Hainault Forest Country Park
Home » Photography »Just recently I’ve been wanting to make more time for us as a family. We’ve gotten into a bad trap of turning weekends over to sorting out the house, sitting in front of computer screens and wasting the weekend away. But no more. Hubs and I sat down and wrote a list of places we could visit over the coming year, and days out can add up to a lot of money…so, to that end, I thought I’d start a series of posts entitled “Things To Do For Free In…”
Today I’m starting with the county I live in – Essex, but I will be including London, since that’s only down the road, and probably into Hertfordshire and Kent too!
Today we are off to Hainault Forest Country Park…336 acres of greenspace on the borders of Essex and London.
With a fishing lake (requires a license, currently £10 per day), adventure areas, nature trails, bridleways, fields, dog-free picnic area, woodland, a cafe (loos as well!), and a farm. In short, there is plenty to do here for free!
Back in the day, when my son was younger, you could park here for free, with some paid access in the summer by way of a toll-booth as you drove in. Now, it is all paid parking using the pay and display metres located in the two carparks. It is currently £1 per hour or £3 per day. Parking is free for blue badge holders.
The park is open from 7am to dusk, 7 days a week, and in summer it can get super busy! We’ve been turned away before in the past because there was no room left to park!
At the moment, a lot of the fields are fenced off. This is so that the ground can recover (at least, that is what I read on the web). With the recent extreme wet weather, they’re also undertaking drainage works to relieve the flooding.
Like I said, there is lots to do in the park – we’ve spent many hours walking through the woods, or around the lake, or just sitting in the sun enjoying a picnic, but today, I’m going to concentrate on Foxborough Farm which is located within the park.
Entrance into the farm is free, and is open 9:30-15:00 in the winter and until 17:00 in the summer. Within the farm, there is also two play areas for children – play towers for children aged 8-13 years, and a play trail for younger children.
We’ve spent many a sunny (and wet and windy and snowy) hour or so here over the years! And even now that the boy is 15, I will still take him to the farm! A walk around Hainault Forest is not complete for us until we walk around the farm and look at the animals.
The last time we went (December 2013), was a very cold day, but the sun was out in force. There were a lot of families with young children, and it is a great place for the young kiddies to see all these animals, great because it is F-R-E-E!
We spotted a peacock and a peahen – all the birds and fowl are able to wander around the farm, so you may end up face to face with a chicken or duck or goose!
Facilities are provided to wash your hands should you or your children touch any of the animals.
Not many of the chickens were out on this cold day – but I’ve seen lots of different breeds there in the past, as well as a huge turkey that makes the funniest huffing sound! There are also ducks and geese to be seen too.
Foxborough Farm is home to rare breeds and also to a family of meerkats…although, the meerkats must have been hiding because I’ve not seen them when I’ve visited! Will have to check them out next time we go.
There are horses – both big and miniature! The big horses were in the stables, but they do go out on the fields when the weather is warmer. It’s lovely to see the miniature horses trotting around!
You are asked not to feed the animals, and do be wary if you go to pet any of them as there are also warning signs that some animals bite. As I said earlier, there are hand-washing facilities (at the farm entrance) but it’s probably also worth taking a bottle of anti-bac in your bag.
There are a couple of donkeys, again, they go out on the fields when the weather is warmer!
And so many different breeds of sheep and goats too! Children who love farm animals will love this place – I know my boy loved visiting here when he was little – and it was a bonus for me back then, when I was a single mum on benefits as I only had to pay to get there.
I have seen cows at the farm before, and there were also a couple of pigs too the last time (before this, that is) that we visited, but I think they must have been hiding in their sheds.
As well as all the large animals, there are also smaller furry friends including rabbits, guinea pigs, and I think, a chipmunk! He was burying himself into some dirt, so I couldn’t get a photo of him! There were also some quails, and I remember that they used to have a couple of owls as well.
By no means is this a huge farm – you could probably walk up and down it in about half an hour or, but for a fun free activity and a way to see some farm animals, it’s a great way to spend some time. Of course, you could take longer, looking at the animals, talking about them with your children, and playing in the adventure areas. Plus you have the rest of the Country Park to explore. You could easily spend a day in Hainault Forest on a lovely warm summer day!
And whilst you can see all of the farm animals, don’t forget to look out for wild animals too! You’ll always see a squirrel, and there are lots of wild fowl on the lake!
So if you’re in Essex/London and looking for somewhere new to go, why not give Hainault Forest Country Park a try? Get there early, especially in summer, take a picnic and enjoy the beautiful open spaces that this county has to offer.
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Emily
March 13, 2014 @ 1:34 am
Looks perfect for a day out with the kids. Beautiful pics.
Michelle Ordever
March 13, 2014 @ 3:25 pm
I used to take my boy there a lot when he was little, it’s a lovely place to walk too
Agata Pokutycka
March 11, 2014 @ 10:38 pm
Lovely place to visit! Love the picture of mini horses, they remind me of my boy Bunk :-)
Michelle Ordever
March 13, 2014 @ 3:26 pm
The mini horses are lovely!
The Go To Mum
March 8, 2014 @ 8:45 am
We found ourselves in a similar trap. No more here either, love your photo’s and it looks like a lovely place to visit
Michelle Ordever
March 13, 2014 @ 3:26 pm
Looks like we’re in for some good weather, so really must make the most of it – sick of being cooped up indoors!
