Review Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens – We have visited a number of zoos with the boys its one of our favourite days out. So I was excited to see if the Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens would live up to expectations. Especially as we visited a couple of weeks ago, turns out autumn is a really good time to visit the park. As we saw so many different species of animals and a lot of them up close. In short, the Cotswold zoo totally lived up to expectations and here’s why it is one of the best zoos we have visited.
Review Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens
We arrived as the park opened, there was plenty of space in the car parking and people on hand to direct us. There is also a sign which has details of all the things which are going on. I was really impressed with the fact there are lots of opportunities to watch the animals being fed. We were lucky when we arrived as they were feeding the Otters which is one of Hubby’s favourite animals. The low walls meant the kids could see easily. From there we followed the keepers around to the Lemur enclosure for Lemur feeding. I was very impressed by how friendly everyone was as they saw us into the special walkthrough enclosure.
Feeding the animals
I am not sure I have ever been quite so close to Lemurs before. They looks so cuddly it was difficult not to reach out and try and hug them! Both the boys were fascinated by the little grey fluffy creatures. As they were being fed the keepers talked about the conservation programme. I was surprised to hear just how endangered they are it is so sad to think that they will not be in the wild for much longer. I was impressed with the breeding programmes that Cotswold zoo is involved with.
From the Lemurs, we followed the keepers around to the penguins to watch them being fed. They operate daily penguin feeding and a daily penguin talk. It was probably one of the cleanest penguin pools I have come across. One little fellow decided that he could no longer be bothered to swim instead of walking and showing off by catching five in his beak on the bounce.
Discovering all the animals
From the penguins, we decided to head out of the walled garden area heading towards the reptile house and invertebrate house. Another difference to many zoos we have visited are the grounds, the stunning gardens give a beautiful backdrop. There is as much effort that goes into the grounds as looking after the animals. With themed borders, exotic planting, acres of parkland and beautiful gardens, I can imagine it is beautiful in the Spring. As even on a damp Autumn day you could appreciate the flower beds and architectural planting. We walked past a little narrow-gauge railway and train that takes you around the grounds and past some of the enclosures. It runs from April to October for a small additional cost. The boys were a little disappointed that it wasn’t running, but it does give us an excuse to go back.
Inside exhibits
Many of the inside exhibits are housed in the traditional yellow sandstone buildings. With little green and white metal signs, it feels very nostalgic and adds to the appeal. Unsurprisingly the large reptile house and insect house were also a big hit, especially the green anacondas. Although I was not a fan of the venomous snakes. Partly because again you can get up close to the exhibits and see many of the creepy-crawly inhabitants.
Food options….
We totally underestimated the amount of time you could spend at the wildlife park. So starting to realise that time was short we headed over to some of the larger animals. Making a detour to see one of the park’s newest arrivals, Stella the baby Rhino who is a new arrival to the White Rhinos. We got really lucky as they were inside and so it was easy to spot her. Explaining to the boys just how important Stella is and how usual it is to get so close to an infant Southern White Rhino was very special.
We stopped for a late lunch in the Canteen there is also a licensed cafe. There were lots of hot food options for a reasonable price even late in the day which was good to see. Plus lots of picnic areas if you bring your own. Once refuelled we walked down to see the asiatic lions and the giraffe walkway. We had heard the lions for much of the day so the boys were eager to see them
The bigger animals
Again we were very lucky as the lions were up and moving around I think maybe waiting for their dinner. With large glass windows at various points around the enclosure, they were easy to spot. Like many of the other animal areas and animal enclosures, there are uninterrupted views of the animals. Our last stop was the giraffes. We went into the giraffe house and the keepers were teaching one of the giraffes which we enjoyed watching. I was very impressed with how well he followed instructions. Outside on the walkway, the other came up close to inspect the passers-by.
There are so many different animal species at the Cotswold zoo, that it is difficult to mention them all. I am not even sure we saw them all during our visit. But some to note are the Egyptian fruit bats who have their own bat house. Charlie’s nose was very screwed up when he came out! Harry was a big fan of the giant tortoises. There is also a giant anteater and a children’s farmyard. It is also worth spending some time admiring the listed Victorian manor house which the park is centred around.
