Escape to the countryside with your family on a New South Wales farm stay, where even big kids might learn something new. Breathe in the fresh country air as you embrace the opportunity to connect with your family, and perhaps a few friendly farm animals, too. Here are seven great family farm stays to inspire your next holiday.

Cosy up with your family at Hedgerow Farm, Armidale

Enjoy the privacy of Hedgerow Farm, just outside Armidale in the New England High Country, which offers a tastefully furnished historic homestead for your exclusive use. Sleeping up to 10 guests in four rooms, it’s perfect for an extended- or multi-generational family escape. Work up a sweat with your kids on the tennis court, team up for a round of billiards, or enjoy some quiet time to yourself on a stroll in the picturesque garden — to a relaxing soundtrack of native-birdcall and buzzing bees — before reconnecting with your brood around the cracking fire pit. Don’t forget to bring marshmallows!

Get back in the saddle at Eden Farm Escape, Bilpin

Share your love of horses with your family at Eden Farm Escape, part of the Eden Equine estate in Bilpin, a 90-minute drive northwest of Sydney in the Hawkesbury region. The estate is a working horse farm; its 36 lush green hectares are home to 12 horses and ponies, along with alpacas, donkeys, goats and a flock of chickens that resides in Cluckingham Palace. Make new memories with your children while collecting eggs and feeding the animals, or trotting along together on a horse ride. Cool off in the property’s dam, then warm up again by the fire pit and barbecue area. There’s also equine-themed art to admire in the property’s five tastefully appointed self-contained cabins, which come with comfy oversized couches.

Meet the menagerie at Ba Mack Farmstay, Windeyer

Soak up the genuine country hospitality doled out by mother-and-daughter team Julie and Kate McLeod at Ba Mack Farmstay, near Mudgee, about four hours northwest of Sydney. Julie believes children need to interact with animals, and here you’ll discover she’s provided the perfect spot for them to do it. Watch your kids’ faces light up as they feed a menagerie of lambs, pigs, chickens and other animals on your stay in the property’s charming two-bedroom cottage or converted train carriage, which also has two bedrooms. And feel a surge of pride as your offspring learn farm skills such as how to handle, groom and ride horses.

Lap up the country-luxe at Linnaeus Farm, Berry

Prepare to be wowed by the immaculate formal gardens, soaring ceilings and rolling countryside views when you check into this majestic five-bedroom, self-catering property just outside Berry in the Shoalhaven region of the NSW South Coast. Opened to guests in 2022, Linnaeus Farm is also bound to win over your children with its fabulous treehouse cubby. Revel in the simple pleasures of picking produce from the terraced organic edible gardens with your kids, splashing around in the pool, or challenging your family to a game of pétanque. Cook up a family feast in the property’s two kitchens or barbecue area, or treat your brood to tasty meals at the excellent restaurants of Berry, just a five-minute drive away.

Milk a cow at Dairy Flat Farm Holidays, Dairy Flat

Soak up the family history of this idyllic farm on the Richmond River at Dairy Flat, near Kyogle in northern NSW, which has been home to six generations of the Lever family. Then set about making some family memories of your own: Dairy Flat Farm Holidays has three country-style cottages, which sleep a total of 16, and an expansive five-bedroom homestead with room for a family group of 11. Enjoy hands-on fun with your kids feeding the chickens, goats and lambs in the farmyard area, learning how to milk a cow and bucket-feeding the calves afterwards. Let the kids loose on the tennis court and saltwater pool, before exploring the lush trails of the Border Ranges National Park right on your doorstep.

Experience outback life at Corynnia Station, Carrathool

Tap into your family’s sense of adventure at Corynnia Station, a 6,800-hectare working sheep farm also offering an authentic outback farm stay experience. An hour’s drive west of Griffith in the Riverina region, or a seven-hour drive west of Sydney, Corynnia Station’s options range from a one-bedroom 1930s cottage to a country lodge that sleeps 12. Step back into the station’s history on the farm tour, which visits the 19th-century shearing shed. Then feel your heart beat faster on a bicycle ride around the property, or during an invigorating family match of tennis. Or slow your pace to school your kids in the art of boules. Then finish the day star-gazing with your family around a crackling campfire.

Roam the garden at Markdale, Crooked Corner

Be charmed by the classic country elegance of Markdale, a 2,550-hectare country retreat in the Southern Tablelands hamlet of Crooked Corner, a three-hour drive west of Sydney, which features a renowned garden created by esteemed landscape designer Edna Walling. Encourage your kids to explore the gorgeous garden, which features an enchanting mix of native and exotic plants, with all their senses. Then enjoy more quality family time mingling with the farm animals and donkeys and spotting local wildlife such as wombats. Kids can also have fun practising their polo swings on the wooden horse. Choose from the two-bedroom stone cottage (with log fire), the four-bedroom 1850s homestead or the beautifully restored six-bedroom shearers’ quarters, all equally lovely options for a family stay