Woburn Safari Park Bedfordshire Review
Woburn Safari Park
Reviewed by Steven Sargent
My family and I (wife and 2 seven year old boys) visited Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire for a half term day out. As we entered the park we were greeted with smiles and welcoming faces. We bought a safari guidebook for £5 and it’s certainly value for money. It’s glossy, information packed and engaging for small children. We drove around the safari park through a variety of enclosures. There are lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, rhinoceros, elephants and many other interesting animals. If the animals are in the right mood then they can come very close to your vehicle. There’s no rush to get through to the next part, people were happily snacking on their lunches as they observed the animals. We took about an hour to get round. You could take longer or you could speed up a little (not literally) if you were in a rush. There’s also the opportunity to drive round again when you’ve finished.
Woburn provides lots of interesting, educational and engaging shows. We watched the zoo keepers feeding penguins, demonstrated the agility of sea lions and gave an elephant a health check. The shows seemed to be every 15 minutes and were only a few minutes walking distance from each other. The staff were always accessible for questions and shared their expert knowledge. There’s a few more shows like birds of prey demonstrations but we didn’t have time to get round. They seem to repeated later on as well which also quite helpful.
Apart from the safari and the shows, there’s also many other smaller animals to visit. We found the exotic bird house the most fun. The bird keeper gives you a small tub of nectar and the birds simply sit on your wrist, or on your head as in my case, and drink their treat. Although my boys didn’t fancy it, there were several under-fives giving it a go and loving it.
In-between shows, or any time you fancied an ‘animal break’, there’s an indoor play house. It’s quite spacious and has an under 5 soft area as well as a 5s and above play area. There are 3 slides varying in size (all supervised by staff). There’s a height restriction and a ‘long sleeves’ rule to avoid friction burns.
The children who were whizzing down the slides were having a blast. It looked great fun.
There’s an average sized area to eat packed lunches or to buy reasonably priced hot meals (£6 adult, £4 children). People seemed to use it as a quick stop and refuel opportunity. Most only stayed for around 20 minutes.
The gift shops are what you’d expect. Some expensive gifts, some cheap gifts. Lots of cuddly toys which seem to sell well.
Parking is good and close to all of the shows/restaurants/toilets.
There’s also an outdoor play area for the better weather.
Overall we had a great time. We’d certainly go again. It’s perfect for kids as the shows and play areas are all so close.
If I had to pick a downside, I’d say the few add-ons (£2 each for an indoor sea lion show) were unnecessary. A family of four would pay over £60 to get in, in my opinion, that’s enough.
5 out of 5, well done Woburn!
Rating: 5/5 
For more information, opening times and to book tickets visit www.woburnsafari.co.uk.
