Daisy Mays Farm

View prices & book 8.2 99 reviews
Campervan pitches
Lambing time on the farm
Visitor image of the animals on site
Caravan and camping site

  • Farm site with a petting zoo 15 minutes’ drive from Bishop’s Stortford
  • A 30-minute drive to IWM Duxford, and 40 minutes to Colchester Zoo
  • Off-grid camping with a playground and animal encounters on site
How about a family camping break at a petting zoo? Sounds like heaven for animal-loving kids… so if you've got some of those in your tribe it sounds like you should be heading for Daisy Mays Farm, 15 minutes’ drive from Bishop’s Stortford, where you can greet and feed the animals. It’s a breeze to get here from London or Cambridge, with direct train services to the stations at Stansted (five minutes’ drive) and an efficient road network. Stays include the use of all the farm’s attractions – both during and outside of public opening times – which include a secure play area, a woodland for den building and an adventure playground with swings, sandpits and a games pitch in addition to the petting farm. Large woodland and grass pitches overlook the sheep paddocks, and there’s ample parking, drinking water and ice-pack freezing. Please note there are no electric hookups at this site. There is, however, a handy coffee cabin open for hot drinks all week, with hot food, ice creams and slushes also available 10am-4pm at weekends and during school holidays. Dogs are allowed on leads at the campsite and in the paddocks only, not the play areas or animal fields. As the site is off grid, it's a good idea to bring a torch to find the toilets at night. The modern toilet block has two flushing toilets, but the owners do note you should manage expectations. As a working farm, there may be mud on the floor in the toilet block and possibly even in the shower if guests wear their outdoor shoes in there. The ground may be muddy – and please note that there are no heated facilities; the showers freeze in cold temperatures, so they are not available during low season.

Site type

Tent pitches 10
Motorhome pitches 2
Touring caravan pitches 3
Open all year
Opens
Please note
  • The showers are unavailable during the winter months as the water supply freezes.

Languages spoken

English

No availability here for your search criteria

Pitch types & availability

Reviews

  • 48%
    10
  • 2%
    9
  • 27%
    8
  • 2%
    7
  • 7%
    6
  • 1%
    5
  • 6%
    4
  • 1%
    3
  • 4%
    2
  • 1%
    1
Location
9
Value for money
9
Accommodation
8
Facilities / Activities
8
Customer service
8
Child friendliness
9
Cleanliness
7
Wifi
4

81% would recommend this site to a friend

77% would stay here again

What customers say

Daisy Mays Farm: A top family spot, great value with loads of farm fun! Kids love the animals. Facilities are basic but clean. Expect some plane noise near Stansted, but it's a chilled, peaceful break.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 10
Arrival date (latest first)

Great stopover.

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
8
Value for money
9
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
7
Customer service
9
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
7
Wifi
No rating
Anonymous

Non-electric gravel and hardstanding motorhome pitch

Liked We had an overnight stop here on our way home. Our dog was fascinated with the goats. We had a warm welcome and were told we could park where we wished. It was a busy day so there weren’t many spaces available. We didn’t notice any hard standing pitches. It would be a great stopover for young children being able to access the animals when the farm has shut for the day.
The toilets & showers are ‘rustic’ but it is a farm and we had read about this before we arrived.

Disliked There is nothing to dislike about this campsite. It is close to Stansted airport so you have to expect planes going over frequently.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Hi, we are really pleased that you enjoyed your stay with us and look forwards to welcoming you again soon.

Kind Regards

The Daisy May’s Team

Needs massive amount of work. Or a number cut on pitches.

Overall

4 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
3
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
1
Customer service
1
Child friendliness
4
Cleanliness
1
Wifi
No rating
Hannah C.

Non-electric grass and earth tent pitch

Liked Open fires

Disliked The fact there's only 2 TOILETS one with a lock that was broken and a light that would turn off after 30seconds. the day we left (early) there were around 40-50 pitches being used, they had emptied the horse field to be used for pitches. We left a night early. The que for the toilets were ridiculously especially with young children. One volunteer moaned at me and told me to "tell the other campers to stop taking the toilet rolls" but the fact was they were placing 2 in each toilet for over 150 people...
These toilet are also used for non camping day visitors to the petting farm which increased the numbers.

