Great to get up close to the animals and see them in their own habitat .
Disadvantages:
High Price compared with other days out .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Flicking through the choices of places to use my Tesco Clubcard vouches I spotted Woburn Safari Park. We had already used the vouchers for a number of theme parks so thought this would make a nice change.
We stayed in Luton for our visit which was around a 10 minute drive from the Park.
~~Directions~~
Woburn Safari Park is approximately one hour's drive from London, Oxford, Cambridge and Birmingham. Follow signs to Woburn Safari Park from the M1 junction 12 or 13.
From the A5, follow signs to Woburn village. Woburn Safari Park is signposted from here.
Woburn Safari Park Woburn Park Bedfordshire MK17 9QN
We found if you came off at J12 you drove through Woburn Village and it took longer, however J13 is more direct to the Park. When you leave the Park you will be directed back through the village to J12 so you won't miss seeing the village with its' 200+ listed buildings if you come in on the more direct route.
As the park is situated just off the motorway it is easiest reached by car. However If you are planning by coming another way, the nearest train station, Ridgmont, is 1.5 miles away. From here you would need to take a bus or taxi to the Safari Park.
~~Opening Times and Prices~~
The Website only shows the current opening times which are;
Weekends Only 29th October 2007 - 7th March 2008. 11am - 3pm (last entry) Closed weekdays.
Closed 29th and 30th December. Open Monday 31st December and Tuesday 1st January 2008.
Open daily during February half term. 9th - 24th February 2008
I am assuming though that from Easter onwards the park is open daily with the main season price, and and then swapping to the high season price during the Summer holidays. Winter season when the park appears to only be open weekends except school holidays would be from the end of October through to Easter.
The idea of charging more during school holidays does seem a little unfair since the animals will not put on any extra displays etc, so I would suggest using vouchers or discount tickets wherever possible.
MAIN SEASON 10am - 5pm (last entry) Wild World Leisure Area closes at 6pm Adult £15.50 Child* £11.50 Senior Citizen £13.00
HIGH SEASON 10am - 5pm (last entry) Wild World Leisure Area closes at 6.30pm Adult £17.00 Child* £13.00 Senior Citizen £14.50
WINTER SEASON 11am - 3pm (last entry) Wild World Leisure Area closes at 4pm Adult £9.50 Child* £8.50 Senior Citizen £8.50
* Child (3-15 inclusive)
Groups of 12 or more people receive a discount as do groups from Disabled Care Homes, nurseries, schools and children's clubs such as Brownies, Cubs and Scouts. They also offer Annual passes and combined tickets with the Abbey. More information is available on the website.
~~History in brief~~
Woburn abbey has been the home of the Russell family since 1619. In the 19th Century the 6th Duke of Bedford commissioned the design of a pleasure ground, garden and menagerie of exotic birds, llamas, swans, peacocks and antelope. This later was added to, to include bison's, horses, giraffes and zebras.
Over the years animals came, and others were sent to zoos around the world. Then in 1970 the safari Park opened and became what it is today.
~~The Safari Park~~
The Park consists of three main areas I would say. Each which I will discuss in more detail below. There is the Safari Drive section, The Walkabout section and The Leisure area. You will also be able to see some demonstrations and if you fancy visit the Food areas and Gift Shop.
~~Our Day at Woburn~~
We arrived just before ten so had a short wait before the gates opened. Since the first part you come across is the Safari Drive you queue in your cars. There are several queue lines and each passes a booth where you pay your entrance fee. They ask you to pay in cash if possible to speed up the process but do also accept cards. You can also buy your tickets in advance online, however there appears to be no discount in doing so.
After handing over my vouchers plus a further £6 (£2 Entrance plus £4 for a guide book) We drove into the Park. Here you have a choice of either entering the Safari Drive or parking up for the Walkabout area. We bravely drove on to the Safari Drive. Being first thing there was quite a volume of cars going round so at times we moved very slowly or sat waiting for some time for cars to move on and allow us a peek. On our second tour this was not such a problem so I would suggest arriving slightly after 10 for this reason.
Some of the animals seemed to have wandered from their intended areas but I guess that is the whole idea of a safari park. I don't want to list every animal as it would be quite boring but I'll just say we saw many animals we expected such as Rhino and Zebras as well as a number of unusual species, like the Ankole Cattle that I had not come across before.
The first part of the drive is quite safe and although windows and doors should be kept shut many were driving with their cameras hanging out the window. Beyond this area though you enter Tiger Woods, where I would advise you seriously think before leaning out of the car. After passing security gates you slowly pass the grazing tigers. Most take no notice prefer to continue gnawing on their meat but on the odd occasion they do glance up and stare straight into your eyes you become very grateful for the metal can you are sat in and the fact the rangers are sitting parked up just a few feet away. This area is shared with the Black Bear and Timber Wolves. Not a mix I would have imagined but clearly they are happy enough being neighbours.
