Knowsley Safari Park
www.knowsleysafariexperience.co.uk
Reviewed by Michelle Wright
With two very excited 8 year olds in the back of the car we set of to Knowsley Safari Park for the day. From Manchester, the journey is extremely straightforward, straight down the A580 and when we got closer to Knowsley the girls enjoyed the game of spotting the brown signs to guide us in the right direction. It was very well sign posted right until we entered the car park.
As we approached the gates, which were controlled with barriers, we found the staff extremely helpful as they showed us which route to take, supplying maps and brochures and even stickers for the children! The barrier came up and our adventure started.
We drove past one of the largest Aerial Extreme courses (which can booked separately – what an amazing view you must have from up there of the Safari Park and surrounding areas!) – a perfect way to discover your inner monkey!!!
First stop – the toilets! We decided this was the best idea as we didn’t want to be told we need a toilet run in the middle of the lion enclosure later on! The facilities were extremely good and very clean.
Then our adventure started… we followed the map and route through the first gates (which we joked looked like Jurassic Park) and as the girls looked for the T-Rex’s we found ourselves heading past the most beautiful tigers and towards the lion enclosure! I am not sure who was the most excited – me or the girls! I adore lions and tigers and was very excited that they would be roaming around the cars. We closed our windows so we didn’t get any extra furry passengers and went slowly around the area. There were two lanes of cars that meant even if you stopped to get a great look or photograph, there was only a small wait until we were moving again. Unfortunately as it was quite a hot Saturday, the lions had decided it was more fun to lie down and sleep, so none of the lions were wondering around, but still, they were so incredible to watch just lazing around on the grass.
The next highlight for the girls was the baboon area! There was a choice of two routes which were very clearly marked on the maps and on sign posts – one to go right through the baboon area and one which ran alongside. I remember as a child coming to Knowsley and going through the area where the baboons climbed all over the school bus, sat on the bonnets etc… and thought it was great fun! Today however we have a new car and decided we wanted to keep our windscreen wipers, aerials and window washers where they are so decided to go down the side. This was really fun – we sat for ages watching the baboons cadging free lifts form the cars going through… and basically watching other people’s cars get damaged and not ours!
We had thought that it may have been a good marketing idea for Knowsley to offer a ride on a bus through that area – which we would have gladly paid extra for. On returning home we checked the website, and Knowsley had already thought of our idea! You can use the baboon bus for a cost of only £2.50 per person – shame we didn’t know about this when we arrived as we certainly would have done it… We all thought the baboons were great fun to watch – not only did they get free rides but we saw some of the younger ones toy fighting and rugby tackling each other as well as some very tiny baby ones clinging on tightly to their mothers. I could have stayed there all day.
Our next highlight was to see some of the white rhinos – what incredible animals – so strong and powerful! One of the games the girls created on our way round was to name all the animals starting with the first letter of the animal type, so for example the rhinos were named Ray, Roy, Ronda and Ronnie! (As you can imagine, it took us a long time to go past the herd of deer! – all of which ended up being called Bambi as we were there that long and ran out of names beginning with D!)
In the back of the car, my daughter and her friend loved looking through the brochure supplied and spotting the animals as we toured round. A great game but very educational for them too!
Once we had completed the safari tour we parked up to see the elephants and giraffes. I am always amazed at just how tall and elegant the giraffes actually are – imagine how tall they are to an eight year old!!
Further along this area we found numerous areas to sit and have a picnic and also café and coffee houses – all very clean and well kept. As the day had turned really warm we treated ourselves to ice creams whilst the girls enjoyed some of the fairground type rides. If you fancied it, there was a mini train ride around this area and even face painting! Whilst in this area there were frequent announcements of feeding times that you could go along to, but we were waiting for the Sea Lion show – and we weren’t disappointed!
We were lucky enough to get front row seats at the show, whilst we watched Arthur and Biffo do amazing tricks in and out of the water. The sea lion trainer talked us through interesting facts about the sea lions and their personalities – it was really great fun, and I am so pleased we managed to fit this in our day.
Back outside, and after some time on the playground, we made our way to the bat house. It took a few minutes for our eyes to adjust to the dark, and after a few times of winding each other up by softly touching someone else hair so they thought it was a bat, we made our way around. We chatted to one of the staff in the area who explained to the girls about how the bats used a radar system to distinguish hard and soft matter, explaining that the bat would never fly into them. This was really interesting and we were surprised to see how large the bats were.
We spent the whole day at Knowsley learning whilst having fun – but Knowsley offer so much more! They have a junior rangers club starting on 27th May for teenagers aged 12-14 where they can be involved in the day to day upkeep and feeding of some of the animals. There are numerous summer clubs as well – perfect for 8 -11 year olds – check out Knowsley Safari Park website for details. You can even have a safari party where you and your friends can celebrate a birthday including a safari tour, sea lion show, bat forest, lunch and a mini train ride.
There’s so much going on and Knowlsey Safari Park have gone out of their way to cater for all ages, groups and schools.
We had an absolutely amazing time at Knowsley Safari Park – its, clean, safe, fun and educational – great for all ages. My only criticism would be that nobody told us of the baboon bus upon arrival and I think doing that would have made our visit even more fun.
The prices for the park are really reasonable at only £12.50 for a child 3-15 years (free for younger than 3 years) and only £16.50 for an adult. There is also the option of buying an annual pass which is a real bargain compared to the costs of some of the theme parks we have visited: £30 for a child or OAP and £40 for an adult.
It really was one of the best family days out we have had in a long time! Big thumbs up for Knowsley Safari Park!
Rating: 5/5 
To find out more about parties, summer clubs and opening times, or to book tickets (save 10% by booking online), check out their website www.knowsleysafariexperience.co.uk,
Knowsley Safari Park, Prescot, Merseyside, L34 4AN | 0151 430 9009
