I found a family ticket on Wowcher for use midweek during the summer holidays and it was excellent value compared to the normal entrance prices.
We arrived and found the tiny car park was full, so I left and parked on the pavement outside. The overflow car park is a long walk with three children with autism and a wheelchair and there were no parking restrictions in place. On our walk back in, which is along the main driveway, not ideal with impulsive children who are so easily distracted as mine, I noticed there was actually a farm gate to the left as you enter the tiny car park (no idea how anyone would turn a car to get in there unless they had been before and knew it was there) and people were parking in this area too.
The short walk in told me all I needed to know about the place- it is run down and needs some money putting into it to keep people visiting. I had suspected they may be a little like this from the fact they are on sites such as Wowcher where only a small proportion of the cost of tickets actually gets passed on to the attractions. However, we aren't a family who are wowed by flashing lights and busy places, so this didn't necessarily matter too much.
She made us wait whilst she sorted out piles of leaflets and papers- again, not ideal with three autistic children eager to get in there.
When we went in I spotted one instant issue. The floor is gravel throughout. Not just a thin layer of gravel, thick, big, chunky gravel so all day pushing the chair through it was terrible. My son had to take over a few times and my daughter had to keep her ear defenders on all day because of the noise of the gravel!
There is one disabled toilet in the place and we had a long long wait for this which turned out to be a member of staff taking FOREVER to 'clean' it. She must have missed the need for more toilet paper and the spiders! The mens only has one cubicle so it was difficult for my son to be able to use a toilet too.
The areas as you walk around bear little resemblance to the map you are given on your way in, and there is so much information provided on the paperwork that my children put it in my bag.
There is a good variety of animals to see, animals to feed and activities to do there and plenty of talks throughout the day.
We were unfortunate enough to be there on the same day as a YMCA trip who let the children ruin the under 5's play area and throw balls at us whilst they chatted and one leader was lay down on her side on the sofa. I never approach people like this, but it was so bad I went and got one of their leaders to make them aware of how unacceptable it was. If a ball had hit my youngest we would have had to leave and it would have ruined her day, and ours too. The leader told me that their group had challenging children in it and that was why they were so loud. Hmmm, no. My children would be classed as challenging by most professionals, yet they are not allowed to behave in this way in areas designated for children of a specific age that is not their own, or at all, and if you know you have children who may need more stimulation to aid their behaviour then you provide that and don't allow them the time to be distracted and display such undesirable behaviours, that was literally their job that day! Thankfully they left before us so we had some peace.
Breathe.
We sat at the tables by the under 5's play area and picnic area for our packed lunch so our youngest could wander safely (she can't sit still for long). Then we discovered the over 5's area, most of which wasn't working.
Towards the end of our time there we went to the fox talk. The member of staff running it announced that she had turned off the electric fence and that people had to be careful of their footing as they entered. She said this loudly, as if addressing us all. My children and another couple of families assumes- fairly so- that she was talking to them too and went to the gate to go in, to be told it was only for the four people who had been stood next to the woman and were on an experience. I felt so bad for all the children who had assumed this and it was completely the woman's doing. I was only glad that mine didn't take it too badly as I was able to say I had seen these encounters online and we could look at booking one maybe.
The pedal go karts were a hit - but the place needs to buy more and fix the ones they have, and the pirate water shooting game was equally as fun.
We visited their shop to break up the day a little and discovered £1.50 porcupine spines (which I would advise you buy at the end of the day, not like us as it stuck into my hand everytime I went into our bag after purchasing it), tattoos and lots of overpriced goods as well as a few pocket money priced items. I had to say no cuddly toys due to the prices so be aware of that if you have a cuddly toy fan as I do.
The animal food was a great idea on the way in. For £1 a bag each they hand fed deer, sheep and llama as well as walking in with the wallabies and hiding food for them to find later. Our walk in with the lemurs was short as the lemurs weren't playing ball and preferred to watch the people walk around their enclosure as they sat in their house - some irony there. There was a very friendly donkey who had lots of cuddles from my youngest every time we passed very slowly and reluctantly by, pigs, goats and much much more.
If you are going to visit, make sure you take a supply of £1 coins with you for the pirate water shooting game, shark teeth, fossils, bouncy balls, stretchy animals and more.
For those with sensory issues it is smelly, full of old spider webs and spiders (more than needed), the gravel is a disaster and there is a lot to process as you walk around.
For wheelchairs the gravel is a nightmare, as is the tiny shop.
For autism the car parking, waiting to get in, staff being ambiguous and fact that it barely resembles the map is difficult.
I would never go there unless it was on offer again. I don't know if a carer gets in for free with a disabled visitor as on this occasion I was just glad when the lady deemed us worthy of her time to admit us to the place.
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