The volunteers were all teenage girls that would walk around shouting crying and vaping. One girl would continuously whip the horse whilst the other stood asking each other why's she whipping him so much.
The only staff member who was welcoming was a young girl called Amber who worked in the petting farm area, all other members had 0 customer services etiquette.

This place felt completely lawless.
The animals enclosure needed work, we had to untangle a few goats in our visit alone.

The train ride was £2 per person, ridiculously overpriced. The task was to count the carrots which were mostly mouldy old teddies. There was an abandoned train cart right next to the track with Christmas decorations inside.. try explaining that to the kids in August?

On our first night we had to get the kids to stay inside the tent as there was a unannounced out of control horse galloping around the tent and open fire being ridden by a teenager screaming "don't you dare disrespect me" whilst whipping it non stop.

I understand this is a working farm, but the whole camping aspect seemed just like a money grab. No rules. No staff seen. Not enough facilities for the amount of people.

Avoid if you want a quiet peaceful camping experience

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Oh dear, we are sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your stay with us. This bank holiday was certainly a busy one but the feedback that we had from most families was that there was an amazing atmosphere and that everyone was having a great time.

We pride ourselves on our laid back approach to “staff” the campsite, as generally families want to play ball games, enjoy music and have a good time. Seldom do we need to interfere, however, staff are onsite 24 hours a day and can be contacted in the event of any problems.

Our toilet facilities are rustic but reliable, with flushing toilets and gas hot water shower. There are further toilets down on the farm too, for both campers and day visitors. The facilities are cleaned morning and evening daily and a total of 24 toilet rolls were put out on the Saturday alone, just for us to witness some campers removing multiple toilet rolls and taking them away for their own use. The supply is not limitless unfortunately.

We are indeed a working farm and there is certainly lots going on. It can be hectic and we have liveries (people that keep their horses with us), which can lead to young girls around the stable yard here exercising their horses. Unfortunately we cannot be held responsible for the way in which they conduct themselves, although the girl and pony that I suspect you to be referring to, are actually a very good team. However, the pony is only new to being ridden and very stubborn when trying to leave the yard/other horses. They are in fact making good progress and the situation was probably more difficult than usual, due to the unusual amount of people around.

We are sorry that the volume of campers over the bank holiday caused you concern. There were 20 pitches booked out but it seems that most of these were large families with pup tents/gazebos etc. In future maybe we need to tighten then rules on additional units, if the rules that we have currently are not working.

Kind Regards

The Daisy May’s Team

30 pitches being used on the friday night. Too many we left early

Overall

5 out of 10
Location
9
Value for money
9
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
2
Customer service
2
Child friendliness
6
Cleanliness
8
Wifi
No rating
Amanda P.

Non-electric grass and earth tent pitch

Liked Freedom to pitch where we liked and animals
Sandpit and stream area

Disliked Toilet and shower facilities - not enough for the number of campers as well as an open farm during the day.
Either no hand towel or no toilet paper on every trip to the loo.
Needed another bin point for rubbish not just at the entrance.
No den building as advertised

Recommend to friends Visit again

Excellent place to stay

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
8
Value for money
10
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
8
Customer service
8
Child friendliness
8
Cleanliness
8
Wifi
No rating
Anonymous

Non-electric grass and earth tent pitch

Liked Loved this campsite nice and secluded camping area.
Loved we could use the farm even out of hours the kids loved it.

Disliked Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

We had a really lovely stay,…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
No rating
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
No rating
Wifi
No rating
Clare C.

Non-electric gravel and hardstanding motorhome pitch

Liked We had a really lovely stay, it was very friendly. The children loved staying on a working farm and really enjoyed the sandpit and stream!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Lovely place petting animals sandpit woodland walk relaxed nice staff

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
7
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
5
Wifi
8
Anonymous

Non-electric grass and earth tent pitch

Liked Very relaxed, nice staff helpful
Grandson loved it

Disliked Could do with updating

Recommend to friends Visit again

Animals…

Overall

3 out of 10
Location
No rating
Value for money
2
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
1
Customer service
2
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
1
Wifi
1
Anonymous

Non-electric gravel and hardstanding motorhome pitch

Liked Animals

Disliked Toilet facilities, very noisy

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great little place…

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
8
Value for money
8
Accommodation
7
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
4
Wifi
No rating
Edward P.

Non-electric gravel and hardstanding motorhome pitch

Liked Great little place

Recommend to friends Visit again

Fantastic and we will definitely stay again

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
9
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
9
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Chris S.

