If you're looking for a more interactive experience where the animals are closer to you than other zoos, then Manor Wildlife Park should definitely be on your list!
Why Visit Manor Wildlife Park?
INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE
As mentioned above, at Manor Wildlife Park, you will get the chance to get closer to the animals more than you would in other zoos that we've visited.
The first animals that you meet as you enter the park are the Wallabies. You can buy some pellets to feed them at the door for £1 and these very tame and jumpy animals will come and eat right out of your hand.
The Giant Rabbits, chilling in their own little village with houses and tunnels are the next animals that you get to stroke and play with. These are a particular favourite for Coops as they're so tame and soft.
You can also walk amongst the Lemurs who Cooper loves to try and find as they're always hiding in the trees in their personal little area of the park.
The last animals that you can stroke (and brush when COVID isn't ruining things) is the goats. There are so many of them and love the attention and fuss of being stroked by the children (at least, they seem to enjoy it anyway!!)
BIG ANIMALS
Whilst you can walk amongst the small animals, there are plenty of big animals to see too when walking around the park!
This is the park where we get closest to animals such as the Rhinos, watch the Gibbons on their own little island, eat your lunch overlooking the Zebras and take a walk around Tiger Woods.
OTHER ATTRACTIONS
As well as the animals, there's plenty of other attractions to keep the little ones entertained during your time at Manor Park.
For me, to really get the best out of your time at Manor Wildlife Park, you want to go on a dry day, ideally, a sunny day. In front of the Manor House there's a huge stretch of flat grass and a giant wooden dragon with tunnels. There's usually a bouncy castle that they can use for free too and a giant rhino that's great for a picture opportunity!! They've recently (thanks COVID) invested in a lot more picnic benches and huge sturdy umbrellas though if you do happen to choose a wet day to visit.
Inside the Manor itself there's an area to eat with a few toys to play with and on the other side there's a cafe. The food at Manor Park is REALLY good and much nicer than the usual rubbish you can buy at other zoos and theme parks, it's reasonably priced too. They make their own pizzas and always have great deals on if you stay later in the afternoon for food. There's a really nice area outside the Manor to eat as well with quirky seating!
There's a hay barn under roof to run and jump about it, another thing to do sheltered from any Welsh wet weather!
Some of the most recent attractions added are the domes, once again making for a great place to shelter when it's wet. There's a huge soft play inside the dome and an area in the middle for smaller children. The other dome has changed what's inside a few times over the years but the last time I went it was a giant bouncy castle. It is BOILING in here mind on a nice day!!
The only thing I would like to see at Manor Park that isn't there is a playground. They have a sand pit with a climbing frame there but it's much too challenging for a toddler. There's also a tiny one for very small children but there seems to be a gap for 2-5 year olds perhaps with regards to an actual playground (but there is plenty for them to do here, just that Cooper loves a swing and a slide!) EDIT - Summer 2022 - they’ve invested in a pretty impressive looking playground! It’s advertised as 5+ and it really is for that age. It’s quite challenging, very high and the metal slides are pitch black. The metal also gets BOILING on a sunny day so be careful with little legs in shorts!! Cooper loved it though and is definitely great to see something new there!!
You can push a wheelchair and pushchair around the whole park but have to leave pushchairs outside the Wallaby, Giant Rabbit, Lemur and Goat areas (so if you have a non-walker maybe a carrier would be a good idea to pop under the pram.) The walk around the bigger animals can be quite muddy if there's been a lot of rain so take wellies on these days. UPDATE Summer 2022 - The ticket prices are now £17.95 for an adult and £15.95 for children (up £3 per person in the past two years). If you like it there though they'll refund your ticket price on the way out and for the price of another day entry you can get a season pass!
Lots of people ask "Shall we do Manor Park or Folly Farm?" and in my opinion, you have to do the both as they're completely different to each other. What I like about Manor Wildlife Park is that there's a more chilled vibe there, it's usually not as busy (or at least feels that way as there's a lot of open space), you spend less money inside and you have the interactive element that you don't have so much in Folly. So, neither of them are my favourite, which is why I have season passes for both!!
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