While visiting the UK as a Family we decided on WMSP for a family day out as it was only 90 minutes…read moreaway from where we were staying and the weather looked good. We arrived around 10am ( opens at 9:30am on a Weekday ) and were surprised the parking lot wasn't that busy. We had prepaid our tickets / wristband etc ahead of time so didn't have to waste time there and walked in. We managed to see some of the animal exhibits and ride a few of the rides before our allocated Safari drive through of 12:30pm. Once we lined up and began our drive it took about 2 hours, it also became clear that the drive could be more efficient if people actually paid attention to the rules. If it says traffic on the right side doesn't stop ( It states if you want to see the animals to stay to the left ) then don't stop and hold up the rest, if you do then you're a problem. If it states to keep your windows half way up and not let the animals put their heads inside and you do just that then you're putting the Animals and potentially yourselves in Jeopardy, if you do then you're a problem. If it states not to feed the Giraffes because they're monitoring their diet and you then allow the Giraffe to come inside your car while feeding them then you're a problem. I hope if you're one of the above people that you're reading this because....you're an entitled problem. With that being said, the problem people aren't the fault of WMSP. Once our drive was complete we went to park back up and found the parking lot to be drastically busier than when we left. We would certainly advise you if you want to get more done to try and show up early. Price of tickets wasn't bad considering its a major attraction and the price of food and souvenirs while high didn't seem too high to us. A great day out overall and recommended.

Excellent place for day out with family Abosulte worth of…read moremoney. Nice place to visit with children. Rides are good for childern around 6 years. Need a day to experience the place

I've been coming here since I was a kid and it's still one of the best wildlife parks in the south…read more They're dog friendly and the dogs can go in most places apart from the wolf walk-through and some of the inside buildings like the bats. Most of the animals have adequate enclosures and room to roam. My dog was fascinated by the rhinos, joeys and giant tortoises! They have a restaurant but I recommend bringing your own picnic, especially if the weather is nice. There are multiple areas to set up for lunch. They also have coffee spots and nice ice cream. There's a playground for the little ones if you're doing a family trip and it's always been fun. Plus, the gift shop is a must! Definitely recommend.

We went to this zoo on a nice warm spring day. What a great decision. Yes, there were many people,…read morebut there is plenty of space. The garden like layout makes it ideal for this time of year. In addition, this zoo visit was made by the baby animals, a rhino, a camel and a giraffe. We had 3 lovely hours.

Lion Cubs experience…read more This my third experience now with Heythrop Zoological Gardens and yet again was a magical one. Me and my husband firstly meets Hannah who is such a lovely lady that explains all about the lion cubs and she then takes us around the forest whilst we walk the cubs along with another trainer. So we walked their new bundle of joy Nero and Lydia the lion cubs. It was a once in a life time opportunity and so unique. We walked the cubs in Heythrops private woods. The little cubs just loved to play with each other all the time whilst walking along and when they came across their favourite tree stumps they just loved leaping and playing on them as well as trying to climb up a tree or two. We could also stroke them when they were more relaxed in places and they felt so soft like rabbit fur. The markings on there fur was also so amazing Lydia the female cub had spot type markings and Nero you could see his mane coming about with his punk rocker type hair style going on. Its a tad expensive doing this experience but I highly recommend as it is so worth it and you won't be able to do this experience at any other zoo in the UK. Only reason this experience is allowed at Heythrop Zoological Gardens is because its a private zoo (not open to public however does have special open days to public 2 days in September only) and train animals are bred for TV and film. This experience only has two Saturdays left in June 2016 with a few places left so if you are interested then book asap. They do other animal experiences throughout the year that you can do from penguins to a sloth so check out there website. If you however want to do the more unique one off experiences like the lion cubs that is not available all year round then I advice you email them and ask them to keep you informed of any new additions like lion cubs, tiger cubs, other baby animals etc. The other animal experiences that I have done at Heythrop is the tiger cubs and a monkey (who starred in My Zoo a TV series). I highly recommend to anyone that loves animals.

Fabulous day, with a private Giraffe experience with our booking for my daughters 5th birthday…read more Absolutely fantastic, best experience whilst learning all about the conservation importance etc . Great informative keeper, very knowledgeable who had been there 26 years !! That shows a great place to work. Had afternoon tea overlooking the leopard enclosure. So much good fabulous spread and THE best tasting scones we've ever tried! Had to have boxes to take all the food home that we just couldn't finish. Amazing day with lovely people looking after and caring for the animals there. Thought the apes looked very sad and made us a little sad seeming them in the enclosures

A fun afternoon spent at the zoo is always a fun afternoon! Especially when you see giraffes trying…read moreto mate and all the little kids look horrified! We spent a few hours walking around the entire zoo and there were plenty of animals to keep my little guy entertained. The best part was the playground across from the gorilla sanctuary where all the little kids seemed to congregate. The highlight of the day was the Gruffalo section. It was just a series of animatronic animals and rooms with snippets of the cartoon playing but it was fun and passed the time well. Got hot dogs from the hot dog stand; although there was a restaurant on site... we just needed a quick snack and the service for it was quick and efficient.

