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Church
Lane
Witney
Oxfordshire
OX28 3LA
Tel: 01993
772602
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| www.cogges.org |
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| Cogges Manor Farm
Museum |
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A city girl and a boy from the Welsh countryside venture outside the hustle and bustle of Oxford to go to the Horse and Tractor Weekend at Cogges Manor Farm Museum.
It was incredibly easy for us to get to the Farm. The number 100 bus runs the quick 11 miles west of Oxford to the market town of Witney from George Street in the city centre. This drops you just 5 minutes walk from the museum and runs at least every half hour.
We arrived just in time to take in the butter making demonstration in the dairy. The kids particularly enjoyed the part where she squeezed all the buttermilk through the cheesecloth. Squishy! After the demonstration we took a nice stroll around the Victorian walled garden, through the picnic orchard, and down the picturesque River Windrush walk. We also saw the animals that live at Cogges. My personal favourite were the little baby bunnies in the children’s farm area, which has regular handling sessions. I overheard the parents of a little girl who was absolutely enamoured of them say it’s a good thing she can’t read the sign that they’re for sale! Will liked the three enormous pigs they keep (two Gloucester Old Spots and an Oxfordshire Sandy Black), and was sad that he missed the daily feeding session. There were also lots of different types of chickens and ducks running around, cows to watch being milked, and sheep and horses to visit.
We then visited the Manor House, which shows through exhibits how the family would have lived and used the house in the Victorian times. In the main kitchen you can even meet the costumed staff cooking on the original range. Our last daytime activity was taking a bit of tea and cake in their lovely tearoom. We stuck around for the special evening performance of “Much Ado About Nothing” on the Manor House lawn by The Festival Players Company. The Company did a fabulous job, and it was a real treat to sit on the lawn to watch it. Mattie the donkey was in the adjacent field, which I thought was fitting as she reminded me of another comedy by the Bard, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Maybe next year Mattie can be in on the performance!
Cogges Manor Farm Museum isn’t just for the kids, adults will love it too. They hold themed weekend events every other weekend throughout the season, so check their website for the next one. We can’t recommend it more highly for a day out, particularly with the harvest season coming up soon!
Reviewed by Kimberly Manning and Will Rivers
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