Now, my chap is pretty fox mad (and who can blame him, I thought I was a fan until I met him!) so…read morewhen he was visiting my home county with me, I couldn't resist the British Wildlife experience when I was searching for things to do. Held at Hoo Farm, where entry is included with the price of your experience- win!, you wait by the doors excitedly for the keeper. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am terrible with surprises, receiving or giving, but I managed to to let on to what we were doing until the lady at the desk said so. Thankfully, his inkling had been correct about meeting his furry favourites. The booking system had some issues, and we did wait a little longer than we were supposed to, but our lovely keeper was very apologetic, and made sure we were still having the full time. First, we met Bessie. Bessie is a gorgeous tawny owl, who loves a tickle round the back of her head, and it was pretty amusing watching the keeper to try and fetch her out, even though she entirely loved the fuss once perched on our hands. Two chaps came over, definitely thinking they could get in on the fun with the least subtle hints I've ever seen, not for you today though, guys! Then, the foxes, gorgeous Reds, of course, in all of their little hierarchies, and we got to feed dead chicks to all of the alphas. The platinum and silver foxes were particularly quick, and the silver chap, by the name of druid, scent marked the leg of my other half with a bladder full, which amused me greatly. We were told plenty about the foxes, being provided with tonnes of knowledge. It was a great experience, and wonderful to be with keepers who were so passionate. Definitely recommended.

So, as my reviews normally do, this requires a little bit of background. Some time ago me and my…read morewonderful partner (Dan G.) decided that we weren't going to buy each other many physical gifts for Birthday and Christmas. Instead, we set a budget and decided we would buy each other experiences. To date we have gone to gigs, shows and had days out; but my Birthday gift in March was really special. Dan had managed to find a voucher for a "Predator Experience" day at Hoo Farm with wild Wills Animal Encounters (http://www.willswildanimalencounters.com/) and kept it a secret for over a month. I did eventually guess what the present was (after a few clues), but that didn't detract from the excitement I felt when I woke up on Sunday morning. As I stated on my Hoo Farm review, the venue is only about 45 minutes away from Central Birmingham and is dead easy to get to. We had our experience booked for 1pm, so we enjoyed hanging out with various animals and had our picnic lunch before gathering in the courtyard awaiting our keeper to take us round the animals we were seeing that day. Our keeper was a lovely, bubbly and interesting young lady (who I believe was one of the family who owned the farm). She gathered us together (there are only 4 people allowed on a Predator experience) and took us to the fox enclosure first. After some background about the foxes (they were all rescued from various different places under different circumstances) and giving us some insight into the personality of each different animal, we were invited to glove up and grab a chick to feed the cheekiest fox around, Sparky. Sparky was giving us all begging looks and climbing up our legs to get to the food. Lula the vixen also poked her head in to get some chicks too! Double fox fun! After the foxes, we moved on to the Racoon dogs. After being introduced to Loki, Laufey and Yoshi; we were invited to feed them. In between the feeding they were weaving through our legs, trying to climb our trousers and generally being cheeky and adorable. Honestly, if like me you love cuteness you HAVE to give this a go . Finally (after all the chicks were gone), we were invited to de-glove to go and meet Zeus and Dooma (the Servals). I could write a whole review on how amazing this was, but I have (instead) uploaded a bunch of photos to give you a good idea. Between playing with string, having them sit on our laps and give us kisses and having a good old fuss and a play - this was the highlight of the day. The money for the voucher was worth this experience alone. We got a good 30 minutes to play with these cute, cheeky and affectionate big cats before it was time to take our leave. If you have someone (like me) in your life who loves furry animals, you HAVE to check this out. Its worth EVERY PENNY and you won't be disappointed. A big thank you to all at Hoo Farm and Wild Wills Encounters for a tremendous day out.

Chester Zoo was one of the main reasons for us going to Manchester for a short break. And what a…read moregood decision it was. We had a great time despite the bad weather. A fantastic selection of unusual animals plus more common ones displayed in a very attractive way. One of the best zoos if not the bad we have ever been to.

Best Zoo in the U.K!!! Incredible selection of animals very friendly and knowledgeable staff…read more Annual Membership is worth it and is reasonably priced. Great place to go and do photography. Highly Recommended

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

For a theme park aquarium that is NOT a theme park based on aquariums it's a pretty sharp one…read more The displays are well done, they are staggered at different heights and levels. There are interactive stations and so much to do and look at. This was probably my 3rd favorite portion of the park, the new coaster and the actual summer house being my favorites.

Alton Towers is a behemoth of a place... I remember when I had my first visit (Circa 1995, maybe?)…read morewhere all you would find is rides and queues (and lots of ways to spend your pocket money). Fast forward to 2015 and there has been many changes, additions and new ways to spend your (now earned with a job) money. I have been attending Pirate weekend over the last few years at Alton Towers Splash Landings Hotel. This entails a waterpark day entry, overnight stay in the hotel, breakfast, pirate entertainment and entry into the small (bur perfectly formed) Sharkbait Reef within the park. All this for a princely sum of around £25? Bargain. These weekends are held when the main park isn't open and we sauntered up from Birmingham at 1pm on a Friday afternoon to get our Pirate on and have a good time. Now, we don't always get to Sharkbait Reef as part of our visit. Firstly, the opening times are normally geared towards Saturday stayers (rather than Friday adventurers) and secondly, it can be affected by the weather. It seems as though we chose the right weekend to go this time as the Reef opened at 10am, giving us plenty of time to get down there before the minigolf tournament was due to kick off at 10:30am. The reef is situated in the park in the pirate section. This can mean quite a walk from the hotel or a two minute drive. There is a dedicated parking section for this, but this section (Express parking) is rammed during actual park opening days. This little Sea Life centre isn't the biggest of the bunch, but it is well put together. From entering in via the "photo opportunity" (a giant statue of octopus tentacles), there are sharks, lots of varieties of beautiful shimmering tropical fish, jelly fish and rock pools (where you can stroke a starfish or meet some cute little shrimp). The walls are jam packed with information about the ocean and it's inhabitants and the staff are friendly and ready to answer your questions. The real stand out for us was the fact it was feeding time in the big tank. Have you ever seen a Ray eat broccoli before? I did for the first time ever on Saturday. It was fascinating (see photos). The walkthrough area is great for seeing the lovely creatures of the sea swimming about and interacting with each other. You end your visit (it takes maybe... about 20/30 minutes to walk around and you (predictably) end up in the gift shop. There are numerous "budget" gifts (starting from £1) in this shop, so if your little ones are desperate for a souvenir - you could do worse than checking out the cool stuff in this shop over the other more expensive options in the park. Whether you're a seasoned ocean expert or a small fry looking to get up close and personal with some of the inhabitants of the sea, a quick trip around Sharkbait reef is definitely worth your while during your trip to Alton Towers.