Featherdown Farms

Mug in hand, leaning over the comfy balcony seat in our pyjamas. A perfect start to the day at La Ferme des 3 Centernaires.

It’s not something you can get bored of very quickly! A beautiful safari style glamping tent, in the typical Featherdown Farms layout, but with an excellent balcony area with plenty of seats for the whole family.

What does Featherdown farms holidays mean to us? A place where we can relax as a family, with no technology, bonding over card games, walks and candlelit dinners. Having no electricity is certainly very freeing, although I definitely appreciate the fire lighters for getting the stove going for dinner!

La Ferme des 3 Centenaires

La Ferme des 3 Centenaires in Belgium is filled with a variety of different farm animals. However, it’s definitely the alpacas that captured our hearts!

Leaning over the balcony seat and watching them graze was lovely. We also spent time watching the young alpaca feeding from the mothers and frolicking about together in the field. They seemed rather inquisitive about the ducks that landed in the field, it was funny to watch them jump about!

But it’s not only alpacas on this farm! You can also find several chickens, goats, calves, donkeys, horses, pigs, llamas, rhea, sheep and deer! And then there are the guinea pigs and quail too! It’s certainly a great place for any animal lovers.

Aside from the animal filled paddocks, there are 4 canvas hideaways and a small honesty shop. The hideaways are all raised off the ground on stilts with balconies featuring soft bench seating and a couple of loungers. Plus a picnic bench and barbecue around the corner.

Where is La Ferme des 3 Centenaires?

Just a short distance from Charleroi in Southern Belgium is where you will find La Ferme des 3 Centenaires. It’s in the small village of Jamioulx (pronounced Ja-mooo apparently!), which also has a bakers, small grocers shop and a couple of cafes.

How Do You Get To La Ferme des 3 Centenaires

By car you can drive from the UK through Belgium or via ferry from the Hook of Holland. But the easiest way is to simply take the Eurostar train from London to Brussels, then a regular local train (usually double decker!) from Brussels to Charleroi (1 hour) and finally an 8 minute long train journey from Charleroi to Jamioulx itself. From here it’s less than 5 minutes walking downhill to the farm.

You can also fly into Charleroi and then hire a car or take the train to central station and then to Jamioulx.

Canvas Hideaway

If you have stayed in a Featherdown Farm before you will find the layout very familiar. There is not electricity, however there is a wood burning stove to cook on and heat the tent. Plus hot running water for the shower. Light is by candlelight, I recommend bringing some extras with you!

Each hideaway consists of a wood burning stove in the centre of the building, a table and chairs and sofa, kitchen with sink and a chest that can be used as a fridge (you keep replenishing the frozen water bottle in the honesty shops freezer). Then there are 3 bedrooms, one has bunk beds, another is a bed in a cupboard and then there’s a double bed.

The kitchen has all the crockery and cutlery you could need and you are given a basket of wood and fire lighters every day to cook and heat up the glamping tent with. It’s definitely has many elements of camping, with canvas tent and lack of electricity. But also luxuries of a flushing toilet, hot shower and wooden floor with plenty of space to relax.

What is There to do at The Farm?

You know where the farm is, how easy it is to get to and what it looks like inside. But what is there to actually do at La Ferme des 3 Centenaires?

Visit the Animals

The most obvious choice is to visit the animals! You can feed your food scraps to the pigs, get right up to the chickens and chat to them as they make a fuss. Or go right up to the gates of the other enclosures to say hello to the other animals. There are 3 different locations for paddocks, one through the gate at the owners (Pierre-Xavier and Olivier’s) house, the alpacas and chickens by the hideaways and then another set of paddocks down from the car parking field. It takes some time to get around them all and say hello to all the animals. The goats are particularly noisy!

Feed The Alpacas

On some mornings during your visit you can feed the alpacas by hand. It’s a funny experience as the alpacas are so enthusiastic that most of the feed ends up on the floor! It doesn’t take long, but it’s fun to get up close to the alpacas and watch their expressions and they take pellets from your hands!

Don’t forget to wash your hands afterward!

Take The Alpacas For a Walk

You can book an hike with alpacas from the farm. It’s always the male alpacas, and possibly the odd llama too, that are taken for the walks. The females are pregnant for 11 months, so they generally stay in the paddocks grazing with the young alpaca.

Walks with the alpacas are gentle and just around the nearby area for around an hour or so. It’s a nice activity to do if you want to see the animals close up and enjoy their personalities.

Pizza Night

On Saturday nights (providing there are enough visitors), a pizza night is organised by Olivier and Pierre-Xavier. This costs 15 Euros per person and you can make as many pizzas as you need to keep everyone full! We made 1 large pizza each and that was more than enough.

The ingredients are all laid out for you to make the pizza yourself, with a selection of meats, vegetables, herbs and of course the tomato base and cheese! The peppers and tomatoes are home grown on the farm, which is definitely appreciated. They were very flavoursome! The pizzas are cooked in the pizza oven by Olivier and a short while later they are ready for eating.

You need to bring your own plates, cutlery and glasses from your hideaway for dinner. So don’t forget!

The alpacas are across the fence, so you can keep an eye on them as you eat, or sit on the swings and watch from under the shelter of the barn.

Enjoy Relaxing Family Time

Spend time hanging out at your hideaway as a family. Watch the alpacas from the comfort of your balcony or sit and read a book in the comfy loungers.

Take some sketch books to draw and paint what you see, there are plenty of picturesque scenes on the farm. Or play some card games together! We spent quite a bit of time relaxing and enjoying being on the farm. I highly recommend Monopoly Deal, Exploding Kittens and any of the UNO series for older kids.

Nearby Attractions

Woodland Walk

Next to the farm is a small woodland, you can easily spend an afternoon wandering along the trails and exploring. Kids will love the abundance of sticks, plenty of space for den buildings and trees to climb.

I also found lots of awesome fungi when we visited in September. So look out for the flora and fauna too!

Buy a Tasty Treat From The Local Bakery

The local bakery is just a 5 minute walk from the farm. You can buy a variety of different breads, plus some other tasty treats such as lemon meringue pie and various types of tart! Definitely one shop you need to make sure you visit when in Jamioulx!

Take a Train Into Charleroi or Further Afield

With the train station almost literally a stones throw from the farm, it’s worth taking a trip on the train to visit some nearby attractions. You can take it into Charleroi and then another train out to visit the pretty town and citadel of Namur, or visit the museum in Charleroi or even head into Brussels for the day. It’s all very easy on Belgian trains!

We had planned to do this, but the kids were quite content staying on the farm for 2 days, so we didn’t leave until we had to go home!

Le Bois du Cazier

This old coal mine is now a tourist attraction and UNESCO World Heritage Site as 1 of 4 Wallonia mining sites. You can visit the preserved mine, and museums, explore the landscaped slag heaps and also visit the Glass museum, which was opened

Arboreo

This family favourite is a series of tree top high ropes courses. There are various different packages to choose from and also a treasure hunt via your mobile phone.

Les Lacs de l’Eau d’Heure

A large water sports lake with swimming, walks and other family activities. It’s a popular resort in Wallonia, so make sure you book any activities in advance.

Featherdown Farms – La Ferme des 3 Centenaires, Belgium