City Farms and the Best Playgrounds in London

Published 18 September 2026 · By the Guide to London editorial team · Editor: Terje Moy

London's city farms are small charity-run farms inside the city where children can see goats, sheep, pigs, horses and chickens for free, and its best playgrounds are just as free and often more exciting than a paid attraction. Most farms ask only for a donation, and none of the places in this guide needs a ticket.

A city farm is not a zoo or a theme park. It is usually a few acres of yards, pens and vegetable gardens squeezed between housing estates and railway lines, run by a local charity with staff and volunteers. The animals are ordinary farm breeds, the paths are muddy after rain, and the atmosphere is calm. For a toddler who has never seen a pig up close, that is more than enough.

The playgrounds are a different kind of treat. London's parks have some of the most imaginative play spaces in Europe, from a pirate ship in Kensington Gardens to a whole park in Bloomsbury where adults are not allowed in without a child. Put one farm and one playground together and you have a full family day for the price of the bus fare.

What to expect at a London city farm

London's first city farms appeared in the 1970s as community projects, giving city children a place to learn where food comes from. Kentish Town City Farm, which describes itself as the UK's first city farm, was set up in 1972. Today most farms are registered charities that also run school visits, riding lessons for disabled children, gardening projects and volunteer schemes. Visitors are welcome, but you are a guest in a working place.

That shapes the visit. Animals may be in a barn rather than a field, depending on the weather and the time of day. Feeding is usually done by staff, not visitors. There are rarely big signs, shows or timetables. A visit to one farm takes an hour or two, which suits small children well. Older children who want more action will be happier at the zoo, and our guide to ZSL London Zoo explains what that costs by comparison.

Most farms have a small café, either run by the farm or by a separate business on the site, and some have a small shop. Toilets are usually available but can be closed when the main yard is closed, so check before you set off with a toddler.

Seven city farms that are worth the trip

The table sets out the basics. Opening hours are those published by each farm in September 2026 and can change with the season, the weather and animal health, so look at the farm's own website on the morning of your visit.

Mudchute: the biggest and most rural

Mudchute covers 32 acres in the middle of the Isle of Dogs, and it is the one farm that really feels like countryside. Animals graze in open fields with the towers of Canary Wharf behind them, which makes for a memorable photo. The farm is open every day and free of charge. Mudchute recommends Crossharbour DLR: cross the road, walk through the supermarket car park and enter the park at the back.

The small-animals area has shorter and more complicated hours than the rest of the farm and closes during school holidays, and the courtyard with the toilets is closed on Mondays outside the holidays. Combine Mudchute with Canary Wharf or with Greenwich: Island Gardens station, at the southern tip of the island, is next to the foot tunnel under the Thames.

Hackney and Spitalfields: two small farms in the East End

Hackney City Farm, on Goldsmiths Row, has a farmyard with animals, gardens, a café and pottery and other classes, and entry is free. It is close to the Sunday flower market on Columbia Road, so on a Sunday morning you can see flowers and animals within half an hour. Remember that the farm is closed on Mondays unless it is a bank holiday.

Spitalfields City Farm, on Buxton Street just off Brick Lane, is smaller and very much a neighbourhood place. It is a good break from the crowds at the Spitalfields and Brick Lane markets, and there is a Santander Cycles docking station right outside the entrance. The farm asks visitors to wear sturdy shoes rather than open sandals.

Vauxhall, Kentish Town and Freightliners: farms by the railway lines

Vauxhall City Farm is a compact farm with a riding school, a few minutes from Vauxhall station. Entry is free, with a suggested donation of £4. Self-organised groups of families meeting up must book as a group.

Kentish Town City Farm has the longest hours of the group, from 09:00 to 17:00 every day, and needs no booking. Its 4.5 acres run alongside two railway lines and include a riding arena, a wildlife pond, goats, sheep, pigs, donkeys, horses and a cow. It is a short walk from Kentish Town station, so it pairs well with a morning at Camden Town or a walk on the Heath.

Freightliners Farm in Holloway is free at the point of entry and is funded by donations, grants and farm services. It is the one to note if your only free day is a Monday, because it opens then but closes on Tuesdays instead.

Deen City Farm: a longer trip into south-west London

Deen City Farm in Merton, near Wimbledon, is further out, but it has a free playground, a café and a riding school on the same site, so it can fill most of a day. Entry is free and the farm recommends a donation of £3 per person. The main visitor areas are step-free. Plan the journey on the TfL Journey Planner, because the best route depends on where you are staying.

Hygiene, feeding and lambing: the rules that matter

Farm animals can carry germs that make people ill, so every farm asks visitors to wash their hands with soap and water after touching animals and before eating. Mudchute points out that hand gel and baby wipes are not a replacement for soap and water. Eat only in the picnic or café areas.

• Do not feed the animals unless the farm sells approved feed or a member of staff invites you to. The wrong food can make animals sick.
• Pregnant women should keep away from sheep at lambing time and should not touch pregnant ewes, lambs or kids. Both Hackney and Mudchute give this advice because of infection risks.
• Leave the dog at home. Hackney does not allow dogs in the yard, and Coram's Fields admits only registered assistance dogs.
• Expect mud and cobbles. Hackney's farmyard is cobbled, which is hard work with a buggy, and every farm gets muddy after rain.

Children with asthma or hay fever may find the dusty farm environment uncomfortable, Hackney warns. Bring any inhaler you normally carry.

Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens

This is London's most famous playground, inspired by the story of Peter Pan, and it reopened on 5 August 2026 after a £3 million renewal that included a new wooden pirate galleon for climbing. It sits in the north-west corner of Kensington Gardens, close to Kensington Palace. The nearest Tube station is Queensway on the Central line.

Entry is free, but the Royal Parks have a strict rule: only adults who are supervising children up to the age of 12 are admitted. Adults without children may look around only between 09:30 and 10:00. In September 2026 the Royal Parks also said that the water play was switched off because of a hosepipe ban, and that group bookings were not being taken for now.

On sunny weekends and in school holidays there can be a queue at the gate, because staff limit numbers. Arriving at 10:00 on a weekday is the calmest option. Afterwards, the rest of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens has space for picnics, the Serpentine and the Peter Pan statue.

Coram's Fields: a park where adults need a child to get in

Coram's Fields in Bloomsbury has been a children's park since 1936, and it is famous for one rule: no adult may enter without a child. It is for young people under 16. That makes it one of the most relaxed places in central London for parents, because the gates, lawns and play areas are designed around children.

The park is free and open daily from 09:00 to 19:00. It has a sensory playground, a children's playground, big sandpits open all year, an adventure playground, two lawns for picnics, a café and a paddling pool that opens in the warmer months. There are toilets for adults and for under-5s, accessible toilets and step-free play equipment. There is no parking, dogs are not allowed, and alcohol and smoking are banned.

The location is the real bonus. Coram's Fields is a few minutes' walk from Russell Square station and close to the British Museum, so you can reward children with an hour of play after a morning of mummies. Our guide to Bloomsbury has cafés and quieter squares nearby.

Tumbling Bay and the other Olympic Park play areas

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford is free to visit every day, and its 560 acres include some of the best newer play spaces in London. Tumbling Bay Playground, in the north of the park, has rock pools, sand pits, tall treehouses, wobbly bridges, slides and swings. It won a Civic Trust special award in 2014 for its accessible and inclusive design, and the Timber Lodge café is right next door.

In the south of the park there are large play areas with giant red climbing rocks, broad slides and oversized swings. Outside the stadium, 195 water jets make up a fountain maze that children run through on warm days. The park says the fountains are switched on each day until October, from around 10:00 to 17:00, except on stadium event days.

A day here can also take in the Helix slide at the ArcelorMittal Orbit for older children (minimum age 8), and the wider story of the site is in our guide to the Olympic Park today.

What a free family day really costs

The farms and playgrounds are free, so your main cost is getting there. Children aged 5 to 10 travel free on London buses without a ticket. On the Tube, DLR, Overground and Elizabeth line they travel free with a fare-paying adult, up to four children per adult. The full rules, including discounts for 11 to 15 year olds, are in our guide to children's fares on London transport.

For adults, a bus journey costs £1.75 with contactless or Oyster (rising to £1.85 on 1 November 2026), and you can change buses free within an hour. Daily caps stop you paying more than £8.90 a day for Tube travel in Zones 1 and 2. A family of two adults and two children aged 5 to 10 who take the DLR to Mudchute and a bus back therefore spends a few pounds each on fares, plus whatever they drop in the donation box.

We would give each farm you visit what you can. The donation boxes pay for animal feed, vets and the education work, and a family that spends nothing else can easily afford a few pounds. Cash is not always needed: several farms take online or card donations.

Planning around seasons, school holidays and rain

Spring is the best time for baby animals, although lambing also brings the hygiene rules above. Summer means long playground hours and water play, where it is running. Autumn and winter bring shorter days: several farms close earlier from late October, when the clocks go back, and the Diana playground closes at 15:45 from November.

School holidays change things in both directions. Some farms open more areas or extra days, but Mudchute's small-animals area closes during the holidays, and playgrounds are at their busiest. If rain sets in, most farm animals retreat indoors and the yards turn to mud, so keep a plan B from our list of things to do in London when it rains.

For more free ideas, our round-up of free things to do in London covers museums and viewpoints, and the wider family travel guide to London helps you plan the rest of the trip.

Frequently asked questions

Are London city farms free to visit?

Yes. All the city farms in this guide have free entry, but they are charities and rely on donations. Vauxhall City Farm suggests £4 and Deen City Farm recommends £3 per person, while the others simply welcome whatever you can give.

Which city farm is closest to central London?

Spitalfields City Farm, near Brick Lane, and Hackney City Farm on Goldsmiths Row are the easiest to reach from the City and the East End. Vauxhall City Farm is a short walk from Vauxhall station, south of Westminster across the river.

Can adults visit the Diana Memorial Playground without children?

Only briefly. The Royal Parks admit adults only when they are supervising children up to the age of 12. Adults without children may enter between 09:30 and 10:00 to look around, before the playground fills up.

What is the age limit at Coram's Fields?

Coram's Fields is for children and young people under 16, and adults can only enter with a child. It is free and open daily from 09:00 to 19:00, a few minutes' walk from Russell Square station in Bloomsbury.

Can children feed the animals at London city farms?

Usually not, unless the farm sells approved feed or a member of staff invites you to help. The wrong food can make animals ill, so ask first, and always wash hands with soap and water afterwards.

Sources

• The Royal Parks - Diana Memorial Playground (checked September 2026)
• Coram's Fields - Plan your visit (checked September 2026)
• Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park - Playgrounds (checked September 2026)
• Mudchute Park and Farm - Opening times (checked September 2026)
• Hackney City Farm - Visit (checked September 2026)
• Kentish Town City Farm - Visits (checked September 2026)
• Vauxhall City Farm - Visit us (checked September 2026)
• Transport for London - Bus and tram fares (checked September 2026)