Absolutely horrendous, me, my dad, my brother and his girlfriend all went to this zoo in hopes that…read moreit would be A fun family outing. My mom bought the tickets for the wrong day so she couldn't come with us. We got there and went in, showed the tickets we had bought and weren't allowed in as my mother wasn't with us. My dad stated that she couldn't come with us. The man who was working in the kiosk / ticket booth was having none of it. He was quite the rude man and was telling us that we had to buy new tickets under my dad's name. Keep in mind that the tickets you buy online are NON REFUNDABLE. If I could I'd give zero stars. Absolutely terrible.

Where else meerkats can be seen in Birmingham area? Not the only good reason for visit this…read morefacility but just in case you have ever been there, Birmingham Nature Centre is on Pershore Road, behind the Cannon Hill Park, in Edgbaston. The tickets cost £ 4 (adults) and children from 5 to 15 years (£ 1.50), but the little ones (under 5 years old) have free admission. I have been a couple of times, and a part the cockroaches, it always a pleasant spending some hours contemplating wild life and nature over there. The most popular animals are still the meerkats, but obviously that the wildcats, guinea pigs, among other exotic animals also add to the whole experience. Definitely a children's friendly spot, perfect for a picnic in family, if you fancy bringing your own snack. If not, there is a café on the site. A better way of finding more information about the Nature Centre is visiting their facebook page because their page at Birmingham City Council website is very simple and just provides basic information about the locale.

This is a lovely rural farm park set in 10 acres of countryside surrounding an old 17th century…read morefarmhouse (now a B&B, if you're looking for somewhere to stay!), originally a corn mill, sitting next to the old mill pond. It's only about a 5 minute drive from the lovely market town of Cowbridge, and have a large variety of miniature, rare and unusual farm animals. There are lots of small furries such as guinea pigs, rabbits, and red squirrels, plus birds such as chickens and geese, and larger animals such as alpacas, rare breed sheep, pigs, miniature cattle, goats, and even wallabies! They also offer pony rides, a play and picnic area, and country walks - so there's plenty to do on a fine day. For a farm park closer to Cardiff, however, try the wonderful Cefn Mably Farm Park, which is between Cardiff and Newport.

Warren Mill Farm is a great day out for the family. While not as extensive and exotic as a zoo but…read moremuch more than just a standard farm, Warren Mill offers a great variety of animals for your viewing pleasure. From chickens, goats and cows to prairie dogs, exotic birds and llamas, this farm has a great selection of usual and unusual animals. What makes this farm so much better is the option of feeding the animals. You can purchase animal food on the way for something like 30p and you can feed whichever animal takes your fancy. Although, if you drop any seed near the chickens they will follow you around like you're the Pied Piper. Situated in the Vale of Glamorgan, Warren Mill Farm is found in a peaceful, countryside setting. As well as the actual farm itself, they also offer fishing facilities for as little as £5 a day for adults and £3 for children. The four and a half acre lake contains a variety of fish, such as Carp, Tench, Bream, Roach, Rudd and Perch. If you like wildlife this is a great place to come for a day out, but if you can't fit all the activities into one day, why not make the most of the bed and breakfast service and stay at the 17th Century farm house, with double room rates from £65. There is also the option of staying at the self-catered cottages, which have unusually been converted from old cow sheds (which are actually a lot nicer than I've made them sound). A great day out for the family or a good spot to do some quality fishing.

One of the worst experiences I have ever had here. I been he previously and my experience was fine…read morebut this time was the worst. At the start it was fine. Entered the park with ease and went on the wave and was really fun and enjoyable. The I went on the swing again fun and enjoyable. But now I waited for the accelerator and there was a technical issue which forced us to exit the ride. Then we went to the gold rush and waited there for at least 2 1/2hr and there was also a technical issue multiple times and is making us spend all of our time on this ride and has made this 1 of the worst experience I have ever had a Drayton manor.

I went here on a school trip yesterday. I was disappointed. Although the food and coasters were…read moregood, the queues were horrible, first off the queue for the wave WAS like a human wave because of people cutting into the line. I'm the smallest person in my group so this was a very big problem, at some points in the queue I could hardly breathe because of many people pushing around in the queue and we ended up waiting 2-3 hours stuck like that. Secondly it felt like all of the staff were mad at something and at some points weren't even doing their job. I'm a big fan of the chips, but not a big fan of the wasps there, they were constantly swarming my can of Pepsi that I brought. Thirdly, HORRIBLE prices, one single portion of chips was £4.50 one single, small bottle of Oasis was £3.50! I had to swipe my card without looking both times. Also the queue for accelerator was the same as the queue for the wave, I was pushed from the inside of the line to the outside of the line in seconds. again probably from people pushing in which the staff couldn't care enough to deal with. Both of these coasters were amazing but the queues just ruined the experience. Please improve the staff and please try to fix the line cutting problem so people can have a better experience next time.

