The Cotswolds
Cotswold Farm Park Camping
Guiting Power, Gloucestershire
Camp at Adam Henson's rare breeds farm: lamb feeding, tractor rides, animal barns.
Lambs, lions, alpacas and a rhino before breakfast.
Somewhere between the first pony book and the vet-school application, there is a golden age when a holiday is measured entirely in animals met. This is their list. It runs from farmyard (lamb feeding, egg collecting) to full safari (rhinos across the road, lions after dark).
Time it right and it gets even better: lambing at Cotswold Farm Park runs roughly February to April, and the quietest animal encounters everywhere are in the first hour after gates open, which is exactly when campers have the advantage.
6 hand-picked sites, in our order of preference
The Cotswolds
Guiting Power, Gloucestershire
Camp at Adam Henson's rare breeds farm: lamb feeding, tractor rides, animal barns.
Oxfordshire
Longcot, near Faringdon, Oxfordshire
Farmer Gow's lambs, chicks and tractor rides at the bottom of the field.
Oxfordshire
Bradwell Grove, Burford, Oxfordshire
Cotswold Wildlife Park directly across the road: rhinos, giraffes, penguins.
Oxfordshire
Bletchingdon, Oxfordshire
Daily goat and alpaca feeding rounds run by the owners.
Wiltshire
Calne, Wiltshire
Animal paddocks, a wildlife sanctuary area and a dipping pond with nets.
The Cotswolds
Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Follow the organic farm trail to the cows, pigs and hens that laid breakfast.
Yes to both. Burford Caravan and Motorhome Club Site is directly opposite the entrance to Cotswold Wildlife Park and welcomes tents. For Longleat, the estate's own club site is caravan and motorhome only, so tent families should base at Brokerswood Holiday Park, about 15 minutes from the safari gates.