Hi all, i am still here, just have been very busy with work and with the children on school hols hav...
Hi all, i am still here, just have been very busy with work and with the children on school hols havnt had much chance to sit and read, but will do in the next week.
Member since:06.01.2006
Reviews:86
Members who trust:59
During that last half term I took my children to the Cotswold Wildlife park and Gardens, I have been there on quiet a few occasions and thoroughly enjoy the experience every time.
A little bit of history about the park
It first opened in 1970 by John Heyworth, which has now been taken over by his son Reggie Heyworth. The Manor House was built in1804. Parts of the house are now open to visitors.
The park does not receive money from any where else but from their visitors.
The prices are £9.50 for adults £7.00 for children between the ages of 3 to 16 years £7.00 for senior citizens aged 65 and over Children under 3 go for free.
Upon arriving at the park you drive up a long drive to the kiosk, then you are directed round to the left to park on grass, coaches and disabled people are directed to the right where it is nearer to the park and it is on concrete.
There are two ways which you can enter the park, I always tend to enter by the Manor House and work my way around.
~ Tortoises and Rhinos ~
The first thing to come to Giant Tortoises, these are kept in front of the house, they have there very own heated house but most the time during the day they are relaxing outside. These tortoises have descended from Aldabra Island in the Indian Ocean.
Follow the path round and you come to the White Rhinos (which actually mean Wide Rhino) and Chapman’s Zebras they share the same area, but do have amble of room between and they also have there own houses. The White Rhino population has deteriorated by a huge 95% since the 1970’s so it is a valuable member to the park.
The enclosures all the animals are in have been designed specifically to there needs which includes plants and shrubs that they would find in their own environment.
Carrying on following the path round you come to the Mongooses, there enclosure is very suitable, it has been dug out so it is a lot lower and then only a small wall round
the edge, which makes it impossible for them to escape but also makes it easy viewing especially for little ones.
In this area are also the Bactrian Camels which like to be fussed, they were all standing right next to the fence when I went all being stroked.
Here you can also see the Lions which are one of the rarest big cats which are now part of an international breeding program to bring the numbers back up and a pair of Rare Amur Leopards which were breed also as part of the international breeding program, both are in very secure enclosures, but with plenty of places where you can look in.
There are toilets and a food kiosk within this area too, among with a picnic area and plenty of seating.
Moving on round there are the Ostriches, some cattle and Antelopes on one side and the Manor House in all its glory and the Rhinos and Zebras again on the right hand side.
You can then follow the path round and through a gate into another part of the park, here you can see all sorts, like all different kinds of water foul, Chilean Flamingos and Terrapins, my girls love watching these bob up and down in the water. Then there is the Grey Wolf enclosure I found these very hard to see as they are not social animals and tend to stay away from people. Following the path round some more you come to the Capybaras which is the largest Rodent in the world which come from South America and The Brazilian Tapirs, they are funny looking creatures, but all have fully adequate enclosures.
On to the children’s farmyard when they can get right up to the animals. They can walk through a barn and see eggs that may be hatching in incubators and all sorts of animals which include Pigs, Goats, Rabbits, Guinea pigs and Shetland Ponies. There is also an area where children can go in with the goats and stroke them, see picture below. My girls really enjoy this part of the park.
There is an adventure playground here and plenty of open spaces so the children can burn of some energy, there is on small merry go round which costs 50p but the rest is just climbing frames, swings and slides and is always very busy. To the right of that is the restaurant, with plenty of seating areas inside and out, but I found it is quite expensive and the food isn’t that fantastic, so in future I plan to take a packed lunch, I will be a lot easier and cheaper.
There are also toilets here which include disabled and baby changing facilities but can get very busy.
To the side of the house they have converted some of the out buildings which now house the reptile house which include the rare Morelet’s Crocodiles, Lizards, Snakes which include the Boa’s and Pythons and Rattlers and finally the Frogs and Salamanders, all are in safe enclosures. There is also an insect house, to be honest my girls are not keen on his has it homes some of the Largest Spiders in the world like the Bird Eating Spider and the Hairy Red legged Tarantula, I think they are great. There is also a Bat Belfry which houses the Egyptian fruit bats, inside it is very dark, but you can watch the bats flying around once your eyes have adjusted.
~ Monkeys ~
There are a whole range of Monkeys and Lemurs at the park which include Siamangs and Gibbons, Spider Monkeys these are very playful and they all enjoy swinging around playing, we could spend ages in this part just watching them play as they are very funny.
There are more toilets here and plenty of seating areas, along with another kiosk that sells food.
~ The Walled Garden ~
Last but not least you then enter the walled garden, here you can see the penguins and on most days you can see them being fed. The walled garden offers protection from the cold to animals that are usually from warmer climates. Also in this area are the Meerkats, Otters and Coatis.
Another great feature to the walled garden are the birds of prey, most are on display for a while see pictures below, where you can really have a good look at them up close. There are some really weird on wonderful birds in the part including the Great Indian Hornbill, it is truly stunning to look at close up.
The Tropical House is very nice to walk through and apparently there is a couple of Sloaths in here somewhere but I couldn’t see them any where. It is quite warm in here.
There is also I small train which you can get on and it takes you round the whole park, this only runs from November to March, but the kids love having a ride on an open train.
~ The Gardens ~
The gardens around the whole estate are stunning, there have been over 300,000 trees planted here since 1950. There are all sorts of plants from a cactus garden to the Great Amazon water lilies it is a most spectacular place to visit. By the car park are two shops joined together one is a gift shop for adults the other is mainly aimed at children, so make sure you take some extra pennies, as they always want a souvenir.
~ Animal Adoption ~
The park also do Animal Adoption, you can adopt any animal you like for a year for a fee this money goes towards the upkeep of all the animals in the park and towards the breeding program what they have running there, in return you get a photo of the animal you have adopted along with an adoption certificate, free entry into the park, you also get up dated news letters and stickers. I personally think this is a very good idea as it keeps the money coming in to help with costs.
~ My overall opinion ~
It’s a great family day out for all ages; I feel that they have catered for everyone, from able bodies, to the disabled and large groups. There are no hills or slopes to climb every thing is very even which makes it idea for wheel chairs and push chairs. There are plenty of refreshments around the park, but the day we went only the main restaurant was open and one ice cream kiosk was open so I found them to be very busy as it was a very warm day. I also like that fact that you can take your dog, as long it is on a lead and is well behaved. They have a First Aid point just in case. I think the price maybe a little high but as they don’t get help from anywhere else you don’t mind paying, for the upkeep of the animals and the park.
There is adequate seating around the whole park and I found the toilets to be very clean.
Opening times for the park are:
10.00am to last admission at 4.30pm March to September. 10.00am to last admission at 3.30pm October to February.
Closed Christmas Day.
The Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens is situated just outside Burford, Oxford, on the A361. It is only 18 miles from Oxford and is very easy to get to from either the M40 or the M5; it is very well signed posted.
~ Transport ~
There is no local transport to and from the park, the nearest bus stop is in Burford and that is 2 miles away, I think this is the one and only big down fall that the park has, in my opinion there should be some sort of transport for people that don’t drive.
www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk.
Thank you very much for reading and have a lovely day out.
Photo’s will be added first thing Tuesday morning, please come back tomorrow and have a look.
Pictures of Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens
Bird of prey
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
exceptional by (3%):
very helpful by (97%):
