Robinswood Hill Rare Breeds Farm

The sheep were frankly enormous - proper woolly giants that looked like they'd wandered in from a children's book illustration. Robinswood Hill Rare Breeds Farm sits on the slopes just outside Gloucester, and it's the sort of place that works brilliantly if you've got kids who want to actually touch animals rather than just gawk at them through a fence.

You're looking at a working farm dedicated to keeping older, less common breeds alive - the kind of cattle and poultry that would've been common fifty years ago but have nearly vanished. The hill itself is steep enough to give you proper legs by the end, and the views back towards Gloucester are genuinely good, though the farm access can be a bit muddy if it's been wet.

It's free to wander around, which is refreshing. Allow a couple of hours if you're not rushing, longer if children are involved and you're planning to feed anything. Spring and early summer are best - the animals are more active, and you won't overheat trudging uphill. Winter can feel a bit sparse.

If you're based at Baldwin's Brook Glamping nearby, this makes a decent morning out before heading back for lunch. It's real farming, not a sanitised petting zoo, so expect the smell and the mud. That's rather the point. Kids old enough to understand that animals are actual work find it far more interesting than the usual farm park fare.