We should all be caught up on the Bristol-based crime-comedy, The Outlaws. Minor spoilers if you aren’t, but Series 3 starts with our main cast completing their community payback sentence on a farm. In the show, it’s called Bristol City Farm. In reality, it’s St Werburghs City Farm.
For over 40 years, St Werburghs City Farm has played a vital role in connecting city folk to farmland and its animals. It now boasts five unique outdoor sites – from a working city farm to urban allotments and community gardens. The best bit? It’s completely free to visit all year round.
What’s at St Werburghs City Farm?
The main draw has to be the animal smallholding – home to sheep, goats and chickens, sometimes pigs and turkeys. They’re not only very cute but also a great learning tool for little ones. Make sure to buy a cup of grass pellets to feed the goats and sheep too!
Elsewhere, you’ll also find the one-acre community garden. Perfect for a picnic, this free-to-access public space is full of raised beds with flowers, vegetables and fruit, among the trees. Especially on sunny days (when we’re lucky to get them), keep an eye out for the butterflies, birds and bees.
Another must-visit for the area is the award-winning St Werburghs City Farm Café. It’s best known for its gnarled, “hobbit-esque wooden structure. But should be celebrated for a groundbreaking hyper-local ingredient ethos. St Werburghs City Farm provides nearly all ingredients, and in 2008 The Observer Food Awards created a new category to honour the cafe: Best Ethical Contribution.
As a working farm, there are sometimes extra eggs and meat to buy! Meanwhile, The Propagation Place (a part of the 13-acre community allotments) produces vegetable plug plants for sale – an easy way to grow veg if you don’t want to grow from seed. And we’ve not even mentioned Boiling Wells, the magical woodland (not normally open to the public) where activities support vulnerable children and adults throughout the week.
What we’re trying to get at is there’s an endless amount of sights and activities to discover. There are also plenty of ways to lend a hand and volunteer too – and if you can’t, you might want to consider donating to keep this vital community farm alive. To learn more about St Werburghs City Farm head here.