Went for life drawing during my time at the University. It's good place to go and see animals you…read moresee on tv from different countries all over the world. For me it was very helpful going and do drawings of animals and you have the Dudley Castle next to it. Very relaxing, especially on a sunny day. Was a little busy when I went, lots of families having day out. I didn't know about this place before started University. Bus takes you right opposite the Zoo from city centre. Would love to go again sometime.

Dudley Zoo has, like many things in the midlands, got a lot of bad press. Don't get me wrong, it's…read morenot in the same league as some of the more famous zoo's in the UK but it's slap bang in the middle of Dudley. I've been twice now over the last 6 years and on my second visit I easily noticed a massive improvement in the quality of the enclosures and the general well-being of the animals. Being centred around Dudley Castle the zoo is subject to a hefty amount of inclines so be prepared and wear some sensible shoes. There's plenty of parking and is easy to get to via public transport and at £14 (ish) entry for an adult it's quite reasonable. This small, yet perfectly formed, zoo is home to snow leopards, red pandas, all the big cats, primates, reptiles, birds and more including a very chatty raven! I'd wholeheartedly recommend Dudley Zoo to anybody looking for an animal packed day out in the black country!

!!!DO NOT BUY FROZEN FOOD FROM THIS... !!!DO NOT BUY FROZEN…read moreFOOD FROM THIS COMPANY!!! Received my order yesterday (07-02-23)which was sent on (06-02-23) which consisted of 1kg of frozen river shrimp 2 x 500g whitebait and 3 bags of large bloodworm and when i opened the package the frozen river shrimp had defrosted, the whitebait had defrosted and the live bloodworm were dead , i emailed yesterday explaining what has happened and then was asked the send proof which i did , then got a phone call today from a lovely lady who was trying to resolve this issue and her manager basically said the food is gamma radiated and therefore can be refrozen . But im not risking re freezing food that i would be feeding to very expensive and long lived fish which im sure a lot of other people would feel the same about and although they agreed to refund the dead bloodworm , they refused to refund or replace the so called "frozen" food which wasnt very frozen at all , its safe to say i will never be ordering from them again!!!

AqShirley aquatics As a kid this was amazing and with all…read moretheir exotic and normal aquatic creatures it still fascinates me! There's no fish store in Shirley quiet like 'Shirley Aquatics.' My family and I have a tropical fish tank at home and this is the 'go to' place to purchase new fishes, fish food and just about anything you need for aquariums. They even sell turtles and ponds and water features, pretty cool eh? You have to have a license to take one of them home because their care needs special training. They conveniently sell fish care products such as food and tank cleaning products as well as tank accessories. My tank has some plants and a mini 'Bikini Bottom' with all the main characters from the kids cartoon 'Spongebob square pants' (yes, I am big kid) I've recently graduated and as cool as this place is, it's a little too expensive for people like me so my advice is to save up enough money for fish care and a decent sized tank (or pond) so the fish have plenty of room. This takes me onto the next note. You know how sometimes you go to a place and the staff just don't care, or act as if they do? Well here they actually do care. This is obvious through the shops high standards of animal care and the staff like to know what type of environment you'll be taking the fish(s) home to (if you purchase them). Interestingly they can tell you loads' about the fishes; from where they came from to their care. For example when we got our first tropical fish they asked us to bring in a water sample from the tank to check it was the right environment for the pretty fish we wanted. At first it wasn't and they instructed us on how to fix this. Once that was out the way they advised us about feeding the fish and as our small filter doesn't clean our large tank the staff gave helpful cleaning advice. In my opinion this is the kind of care and customer service most pet stores need.

Much better than I expected. The quality of the animals is…read moregreat - well looked after and easy to see. It like Noah's ark in that there are 2 or 3 of the 'big animals - Rhinos, Lions, 1 Tiger, elephants, Giraffes, Buffalo etc. There are also 'events' showing birds of prey and farm animals etc.. The staff were very helpful and pleasant and knowledgable. It is not cheap at all - around £70 for us to get in and we were there for some 4 hours - able to walk round everything and have lunch easily. Price is the only reason why it's not 5 stars! Fully recommend

I have been to Noahs Ark a few times before but I had heard that they had done some renovations so…read moredecided to give it another go. I brought my son, niece & nephew here for the day and we had such a lovely time. As you walk in they have a huge play area to your left with a pirate ship & slides, they also have tables right next to it for parents to sit and watch. To your right they have a big picnic field with benches, and trampolines to keep the kids entertained. They animal area is huge and it's a lovely walk, they have so many animals and they are all kept in enclosures suitable for the animal and they all seem very happy and content. The best thing is now the elephant enclosure, it's the biggest in the UK and can hold up to 10 elephants. They only have one elephant at the moment but they will be getting more in the near future. Noah's ark also have a little gift shop and a cafe selling hot and cold food. Pretty average prices really. They also have a tractor ride which costs £2 per adult and £1 per child, this lasts about 20 mins and is loads of fun. Prices for entry are: Adults- £15 Children- £10 (2-16) Under 2s- Free Would definitely recommend Noah's Ark for a fun day out.