After the Navajo trail which follows the bears you will enter Simba Hills. This is where we spent most of our time (and not just because of the white van man that refused to move and let anyone else take a closer look!) To be just a few feet away from a full sized male lion is quite an awesome feast. With jaws opened wide, baring his sharp teeth we realised how much respect these animals deserve. We did get to see his other side later when he was having a good old game of footie with the cubs.
After passing more security gates we enter the Monkey area. We had heard tales of the monkeys climbing over vehicles and removing parts so in preparation we had removed our aerial. We needn't have worried since they were far more interested in the grass than us. We returned to this area in the afternoon when they clearly had woken up more and with our aerial now replaced they did seem more keen to explore the various vehicles. We could have easily got through again without any problems but our children were keen to see what damage they could do to us so we had to hang around until they chose us as the next victims. A huge relief to us they simply had a wander up the windscreen and across the roof. The aerial remained intact and the rear windscreen only received a knock where they used it as a springboard to reach the next vehicle.
We continued on past the giraffes and a few more hoofed animals until we came to the parking area. You can bypass this and repeat the circuit but in need of the toilets we decided to stop.
A trip to the toilet was followed by a quick cup of Hot chocolate to warm us up, and then we headed down to the Ampitheatre to catch the Birds in Action show. This lasted about 20 minutes by which time we were quite hungry.
The Restaurant itself is not too badly priced and not over crowded however we had brought our own lunch and sat ourselves at a picnic table by the lake, where if brave enough you can take a trip on the Swan Boats.
Next we visited the sea lion house to watch the entertaining show and then took a trip on the railway that takes you round a small area of the park. We continued to explore this area, managing to avoid the two play areas since it was far too cold to stand and watch the children, diverting their attention instead to penguins in the Animal Encounter and the ever so friendly Lemurs. My daughter was overjoyed by the marmosets and thrilled that they would bound across to her.
By now we were beginning to get quite cold as it was freezing this particular day so headed for Noahs ark, an indoor playground, to let the children loose and allow us to get a hot drink.
The area was extremely packed and you had no hope of a chair, let alone table. The children ran off and that was the last we saw of them for half hour. Being so busy and being perched on the floor we regularly got knocked by little ones running about so after we had warmed up a bit we headed back outside to the Australian walkabout. En route we made our way through the Tree Tops action trail. This is a wooden assault course complete with scramble nets, tunnels and zip wire. Thankfully there is also a simple path to take you from one side to the other. This area has a height restriction but there is a similar area for the younger ones.
Finally reaching the Australian walkabout where we encountered the rheas and wallabies, where you can hand feed the animals, making sure of course that it their food you are feeding them.
At this point we headed back to our car for a second trip round the drive. This was well worth it as some animals had moved to better viewing areas, whilst others had livened up.
On finishing the trip we headed off out the park, journeying through the little village of Woburn.
On returning home we realised we had missed out Rainbow Landing which is a large aviary housing a variety of free flying birds. I think a better map of the area and clearer signs would have helped, nevertheless I believe our autistic son would have slightly freaked out here so it is probably just as well.
The Park also has a Bobcat Run where you sit in a sledge and whiz down a run. This sadly was closed on the day of our visit.
I would say our day was definitely worth the £2 we paid, however am not sure I would have gone as far paying £72 for us. But if I was to be in the area again with some vouchers then I would certainly return.
~~Extra Information~~
We had a very fun filled day and were quite exhausted when we left. My children are now old enough that they no longer need the use of buggies, and although I have two disabled children they do not require the use of wheelchairs. On our visit I did note that some areas would have been slightly difficult to manoeuvre around but in general all areas had sufficient ramps or specially designed routes so no one missed out on any parts.
If you want an extra special day then you can pay extra for a Woburn experience. This could involve adopting a pet (£50), shadowing a ranger (£150) or walking offsite with the elephants. (No price given as currently fully booked)
You can also take a VIP tour. On this you will travel around the circuit in a Land Rover with one of Woburn's rangers. Not only can you ask all the questions you could possibly think of but the Land Rover can also go off road allowing you to get even closer to the animals. There are a few to choose from and details can be found online. Prices start at £240 for 4 people and increases by 350 for each additional person up to the maximum of 8.
Corporate events, birthdays and educational trips can all be catered for and further details can be found on the website.
It is not possible to write all information in this review but it can all be found on the website. You can also use links here to find out about other things to do and see in the Woburn area.
www.woburnsafaripark.co.uk
More details
Is it worth visiting?
Good
Family Friendly
Good
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