Birdland Park And Gardens In Bourton-On-The-Water, Gloucestershire Review

Reviewed by Joanna Woodburn

Birdland Park and Gardens is wonderfully located in the heart of the beautiful Cotswolds in Bourton-on-the-Water, regularly voted one of the prettiest villages in England. For a family day out, Birdland offers a combination of wildlife, woodland and gardens and is home to one of the largest collections of exotic birds in the UK.

At the time of our visit, the nearest public car park was closed for refurbishment so parking was rather tricky. We parked in the village and after enjoying a pretty walk through Bourton, we arrived at Birdland Park shortly after it opened and stayed through to early afternoon.

For a family day out, Birdland is reasonably priced in comparison to other similar attractions. The wildlife park was fairly quiet during our visit, which meant we could move freely in the 9.5 acre park between the enclosures and get up close to over 500 different types of birds, including birds of prey, pelicans, cranes and waterfowl.

To complement the great variety of beautiful and exotic very well cared for birds, Birdland also offers very informative talks by knowledgeable and very caring staff as well as opportunities to watch feeding times – all guaranteed to appeal to all ages. We enjoyed learning fascinating facts about the flamingos – they were mesmerising to watch too! Our personal favourite was seeing England’s only breeding group of King Penguins and the funny Humboldt Penguins up close and personal – great fun! We have been watching them on the web cam ever since we left the park!

A couple of negatives, we did think the signage at Birdland could do with an update, including unfortunately, the first penguin sign you see. We also found the A4 laminated sheets giving information on each aviary to be rather tired. It would also be an improvement to have a suggested route around the site as we found it easy to miss the many enclosures and attractions. At the time of our visit. the café was undergoing a makeover and was therefore closed, I am sure it will be a great improvement to the park when it re opens.

It was very evident that Birdland respects and appreciates the role it plays in education and conservation. The conservation efforts by the staff are brilliant and the park is trying so hard to develop and have an impact. Many of the species of birds at Birdland are part of active breeding programmes, in cooperation with European and International organisations. We were impressed to learn that Birdland has supported research regarding birds across the world as well as being involved Rainforest campaigns – quite extraordinary achievements!

For us, the highlight of Birdland Park and Gardens (aside from the birds of course) was the wonderful staff – friendly and knowledgeable – it shone through that they care about what they do – immensely.
For any family looking for a fun filled, interesting and varied day out, we would recommend a visit to Birdland – perhaps plan to go when the café and car park re opens and you won’t be disappointed!

Rating: 4/5

For more information or to book tickets please visit Birdland Park & Gardens in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire