Goat Farmstead in Brenna

"He who has sheep has all he wants" – that is the name of one of the workshops at the Goat Farmstead (Kozia Zagroda) in Brenna, and it sums the place up well. In the centre of the village, hosts Beata and Rafał have reconstructed a highlander's cottage, a shepherd's hut (kolyba) and an old sheepfold, and keep goats and other pastoral animals in the pen. It is an educational farm where groups learn to make cheese and felt wool, and hear stories about the sałasz – the summer shepherding camp – and who the Vlachs (Wałasi) were.

What's here

• Wooden cottage with two rooms – the lower one with a traditional tiled stove and a small shop – plus a spacious veranda.
• Shepherd's hut (kolyba) – a reconstruction where cheese-making over an open fire is demonstrated.
• Shelter reconstructing a 19th-century sheepfold, with a fire pit.
• Koszor, the animal pen, and a natural playground inspired by the shepherds' camp.
• Stall and shop with cheeses, sourdough bread, herbs, preserves and local crafts.

The farmstead belongs to the certified national network of educational farms and lies on the Educational Farms Trail of the Silesian Voivodeship.

Workshops

The fullest programme, "Take on the Shepherd's Challenge", lasts 3 hours and costs PLN 85 per person (spring to autumn). It includes a tour of the cottage, shepherd's hut and sheepfold, feeding the animals, highland storytelling with shepherds' instruments, trying on highland costume, cheese-making and wool felting – participants take their cheese and felt pieces home. Other topics include wool processing (2 h, PLN 70, all year), iced gingerbread (about 2.5 h, PLN 80) and beeswax candles (2 h, PLN 80) – those two from November to February – and sleigh or cart rides with a bonfire (about 2.5 h, PLN 125). For an extra charge you can add a shepherd's bonfire with sausages or a ride in a horse-drawn carriage.

Tripto tips

The farmstead no longer runs a restaurant, so don't plan on lunch here. Workshops are for groups of 20 or more by prior booking (smaller groups pay as for 20), Monday to Saturday. During the summer holidays and winter school break individuals can sign up through the Brenna municipality's seasonal educational-farm programme. Book well ahead: spring dates (April–June) fill up at the start of the year, autumn dates at the start of the school year. Address: ul. Sportowa 3, Brenna Centrum; minibuses and cars park on the square by the farmstead across the river, coaches by St John the Baptist's Church.