ENTERTAINING
Sheep Fest, and More
On the weekend just passed (8th and 9th August) Adam Henson’s Cotswold Farm Park had a Sheep Fest. Adam is portrayed on the Park’s website as ‘perhaps the best-known farmer in the UK’. He appears regularly on the BBC Countryfile television programme. Continuing the initiative of his father, Adam is a conservationist and promoter of rare breed farm animals. These animals are the core of the Park and make it distinctive. The Park regards itself as a family attraction.
The Sheep Fest’s elements were said on the Park’s website as ‘Sheepdog Demonstrations, Sheep Handling and Showing, Live Performances from Flock … Build-a-Lamb’ [optional extra]. On arrival at the entry point/ticket office of the Park, the visitor was given no information on the Fest or plan of the Park, to orientate them, to enable them to know what is happening at what time and where. Only on the Park site itself is there a plan of it.
My visit to the Sheep Fest was for some hours in the afternoon of 8th August. Not until I visited the toilet did I see a plan of day, and with actual times. This was displayed on the back of the toilet door. I was sad that, due to not enough provided information when I was planning my visit to the Park, I had entirely missed Sheep Handling Demonstrations giving the opportunity to ‘…have a go at handling and learn about sheep preparation and showing.’ I had also missed two performances of Flock, and with the next one not due until 4pm at which time I needed to depart from the Park. Tractor rides, costing £1 per person, commenced at 11am. Bottle Feeding, a twice-daily regular at the Park between 25th April and 31st August, was on the programme, to happen at 11.30am and 3.30pm. The Sheepdog Demonstration was scheduled for 2pm.
Along with quite a large crowd of visitors, I saw the Sheepdog Demonstration. This was marred by a shocking incident. The incident served to underline that dogs’ natural inclination is to ‘go’ for sheep. I watched the 3.30pm Bottle Feeding session of lambs, many pretty large. This was in the Animal Barn. Outdoors in a field would be the natural place for sheep and lambs in August.
At 4pm, and also in the Animal Barn, the Flock performance by the Bread and Butter Theatre Company, from Cumbria, commenced. The ‘star’ of the show - of which, very sadly, I only saw the beginning due to having to leave the Park - was life-like and beautiful Heidi the Herdwick (who was made by puppet makers Flying Buttresses). Interesting juxtaposition was that in a pen close to the Flock performance were real Herdwicks.
As indicated, the central feature of the Park is the rare breed farm animals. They are in quite small fields. Frequently several types of animals are in a field. The animals are well cared for. Visitors view them by walking round on a Rare Breed Trail. The information presented is ‘bitty’, and is not displaying either a path of thought or a particular route to be followed physically by visitors walking round the Trail. In the Park’s shop, there are Adam Henson’s books, yet no printed Guide about the Park. I visited the Park in 2024 and commented along these lines (careaboutsheep.com, ‘Education’ article, 4th September 2024).
The Park is formed of these main elements: the Rare Breed Trail, barns, play areas, a restaurant and snack kiosks, the shop. Alongside the Park is Cotswold Farm Park Holidays, offering ‘a variety of accommodation to suit all’.
Visitor attractions are many. What separates Adam Henson’s Cotswold Farm Park from competitors is that is that it is Adam Henson’s. He is a farmer of knowledge and celebrity. To be expected from him are high standards. For wondering is, in his busy and varied life, how much time he is giving to evaluating on the ground, and in other than economic terms, the Farm Park bearing his name and conveying his ownership of it. Visitor attractions across the board are nowadays high calibre and carrying high visitor expectations. It can be seen that top management expertise and product conceptualisation, and better and more on-site information delivery, are required for Cotswold Farm Park to be appropriate to the Adam Henson link.
13th August 2026