Category: England

We visited West Midland Safari Park in August 2019. It was a great family daylong trip.

This park was opened to public in 1973. The park holds over 150+ species of animals.

With around 750,000+ annual visitors, this is a must-see place in Birmingham/England. The kids would really love this place, for sure.

We started our trip from Nottingham, it was around 2 hours (82 Miles) to the Safari park by car.

Its highly recommended to take your vehicle while visiting this place as you will get a chance to do the Safari Drive-Through using your vehicle (travel distance of around 4 miles), which is a unique experience.

For those who want to avoid driving by yourself, you can take the safari mini bus/coaches provided by the park authorities (it comes with a cost).

Park also permits visitors to feed the animals when they come near your vehicle, personally am not sure if this is a good and safe option.

The first part of the safari had rhinos, zebras and antelope. Also, I personally feel like there should be more space/ground for the lions and the Tigers.

Each of the areas were separated with gates to ensure that the animals are in the right enclosures and this also ensures a proper flow of traffic/vehicles within each section.

The park is divided into different sections like below:

• African Plains
• The Grasslands
• Wild Woods
• Wild Asia and Realm of the Indian Rhino
• White Tiger Ridge
• Cheetah Plains
• African Wild Dog Reserve
• Realm of the Lion s
• Kingdom of the White Lions
• Eurasian Reserve and Tiger Reserve
• Elephant Valley and so on…

Within the same campus, there are also some interesting sections like:

• Ice Age
• Land of Living Dinosaurs
• Discovery trail
• Reptile World and so on…

Apart from all the above, there are also some daily shows like:

• Penguin feed
• Friendly Animal Encounter
• Sea Lion Show
• Penguin feed
• Meerkat feed
• Sea lion show
• Lemur Talk

I would certainly recommend to check the daily show timings so that you can plan your entire day trip accordingly.

Food Options:

There are plenty of options for food within the park , including fully fledged restaurants. Food is slightly costly. You can carry it from home as well.

We have seen many families who brought food from home and was having their lunch under a tree shade. Of course, this is also a different experience. Typically, this place can be considered as an ideal place for a proper day trip.

Entertainment rides (Fairground) / Adventure Theme park:

There are also options like Roller coaster, Carousel and so on. Based on the height of the kids, there are different set of rides.

We didn’t do those rides and hence am not sure how safe it was for the kids.

Again, there are special tickets for this ride.

The cost for a multi-ride wristband to allow you on all the rides was £14.50 for an adult and £12.50 for a child (up to 15 years). If its late when you reach the fairgrounds, I would suggest that the Multi trip might not be worth enough. In such cases, you can also buy tickets for individual rides.

Rides in the Adventure Theme Park are closed for winter season and typically opened sometime in the mid of February

Getting there:

Almost everyone comes in their own vehicle, obviously, to drive through the animal park, but there is a mini-bus tours as well. If taking this option, get the train to Kidderminster (40 minutes from Birmingham, frequent departures, or two-and-a-half hours from London Euston, frequent departures but with two changes), then a local bus to the safari park.

Cleanliness:

Overall the campus was very clean.

There are toilets (Free) provided in different parts of the entire park and the toilets were clean.

The animals are also kept in very clean environment, thanks to the excellent dedication of the staff.

Summary:

1. West Midland Safari park (WMSP) is quite a good day out (around 6 hours or so) for the family especially children.

The only suggestion will be to avoid this place during the school vacation or Bank holiday time. It would be extremely crowded during the vacation time where you will have to spend most of your time in the traffic / queues (bumper to bumper) inside the safari park.

2. Children will get a chance to see the animals (very closely) which they know only from books and the good thing is that the animals are kept in a better condition than that in zoo.

3. Ticket price which includes a free return ticket seems to be reasonable one.

4. If possible, try to bring food /snacks from home.

5. There are also options to buy Annual Safari passes.

6. Whether you are arriving by car, coach or minibus, there are no parking charges for the guests!

7. In case if your vehicle gets breakdown or over heated, don’t panic. The Safari park staff (wardens) will be always moving around the routes and they will come for an immediate help.

Main Attractions/Must See places in Bath:

1. Roman Bath:

Roman Bath and the temple complex are the real foundation of this city and it is considered as one of the best preserved Roman remains in the world with a history of more than 2000 years. There is an ticket fee of £16 entrance and I believe its worth, given the importance of this place and wealth of information provided via the free audio tour.

The entrance to the Roman Baths is quite a sight to see.

The high domed ceilings with sparkling chandeliers is a great view.

