Zoo / AquariumSafari Park

Getting There And Getting In

Woburn is a small town just south-east of Milton Keynes and is home to the safari park and Woburn Abbey. It is easily accessible from J13 of the M1 or the A5. It is fairly central for most places situated about an hours drive from London, Birmingham, Leicester and Cambridge. From Nottingham, it took us an hour and a half.

Once you enter Woburn, the safari park is quite well signposted but you do have to be on the ball to spot the small brown elephant signs. We almost sailed passed a right turn but a sharp turn of the steering wheel managed to keep us on the right track!

Our first view of the wildlife was on the drive up to the entrance booths. A deer and her two fawns were snuffling around in the grass at the roadside. Deer are kept on the Woburn Abbey estate and are a common sight in the safari park grounds.

A few yards further and we paid our entrance fee (details at the end of the review) and were also handed a map of the park. For an extra £1.50 (€2.25) we purchased a commentary tape which can be played as you drive around the safari circuit. This is also available on CD. Guide books can be bought for another small fee but there werent any in stock on the day we visited.

Once in the park you are free to complete the safari circuit as many times as you wish during the day. We decided to follow the route straight away. Safety guidelines are clearly highlighted on boards as well as on the taped commentary, the main ones being dont try to feed the animals, stay in the vehicle and to keep windows and doors closed at all times. This is worth considering if you are planning to visit the park in summer and dont have air conditioning.

The Animal Reserves

So we started our drive around the Animal Reserves. The commentary matches the route that we were taking and is useful for pointing out where to look for animals that we might not have seen straight away. It gives interesting facts about each of the animals, funny anecdotes about what certain animals have done while living at the park and the conservation work Woburn Safari Park are involved with.

Almost immediately animals were roaming around in the open space surrounding our car. Zebras crossed the road in front and behind our car, we stopped and admired three rhinos in their shelter and a fourth caused much amusement as he slowly plodded past the car. There was a hippo lolling in a pool of water, three elephants all minding their own business and soon we were entering the carnivorous animal enclosure.

At this point the tape warned us that these animals are very dangerous. Security and safety is obviously taken very seriously by the park. There is a double set of automatic gates before gaining access to the tigers, wolves and lions. Only when one gate has closed will the second open so at no point can the animals escape into the rest of the park. Although these animals are in effect closed in they still have an immense amount of space in which to wander.

We saw two tigers, one roaming quite close to the car and the other shading himself under a tree but due to work being carried out, the wolves were all kept in a caged area so viewing them was difficult. Further round the track was the home of the lions. One female was sleeping near her five cubs and was soon joined by one of the two males. We stopped by the lions for several minutes as they were gathered close to the edge of the road and enjoyed the excellent view. Stopping to watch any of the animals is not a problem as the road is wide enough to comfortably fit two cars side-by-side. Therefore passing other vehicles is no trouble.

No sooner had we exited this secure enclosure we were entering another, housing the Black Bears and monkeys. In between we observed several giraffes. We were looking forward to this part of the drive as the monkeys have a reputation for being cheeky and luckily we werent disappointed. Three monkeys were play fighting by the side of the road and we pulled up alongside to watch. Suddenly two of them charged towards the car, scampered up the side and carried on playing on the roof. This caused much hilarity for our young son and was one of the highlights of the day.

And then we were into the final stretch which took us past the camels, gemsbok and oryx and the road then led us to the leisure area.

Wild World Leisure Area

My first impression of the area was that the car park was very small for the amount of customers the place attracts each year. It was very close to full and we were visiting on a Tuesday during term time. There is plenty of open grass which was being used as an overspill but I can imagine that on very busy days it would take a long time to get out of the park at closing time.

This part of the park is more like a traditional zoo. There are plenty of facilities to keep everyone entertained along with the obligatory (overpriced!) shop and restaurant. Throughout the day there are feeding times, demonstrations and talks at various enclosures, details of which are on a leaflet enclosed with the map.

Our first stop was for something to eat in the restaurant. Seating is provided inside and out and there are plenty of picnic areas if you wish to take your own, something I would seriously consider as prices in the restaurant are on the high side. Paul had a hot meal, I had a scone with clotted cream and jam and we bought three Slush Puppies. The cost was almost £13 (€20). To their credit the staff replaced my scone, cream and jam for no extra charge after I had taken a bite and realised my scone was a cheese one!

On the map the leisure area appears relatively small but do not be fooled. It takes a fair amount of time to walk around and see everything. Other animals we visited in the afternoon included the sea lions, penguins, hogs, marmosets, snakes and iguanas as well as seeing a peacock mating ritual. By this time Jacob (aged 3 at the time) was starting to get weary with the walk, however we kept letting him play in many of the childrens areas which were dotted around, including small adventure playgrounds and a soft play section, and this perked him up again.

Areas we didnt get to see mainly because Jacob would have struggled to walk much further were Monkey Business and Australian Walkabout but I did see some young children stroking a wallaby so I was disappointed we didnt get chance to experience this.

Other Attractions

If you still have more time to spare there are Swan Boats, a train ride and for an extra charge of £2.50 (€3.75) per person an open top lorry takes visitors for a close up view of the animals in the first part of the reserves.

Over the Easter bank holiday and during Spring Bank Holiday week there is also a fairground.

Overall

It is a fantastic place for a day out and offers something slightly different to the traditional zoo. I felt like it was good value for money, with plenty to keep everyone occupied for the whole day. The facilities are aimed mainly at families and even young children would struggle to be bored. I would recommend getting to the park as early as possible because even if you get to see everything you want and still have a couple of hours to spare, the safari drive takes approximately an hour and would be a different experience each time.

It is definitely somewhere I would like to visit again but I would be wary of going during school holiday times as I would imagine it would get very busy. I would also consider going to the Leisure Area first while energy levels are high and then complete the safari journey in the car later in the day.

Most young children will appreciate seeing the animals at close quarters and the fact that they (the animals rather than the children) could do the unexpected at any time adds to the enjoyment of everyone.

The website at www.woburnsafari.co.uk has a virtual tour option so if youre still not sure whether this is your thing, why not take a visit and see.

All Euro conversions are approximate.