Has anyone been to WOBURN SAFARI PARK?

[FrannyandZooey]

Here.

All opinions good or bad gratefully read.

oooooh

lions

come and see

ive been - it was a nice day out.

any more specific details?

We had a good time out with DD (5) & DS (2). We bought the CD for the car and they really enjoyed it. DS talked about the "monkey on mommy car" for about 4 mths after. DD is still asking to return 10 mths later. Plenty to do out of the car as well once you have finished the circuit. We got there as it opened, so not many queues.

Did you feel that the animals were in a good environment? Was there anything that made you feel uncomfortable for them?

we've been there and it was great. went out of season (october) so not too busy. were able to do a couple of laps around, brought our own picnic.
yes, thought animals had lots of room compared to other places

So they have loads of room but you are still able to see lots of them as you drive around? Not sure how that would work?

we live quite near Woburn and have been to the park many times. The animals in the drive through are in big enclosures and seem happy to me.
There are marmosets running free, the lynxes have quite a small enclosure, but they are not in a cage.

I have been to zoos which are a lot worse

it was a nice day - saw animals, had a ride on the train, had some lunch blah blah really.

why are you concerned?

cx

We love it and have annual passes so that DD and I can go whenever we want.
The animals appear well cared for throughout the park and there is just so damn much to do!!
Take a picnic if its nice as the cafe is hugely crowded at times but the variety of food is good.
A great day out!!

How do you mean, "big enclosures"? Sorry but I have never been to a safari park. Are they not all just wandering around loose?

when you do the drice through, you may not get a good look at the animals if they are under cover - it's a chance that you take

Herts I am concerned because I don't like zoos and don't want to go anywhere that the animals are not well-treated / have plenty of space

iota yes I have been in zoos too which i why I want to be sure this would be different

ds loves animals and so wants to see them but I can't stick taking him to a zoo

there are fences and gates to the enclosures - the tigers are separate from the wolves for example

Oh ok iota

is there anything to increase your chances of seeing them? Time of year /time of day etc?

Big enclosures because lions eat monkeys if given half a chance. Or something

I liked Woburn. Or was it Longleat? [hazy]

Oh right I see

but the individual enclosures are large? What sort of size?

LOL hunker

thanks for that

the enclosures are big fields. The lions are in a huge hilly area. Take a look at the map of the safari drive on the website

I really thought it was Woburn I was thinking of.

Then at the last minute, "Longleat" popped into my head. Hence the haze.

Sorry

Whichever one I went to was lovely and I'd go back. If only I could remember which one it was.

Go to Woburn, tell me what you think of it and if it's lovely, I'll go there!

Then I'll let you know if it was where I have already been!

a quote from the website:

At Woburn the ten lions live in a 32 acre reserve - which is larger than the total acreage of most zoos in the UK. Visitors drive through the open reserve and see these powerful big cats just a windscreen's width away.

32 acres - that's not bad is it?

Hunker were there lorikeets drinking nectar out of a bowl in your hands?

Maps and so on will not help me. I am maplexic. Is 32 acres big then?

Shrieky birds doing scary things round my head (did I mention the shrieking?).

Yes.

with nectar? in a bowl?