Spring lambs at Deen City Farm.
Deen City Farm’s charm is that its isn’t freshly painted, glossy and gleaming. It’s a bit shabby, run by very nice but sometimes slightly confused volunteers, and has a café, Brioche Farmhouse, serving homemade cakes, breakfast, brunch and lunch. All of which makes it a perfect place to take small children, particularly those who are not inclined to hold hands nicely and walk quietly around a museum. It is also completely free (woohoo!), which makes it an excellent place to visit when you know you might need to bail out due to bad behaviour, tiredness (your or theirs) or just want something to do for less than an hour.
As you might expect it has farm animals (chickens, ducks, geese, cows, sheep, goats and pigs) and a selection of other animals (last time I visited they had rabbits and an owl, plus other small birds in an aviary). Often there is something seasonal to see, such as frog spawn or freshly hatched chicks. There is also a riding school (full of teenage girls volunteering) so there are always lots of horses to look at. Children aged 2 to 7 can have a pony ride: a short walk on a pony with a leader and a side walker, for £3 (plus a £1 booking fee). Rides must be booked online in advance, and they get busy at weekends and in the school holidays. Oh, and the farm is closed on Mondays, except bank holiday Mondays; the rest of the week it’s open 10am to 4.30pm (last entry 4pm).
A horse in the riding school’s arena.
There are drop-in sessions where children can stroke the smaller animals, such as the rabbits and guinea pigs, and you can buy food to feed the sheep, goats and cows. Have a look at the farm’s website, or ask at the café / shop when you get there. That means that they are pretty keen on handwashing – there are extra sinks outside the toilets, and lots of signs reminding you to wash your hands. If you have a child who is a dedicated thumb / finger sucker, you do need to be a bit careful – there are some nasty bugs that you can get from farms. As you would expect, it can also be pretty muddy (if not worse) underfoot, so wellies (waterproof boots) are a good idea for kids, and waterproof shoes for adults. Buggys (strollers) with small wheels will be OK on the paths, but hard work to push on the rougher ground. It’s mostly outside, so you definitely need to dress properly for the weather.
For children who are pretty unimpressed by animals (like mine) there is a good playground right next to the picnic area. It is small but very well designed, and reopened in 2021 with a new surface and new equipment. It doesn’t work well for crawling babies because the ground is covered with wood chippings, but it does nicely for just-walking toddlers right up to 6yo ‘Elsa’ and her friend ‘Elsa 2’ to play on together. 3yo ‘Anna’ and her little friend particularly enjoyed the old playground’s pretend shop and wooden tractor. Beyond the playground is a maze of little paths winding around various slightly quirky gardens (a maze, a circle of tree stumps, a house made out of recycled plastic bottles) which is fun to explore.
The cafe is now Brioche Farmhouse, with homemade cakes, breakfast, brunch and lunch, and a kids’ menu. The old cafe did the standard kids lunch box – half a ham / cheese sandwich, drink, crisps, fruit / yoghurt pot – though I’m a cheapskate so I just got the sandwich, and fruit / yoghurt and tap water, and that is plenty for 3yo Anna. Elsa claimed to still be hungry, but since she refused the offer of an apple I’m fairly sure she was hoping for one of the rather nice looking slices of cake…
The farm’s donation box.
Getting there is slightly awkward as it isn’t near a station – either a local bus (200) or get the tram (a joy in itself, for 3yo Anna) four stops from Wimbledon to Phipps Bridge and then turn left and walk for ten minutes. If you have a car, its probably easier to drive, and there is plenty of free parking.
If you want to make a day of it, you can then follow the Wandle Trail south along the River Wandle, which will take you to Morden Hall Park with its adventure playground (zip wire!), lots of space for playing football / rounders, bridge for playing Pooh sticks (a la Winnie the Pooh, nothing to do with nappies and their contents, thankfully) and its rather more sophisticated café. Or you could turn north, and walk to Merton Abbey Mills, close to where William Morris’s firm, Morris & Co., printed fabrics from 1881 to 1940. The water wheel is still there, and most weekends there are events of some sort – last time we went it was steampunk Morris dancing, which was unexpected. It has a small theatre (the Colour House Theatre) and various craft shops, as well as little restaurants and (on summer weekends when she feels like it) a lady with an amazing bouncy castle slide.
A duck stretching its wings.
