Hackney City Farm

What's not to love about a city farm. Free? Check. Pigs? Check. Free roaming chickens? Check. Sheep? Check. Double check to see if the pigs are still there? Check! Close to hipstertown? CHECK! We came here on a Saturday afternoon to soak up some sunshine and say hello to the animals. There was plenty of things happening at the farm, and a quick look on the board showed quite a few events in the pipeline, including Thursday evenings of music at the cafe. And a stone's throw away from Broadway Market, you are close to epic food in case nothing at the cafe strikes your fancy. 

I think it's important to visit (and donate) to these farms, as they play a vital role in the communities in which they reside. I highly recommend going to this or any one of the city farms in London. 

Having grown up in the countryside, practically on a farm, this isn't exactly a novel experience for me, but it is a fun way to dip into a little bit of countryside in the middle of London - especially if you're missing that countryside scent of animal excrement or the sound of chickens. But the lack of novelty for me isn't the reason I think this place is only worthy of 2 stars - it's actually the lack of manners from one of the members of staff my friends and I encountered the other day. We had wandered in from Columbia Road market with a few refreshing glasses of very weak Pimms and rather than asking politely that we finish them before wandering into the farm, she loudly shamed us for drinking at all, acting as though we'd stumbled in smashed off our faces brandishing a vodka bottle. Considering there is a bar serving alcohol on sight, it seemed incredibly hypocritical of her to make us feel bad for enjoying a drink on a hot Sunday afternoon. We decided to leave rather than give the donations to the farm we had all begun to reach for. There are ways of politely requesting certain behaviours from people, and not taking drinks onto the farm is understandable, but her rudeness was simply out of order. I'd hate to have someone like her representing my organisation and I probably won't bother returning.

What a wonderful way to spend some time on a Sunday afternoon! Yesterday I went to London Fields and Columbia Flower Market with some friends visiting me from abroad, and while walking towards Brick Lane we bumped into Hackney City Farm. 

We were so surprised to see a farm in the middle of London, and we had so much fun! We could see piglets (oh dear, they were so cute!), chickens, lambs, donkeys, goats...it was so cool! There were a lot of families and obviously it's an amazing place for kids, especially city kids who don't get to see these animals this close. The animals are quite free to move around and they seem pretty happy :)

There's also a nice restaurant/cafe but we didn't get to try it. Food smelled amazing, and I think it must be as they grow veggies and I think they use their animal's products. Very cool place to go!

My favourite of the city farms, it's tucked away in a beautiful little location, but with space to house a wide enough range of animals to keep things interesting. There is a really nice cafe and herb garden on-site too. It's only a short walk from Bethnal Green Tube or Broadway market (market operates Saturday) and Columbia Road (flower market Sunday) so perfect to twin with a trip to either.

I had no idea Hackney City Farm existed but I love creatures of all kinds so when we walked past, I had to pop in. It's a very small farmyard, and there are a handful of animals: pigs, donkeys, a few chickens and some goats. It doesn't appear to have a great deal of land but the animals are kept in good nick and clearly do get outside in the small field sometimes. Certainly worth popping your head in just to say hi to the lovely donkeys, who are too cute for words. It's certainly not the best city farm I've been to in London just because it's a bit small and it would be better to see the animals roaming in a bit more space, but such is city life and the animals seem happy (like this fairly enormous pig).