Keri-Anne
March 7, 2014 @ 9:31 pm
Great photos and information xxx
Claire Toplis
March 7, 2014 @ 7:57 pm
Awwwh beautiful photos x
Vaichin@RamblingThroughParenth
March 7, 2014 @ 3:10 pm
Fantastic photos. Loving all the animal pics. And a peacock in Essex! I would never have known :-) xx
Michelle Ordever
March 13, 2014 @ 3:27 pm
Turns out, a person living near me had a couple of peacocks as pets! They used to be very loud on occasion! x
Michelle Ashmore
March 7, 2014 @ 9:11 am
We’re not going on holiday this year because we have too much to do in the house so I need to be finding out what we can do for free around Lincoln.
Lovely photos :)
Emily
March 13, 2014 @ 1:35 am
I’m from Lincoln originally! Have you been for a walk round Whisby Nature Reserve yet?
Michelle Ashmore
March 13, 2014 @ 9:20 am
It’s a small world! I’m originally from Belper in Derbyshire but moved to Lincoln about 10 years ago. We love Whisby nature reserve and also Hartsholme park. We feed the ducks and have a roam in the woods :)
Kara
March 7, 2014 @ 6:57 am
Gorgeous photos – I adore Peacocks. Loving that its free too……not many places are these days
Bek B
March 7, 2014 @ 12:15 am
Wonderful photographs! This looks like a great place to visit, such a shame that we live so far away from it.
Kirsty Hornblow
March 6, 2014 @ 11:01 pm
What an amazing free place to visit. I can’t believe you don’t have to pay to go into the farm! It looks like you managed to find a beautiful sunny day to visit too. Weekend trips out can really add up to a major dent in the pocket so inspiration for free things to do is a great idea x
Michelle Ordever
March 13, 2014 @ 3:28 pm
It’s great that it’s free – I don’t even think they have a donations box which would be a nice thing to have I think.
Day trips can rack up the pounds can’t they? Trying to find as many free things to do as we can!
Hellies Corner
March 6, 2014 @ 10:14 pm
Great photos, fresh air and blue sky, the first pic of the horse is brilliant.
The Egyptian Mummy
March 6, 2014 @ 9:51 pm
Great photos! They made me want to go there right now :)
Happy Homebird
March 6, 2014 @ 9:38 pm
My little boy would love it there! Farm mad and not that many in Cheshire we can see without being charged a fortune so you have a real gem there. Love the pic of the horse poking his nose through the fence,
Michelle Ordever
March 13, 2014 @ 3:30 pm
I know – we’re very lucky to have that nearby – our other local farm has really put prices up over the years, I remember taking my boy there when he was little for just a couple of quid, it’s now over ÂŁ30 if we wanted to go as a family!
Hodge Podge
March 6, 2014 @ 9:18 pm
How cute is that mini horse?! Looking forward to your Kent posts… ;)
Wild & Grizzly
March 6, 2014 @ 8:39 pm
Ooh lots of lovely sunshine you lucky thing! We’ve not been to Essex before but it does look like fun place to spend the day! x
Jenny
March 6, 2014 @ 7:04 pm
That looks like a great place to spend the day.
hannah staveley
March 6, 2014 @ 7:09 pm
Looks a very nice place to stay just wonder if it could be too busy .x
mummyoftwo
March 6, 2014 @ 6:06 pm
Look at all of that sunshine! We have never considered visiting Essex but seeing somewhere like this really makes me want to visit!
Steph (I'm Counting UFOs)
March 6, 2014 @ 5:00 pm
Ooh it looks so very lovely there.
You Baby Me Mummy
March 6, 2014 @ 5:20 pm
Looks like a great place! I NEED one of those ponies for Baby x
Suzanne Whitton
March 6, 2014 @ 3:02 pm
And this is all free? Looks like a fabulous place! The weather obviously helped – that blue sky is stunning :)
Charly Dove
March 6, 2014 @ 1:43 pm
Looks like a fabulous place to visit Michelle. Love the photos especially those little ponies! Gorgeous weather you had by the looks of things too :)
Emma Smith
March 6, 2014 @ 1:39 pm
What beautiful Spring weather. it is so lovely to see some blue skies again at last isn’t it?!
Globalmouse
March 6, 2014 @ 12:31 pm
Oh those blue skies!! This is a great post and I look forward to the others in the series!! It’s so true that day trips can add up in cost but that there are loads of things to do in every town for free – and often they can be much more fun than the more contrived activities out there.
Louisa
March 6, 2014 @ 11:30 am
It’s a great idea to make a list of places to visit. We need to do a similar list to give us the push to stop hibernating at the weekends. Your photos are amazing. I especially love the ones of the horses.
Jen Walshaw
March 6, 2014 @ 12:26 pm
Looks like an amazing place to visit. Oh the blue of the sky!
Cass@TheDiaryofaFrugalFamily
March 6, 2014 @ 11:14 am
Great photos – that looks like a brilliant place to visit with the kids.
Thanks for sharing x x x
Lucie1979
March 6, 2014 @ 12:00 pm
We are only in Sussex and this looks fab! Your pics are amazing!!
spicers1976
March 6, 2014 @ 11:01 am
Lovely pictures of the peacock
The 40 Year Old DG
March 6, 2014 @ 8:53 am
Looks like you had a great day, beautiful pictures too. Hopefully the weather will dry the ground out soon. xx