Ouseburn Farm

Visit Ouseburn Farm

Ouseburn Farm is one of Newcastle's genuinely lovely surprises — a working city farm tucked beneath three bridges in the Ouseburn Valley, run largely by volunteers, and home to more than enough animals to keep a wild child thoroughly entertained. Sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, rabbits, guinea pigs and the odd tortoise are all in residence, and with a bag of feed from the farm shop, your little ones can get properly involved rather than simply peering over a fence. It has the unpolished, authentic charm of an actual working farm rather than a manufactured attraction, and that's precisely its appeal.

The lowdown:

• Where: Ouseburn Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 2PA — just opposite The Cluny pub, about a mile from the city centre

• When: Tuesday–Sunday, 10am–3pm (last food orders 2pm). Closed Mondays in term time, but open on Bank Holidays and Mondays during school holidays too.

• Cost: Always free to enter, with donations warmly welcomed — the farm is entirely charity-run

• Parking: Free parking at Foundry Lane car park (NE6 1LH), or a pleasant walk along the Quayside from the city centre if the weather cooperates

  
  

Why your wild child will love it: there's plenty of space to run about the meadow and fields, and regular free activities during the school holidays — lamb feeding, pond dipping and Farmers' Club sessions among them. Café Beam on site does an excellent slice of cake, baked using produce grown on the farm, so there's something in it for the grown-ups too.

Contact: Details and events at ouseburnfarm.org.uk.