Things to Buy on Open farm Sunday
Some places will set up like a little fete with stalls, food to purchase and other things to do. Take some money with you, but entrance should be free so there is no obligation to spend anything. Several dairy farms now offer fresh milk vending.
To be honest if you have young children they are sure to be thrilled with whatever is on offer.
Where To Visit Open Farm Sunday
Open Farm Sunday is a UK wide event and most farms taking part will have registered for it. The web site is excellent. You can easily select your region and then zoom in on the map to see which ones are local to you.
Here are some of the Open Farms in the Devon / Dorset / Somerset border area.
East Devon & South Somerset Open Farm Sunday Events
Dennings Down Farm, near Axminster.
This organic farm is just outside Axminster in East Devon. You can enjoy a lovely day around the farm with wildflower and woodland walks and talks.
Children can enjoy Forest School activities, pond dipping, falconry and interactive fun soil activities .
At Dennings Down Farm you will see farm animals; beef cattle, calves, ewes and lambs and sheep shearing. Learn about how the farm is run. There will also be tractors old & modern.
Dennings Down farm is a small organic farm of 190 acres with a herd of Angus/Hereford suckler cows and a flock of Lleyn sheep, including 30 acres of woods, about 25 acres of wild flower meadows and 5 ponds.
Refreshments are home made teas for charity, take some cash for tea and cake £5.
Dennings Down Farm, EX13 7JN
Harrisons Farm – Dalwood.
A family farm, farming a mix of 160 dairy cows, beef and 450 ewes with lamb. Mostly grass based but with some maize and wheat
You will be able to meet and greet a variety of animals and learn all about the machinery used on the farm.
Watch a sheep shearing demonstration and in the cow shed you will be able to see calves, beef cattle, dairy cows and a milking demonstration will take place in the afternoon.
There will be a variety of refreshments available from tea and cake to a barbecue and milkshakes. There will be plenty for the children to do in the play barn including collecting straw on the ride on tractors and scooping and mixing corn. Collecting donations for local charities.
EX13 7HW – Directions. More details
Mid Devon Open Farm Sunday Events
Woodrow Barton – Near Exeter
Book ahead for a guided farm tour and walk taking a couple of hours. 10:30 start.
See this year’s calves (3-4 months’ old), last year’s heifers and the milking herd; your guide will explain how our stock graze rotationally around the pasture, how the parlour works, where the cows live in the winter and the silage they eat. Finish off by milking a row of cows on one side of the parlour for everyone to watch.
Walking will be across fields, please wear wellies or equivalent and be prepared for the weather of the day! Please book through the booking system. It is guided walks only at this event
Brampford Speke, , Exeter, Devon, EX5 5DZ
West Dorset
Denahy Farm
This is set to be a great day out with a huge range of activities for all ages and anyone interested in learning more about rural and countryside vocations
A tractor/trailer ride will go around the farm with a number of stops to include cultivation systems, a machinery display of tractors, combines and foragers, bee hives and more
The main activities will be at the Barn Owl Buildings with a Sheering demo, a fleece table with a to demo to show what happens to a fleece. Uses to include insulation material, Sheep rugs and Wool spinning and/or weaving
Also Shetland cattle, saddleback sow, calves, chickens, and pigmy goats and Discover Farming children activities.
Countryside and environment management demonstrations.
o Tree management
o Wessex water – soil sampling
o Bird ringing
o Moth club
o Displays from Dorset AONB, DWT, FWAG, Bridport Bird group, Brit Valley Landscape, Dorset Wilding , Raise the Roof Flax project. Rural and Artisan Skills – stone, wood and metal work
At The Barn: Tea room and the role of tourism
FOOD:
Food court pulled beef baps, wild game and vegetarian option. Tea, coffee and local ice-creams
A picnic area for guests to bring their own picnic as well
Entry is free and lots of parking space
Donations will be collected for Farming Community Network
Denhay Lane, , Broadoak, , Bridport, Dorset, DT6 5NW,
Somerset Open Farm Sunday Events
Broadmead Farm – near Yeovil
Broadmead Farm is a family dairy farm supplying milk to the Arla co-op. Here you can see the cows being milked by Lely robots and all the young calves. There’s a small flock of sheep which, weather dependent, there will be a shearing demonstration and then have a tractor trailer ride around the fields (donation to hire of trailer would be appreciated) and afterwards enjoy a cup of tea and cake.
Broadmead farm is a small dairy and sheep farm producing milk from our pedigree Holstein Friesian cows and meat from our poll Dorset and Suffolk sheep.
Broadmead Farm, Yeovil Marsh, Yeovil, Somerset, BA21 3QD
Durslade at Hauser & Wirth, Bruton
Durslade is a working farm and for this year’s Open Farm Sunday, enjoy a tour of the wider farm on a tractor and trailer ride. Visit the cattle and learn about the different breeds, watch sheep shearing and learn more about our crops. Different farm machinery will also be on display.