Conclusions – Review Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens
We had the best day out at the Cotswold Wildlife Park, finishing our visit to the gift shop. Not only did we see a wide variety of animals the boys managed to get up close to many of the inhabitants. It is the best zoo for kids of all ages. The setting is beautiful and we haven’t even touched on the adventure playground. It is a great day out and tickets are extremely well priced. Online an adult costs £14.00 and a child (3-16) costs £9.50, last admissions are at 4 pm in the Summer and 3 pm in the Winter. You can also buy tickets on the day at the wildlife park itself for slightly more. Next time we are local we will be paying another visit.
READ MORE – Family-friendly rental cottage in the Cotswolds
If you’ve liked this post please follow me on my social media channels:
Mudpie Fridays: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | LinkedIn
Review Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens, Cotswold zoo
48 Responses
what an amazing house – I have my bags packed ready to move in lol!! looks amazing!
What a fascinating place. I didn’t realise that there were so many animals here. Those lions look magnificent
Great review, this looks like a fab day out, Such a beautiful location and you got some really good pictures of the animals! Definitely want to take the trip up to visit with my boys one day. 🙂
Looks a lovely place, and looks like you had a fab time
Looks a lovely place, and looks like you all had a fab time
Looks like you had a great time and looks like a good day out.
Wow that spider!! What a lovely place to go and it looks like you had some dry weather for it. Some amazing pictures there
Looks lovely and the animals would be lovely to see would be a perfect day with my children
Thi9s place looks amazing! I will add this to my list of places to see in 2020!
Looks an amazing place and so many different animals to see!
That looks like a fab day out
A new place for our family to discover – looks amazing
Wow! This place looks a fab day out. My daughter would just LOVE to see those otters.
Some wonderful looking animals
I love seeing different animals – as long as they are treated well
This looks lovely. We had a great time at Lake District wildlife park, it was just the perfect size for my son, who was 18 months old at the time
I can’t believe the price! Looks so picturesque and you can get so close to the animals. Looks like a fantastic day out.
It looks fabulous and it’s so encouraging knowing that parks like this are supporting endangered species.
A very fair entrance price, too.
I love animals and places like that! Wow I would like to visit this place!
Amazing shots and always good to look at nature and animals. The otter is adorable!
This place looks absolutely stunning! The wildlife would be so cool to see in person! Thanks for sharing. I’m going to add this place to my “to visit” list.
Look at all the amazing animals, so nice. I love wildlife, I take every opportunity I can get to see them. Cotswold wildlife park gardens seems like a great place.
That little otter is just the cutest. You always go such fun places. So family friendly too!!
This looks like a fantastic place to visit both for adults and children. What fun you all had!
The grounds are really beautiful and where you wouldn’t expect to see all these different animals! I would love to spend the day there…looks like a lot of fun!
Wow, stunning photos! You are a fantastic photographer and captured the animals beautifully! Definitely makes me want to visit!
This looks lovely you have some stunning photo’s . Would love to visit
What a lovely thorough review with fantastic photos! We have planned a trip to Cotswold in Spring next year and are now considering visiting the wildlife park as our kids love animals.
What a wonderful zoo with a variety of species so kids can enjoy it! Glad your kids enjoyed them!
I love animals. This place is calling out to me! Great post
Looks like such a great park!!! I love animals so much they are so stinking cute.
I used to live near here and we visited a lot. Your article really takes me back. It’s a great place and my kids used to love it there.
We haven’t been there for years. I think we are overdue a revisit
oh my!!! This must have been an amazing experience!!! I need to check this park out, i’ve never seen lions before 🙁
Looks like such a great day out! ❤️
I love spending time in a wild life garden, it brings us so close to the nature.
Thanks for sharing.
Cool looks like a nice place to go and love watching Wildlife the otter looks cute.
What a cool place but shouldn’t these animals be in the jungle, their home?
What a great day out! lovely and loads to do! fab!!
That big tarantula gives me a creep when I look at it.
I love all the animal pics they are so cute
this is an amazing wildlife park . my kids would love going.
What a great place for a family day out. Thanks for the review I wouldn’t have known it existed. We will plan a trip into our adventures diary.
Looks a lovely place, we’ve never been to the Cotswolds, but would love to visit
What a beautiful experience. We absolutely love visiting wildlife parks.
My children love wildlife parks and this one looks fab. Definitely one for our list
This looks a fun day out. I know we will visit here in the new year
I must visit as it looks amazing, I love anything to do with seeing animals.