Non-electric gravel and hardstanding motorhome pitch

Liked All the animals were amazing

Disliked No hard standing despite it being an option on booking

Recommend to friends Visit again

This is the 4 year in…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
6
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
1
Anonymous

Non-electric grass and earth tent pitch

Liked This is the 4 year in a row we have stayed with a big group.
We always have a lovely stay and cant wait for next year

Recommend to friends Visit again


Features

Leisure on site

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Games room Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Play area TV room Take away Tennis Watersports

Amenities on site

Bath available Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Food shop Free wifi Ice pack freezing Internet access Launderette Parent & baby washroom Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Public telephone Shower available Toilet block Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

D. of E. welcome Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Rallies welcome Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue provided Barbecues allowed Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed Dogs allowed all year

Themes

Budget/backpacker Forest Leave the car at home Peaceful Remote location Spectacular scenery Walkers' paradise Wild camping Wildlife haven

Utilities

Charging facilities Chemical disposal Electric car charging point(s) Gas cylinders available No hot water Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby Nearby farmers' market Public transport nearby Shop nearby

Type

Farm Small (11-25 pitches)

Nearby leisure

Golf nearby Restaurant nearby

Location

Daisy Mays Farm

Hall Road

Elsenham

Essex

England

CM22 6DN

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London +0100 (GMT+01:00)

GPS

51.91165°N
0.23811°E

Nearest transport

Coach
3 km Coach Station
3 km Coach Station
3 km Coach Station
Rail
1.2 km Elsenham Rail Station
2.9 km Stansted Mountfitchet Rail Station
3 km Stansted Airport Rail Station
Ferry
47.6 km Woolwich Ferry North Pier
47.8 km Woolwich Arsenal Pier
47.9 km Woolwich Ferry South Pier
Airport
2.8 km London Stansted Airport
33.4 km Cambridge Airport
42.5 km London Luton Airport

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Local attractions

If your kids are demanding yet more animal encounters, spend the day admiring the big cats, penguins and rare red pandas at Paradise Wildlife Park (45 minutes’ drive), where there’s also a dinosaur-themed woodland trail. Alternatively, head for Colchester Zoo (50 minutes) to spend time shadowing the keepers. Once you prise the kids away from the wildlife, let them loose on the adventure golf at Golf World Stansted (five minutes) while you practise your swing on the driving range or play a round on the nine-hole parkland course. Still outdoors, take forest walks through centuries-old trees at National Trust - Hatfield Forest (15 minutes), or have a stroll around ornamental ponds at The Gardens of Easton Lodge (20 minutes), with a layout dating from the Tudor era. There’s more local heritage to be discovered at Mountfitchet Castle and Norman Village (five minutes), where you can tour a reconstructed medieval farming settlement and castle. Keen to learn more about World War II? Have a meander around the extensive collection of fighter planes at IWM Duxford (half an hour).

Must see

Audley End House and Gardens 12.2 km

Imperial War Museum Duxford 21.7 km

Lee Valley Regional Park 29.8 km

Knebworth House 31.4 km

Wimpole Hall and Home Farm 32.2 km

National Trust

Paycocke's 30.7 km

Coggeshall Grange Barn 31 km

Wimpole Home Farm 32.3 km

Wimpole Hall 32.3 km

Shaw's Corner 35.8 km

Cycle routes

Find local routes on the National Cycle Network - over 12,000 miles of cycling routes.

Other

Elsenham - Henham - Plegdon Green -Elsenham 1.2 km

Stansted Mountfitchet - Ugley Green - Aubrey Buxton - Stansted 2.8 km

Bentfield Green - Chatter End - Harcamlow Way - Manuden - Bollington Hall - Bentfield Green 3.5 km

EASTON LODGE 5.9 km

QUENDON HALL 6.1 km

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Want to know more about camping in Essex?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Daisy Mays Farm have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Daisy Mays Farm dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Daisy Mays Farm? If your kids are demanding yet more animal encounters, spend the day admiring the big cats, penguins and rare red pandas at Paradise Wildlife Park (45 minutes’ drive), where there’s also a … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Daisy Mays Farm?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  1 p.m. –  9 p.m.
    Depart by:  noon
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Daisy Mays Farm? From R715,21 (for 1 night, 4 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.