Meet with local suppliers and taste the products created from the farm’s wine and cider, honey and foraged products.
In the old farmyard, a workshop to make your own bath fizz, workshops from Wild Joy, join Jenna Doodles & Sing-a-ling for farm-themed children’s activities and music circles. Enjoy live music from Ninotchka throughout the day.
This event is free to attend, but places on the farm tours, foraging walks, and vineyard visits are limited. Slots can be booked in advance, and we will also have spaces available on the day for walk-ins.
Open Farm Sunday takes place from 11 am – 4 pm.
Roth Bar will be open, serving drinks from 9am – 11pm. Da Costa will be open as usual from 12pm – 4pm.
Follow the link to the website for the list of locations all around the country – Open Farm Sunday. Not all events are listed on the Open Farm Sunday website.
Vending Machine Milk in DEVON
If you love real milk like the old days, you can now buy fresh farm milk from special outlets that offer milk direct from the farm. Usually you need to buy a bottle on your first visit but these are reusable. They take card payments and most are open 24/7.
Many of these also offer milk shakes and other goodies as well. Not just for children, the teens and young adults love them as well.
Try The Vending Shed which has an outlet in Axminster (by Mole Avon)
Also take a look at the Dairy Den locations near Dorchester and Corfe. The Udder Stuff at Greendale Farm Shop (near Crealy) and The Cranberry Farm Pub in Cranbrook..
The Grazing Cow near Offwell has milk from Sutton Lucy Dairy.
Great Devon Farm Shops
Quickes near Exeter – visit the shop for great cheese. Milk from the farm becomes the renowned Quickes cheddar.
Darts Farm, Topsham. A fun trip out for all the family, great shops, a choice of cafes and lots of outside place to explore with seasonal sunflowers, maize maze and pumpkin patch.
Greendale Farm Shop near Exeter A farm shop, deli and restaurant with animals to walk round to visit making it great for children.
Growing Up on a Dairy Farm
When I was a child all the cows were milked individually (mainly by my dad) and I used to help out in the milking parlour – I think it’s fair to say I didn’t get the best jobs and wellies were always needed!
We also used to sell our milk. I clearly remember dunking an old jug in the huge milk chiller and filling up the cartons (the old waxy type) and sealing them with what seemed like a huge clamp. Proper raw milk, just hours old, hard to get hold of these days. Food hygiene was not really on the radar so much in those days!
Modern Farming Methods
Farming, especially diary farming varies a lot. In most cases it’s very different from when I was growing up. Automated or robotic dairy systems are very clever. Cows are electronically tagged and happily wander around, taking it in turns to use the giant back scratcher! When they feel like it the cows head off into the special area for food and to be milked. A computerised system reads their tag and decides if they need milking. If so, food appears and the automatic milking process starts with an udder wash. If they are not due to be milked or had their food allocation for the day, then nothing happens so the cow wanders off again. It’s so clever!
Under this system the cows stay inside for a few months and go outside to the fields once they are dry i.e. they’ve run out of milk, until they give birth again.
Grab Your Wellies and Get Outside
I really hope that you are able to visit a farm for Open Farm Sunday this year. They are usually free events and worth a trip out for. A lot of children do not have the chance to get up close to a real farm and really learn where our food comes from – these days it seems even more important that we can engage with nature and rural life whenever possible.
You may not really need your wellies, but cow sheds and farm yards can’t guarantee to be muck free and if you can’t wear wellies to a farm then when can you?
Dogs? Please check with the individual farm listing on the OFS website as many do not allow dogs.
ICE CREAM – If you want to skip the farm part why not just go straight for the ice cream – head to this post about the Best Devon Ice Cream.
Hi! I am Clare and I live in glorious East Devon with my family.
Join me in finding new places to explore in the West Country as well as further afield.
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Thanks so much for sharing this, as always it’s great to have your blog as a guide.
It’s such a good idea, isn’t it. We visited a farm with solar farm scheme in place this year #countrykids
Ah I missed out on visiting a farm this year – should have read your post on Saturday and then I would have been prepared. There are a few farms that have open days later this month although most of them are a bit too far for us. Maybe next year! Thank you for sharing with #CountryKids
I was a bit late posting it in fairness.
I love open farm Sunday, it’s a great way to get people out and about and learning about farming etc. We were at a garden party so couldn’t go this year. Sorry for the late comment and thanks for sharing with us at #CountryKids
We already had plans this year (we went to a family rave!) but will definitely try and get to an open farm next year. When I was a child we used to camp at a local farm in the manifold valley, I also used to take a jug and get raw milk to drink…it was delicious! #CountryKids
We had fresh milk on our farm and used to just dip the jug into the big tank. Strangely though I’ve never really liked milk on it’s own. I love ice ream and cheese though! A family rave sounds funny.