Each area of the Baths that you explore is clearly marked by colour and number, with a brief description of what you will see and a number point guide on the audio handset, which was really child friendly.

Unfortunately, the water is no longer clean so you are unable to touch. If you really love history, you can spend few hours here. Natural spring still surprise the visitors here..

2. Bath Abbey:

The church dominates the city center because of its Gothic architecture.

Large stained glass windows provides an extra beauty to the Bath Abbey (also known as the Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul). It was founded in the 7th century and is perhaps the largest examples of Perpendicular Gothic architecture in Europe.

You can visit the interior but make sure to check the official website as the opening times change around special holidays in the UK. It’s free to go inside, but you can also take a guided tower tour for £8 that takes you up 212 spiral steps to the abbey roof for a panoramic city view.

3. Parade Gardens and Pulteney Bridge:

Pulteney bridge is built on River Avon. We can get a nice view of the bridge from the Parade Gardens. This covered bridge was built in the 18th century for William Pulteney to connect Bath to land on the other side of the River Avon to help drive up land prices. It’s one of few bridges in the world which have shops built into the sides and this bridge is still really well preserved.

Note: Seems there is also Boating options available during summer, where you can take a short trip along the river Avon. The trips run between April to October and take about an hour. They start just below Pulteney Bridge and cost £9 per adult (£5 for children). The boat travels under the bridge, out past the edge of the city and on into the countryside as far as the pretty little village of Bathampton before returning to Bath.

4. The Circus:

The Circus is a historic street of large townhouses in the city of Bath, Somerset, England, forming a circle with three entrances. Large trees stand in the central garden, blocking the view of the buildings and it’s really hard to get a picture of the entire curved facade.

5. Bath Hop on Hop off Tour:

The Bath Hop On Hop Off is another convenient option to get around the city and hit all the attractions at a minimal cost.

6. Walk around the city centre:

The city centre is composed of a network of small streets, dotted with old style boutiques. The houses in Bath are built with a special type of limestone found especially near the city and it is relatively yellowish in colour.

7. Alexandra Park view point:

This is a must see place in Bath.

You should plan you trip to Bath in a way that you reach this place by evening (Before the sunset). This peaceful park is build high above the city, which makes it the most amazing view point to watch as the sun comes down.

This 11-acre park, opened in 1902 to commemorate the coronation of Edward VII, is situated at the top of Beechen Cliff providing magnificent panoramic views of the city and the surrounding hills.

Don’t forget to take your camera as you will get lot of opportunities to capture some amazing views.

Parking:

Parking is a nightmare in Bath city centre. One of the best option will be to park in ‘Avon Street Car Park’. There are also a couple of Parking facilities available nearby Avon. The good thing is that there are boards placed across the city providing the real time status of the free car parks available within the different paid parking facilities of the main city.

Food:

There are many different options available. We had tried a couple of small shops and food was good.

There are a few ports in UK from where you can take a ferry to IOW.

We took ‘Wight Link’ Ferry from Porstmouth. For booking and other details, please visit https://www.wightlink.co.uk/

If you are planning to take your vehicle, you will have to provide the Vehicle width and height (in the ferry website). There is also a help link within the ferry website which will help you to get these details, by providing the registration number. There is enough space in the ferry to park your car.

Wightlink mainly operates in following routes:

a) Portsmouth – Fishbourne (Foot Passenger + Vehicles)

b) Portsmouth – Ryde (Foot Passengers only)

c) Lymington – Yarmouth (Foot Passenger + Vehicles)

The high speed ‘Red Jet’ ferry service is for foot passengers only and makes a swift crossing in only 25 minutes.

We took the Portsmouth – Fishbourne ferry (took 10 Am ferry to IOW and returned in 5 PM ferry).

The sailing time is around 45 minutes. Please note that these ferries maintain a very punctual timing and hence ensure to be at the terminal at the exact timing.

Our ferry had 3 decks, 3 for parking and 2 for passengers. There are Coffee and Snacks counter available in the ferry.

b) Gunwharf Quays (premium retail outlet):

This is a great shopping destination, where you will find a lot of retail outlets (around 90 shops). Since we visited during Christmas week, there were a lot of offers running in the shops. There are lot of parking space and restaurants available.

This is one of the neatest shopping complexes that I had ever gone. The parking areas/slots are very well marked and clean aswell.

1. Freshwater Bay:

Freshwater Bay is located about three miles east from the famous landmark Needles. Situated on a spectacular stretch of the island coastline, Freshwater is very popular with holidaymakers. The beach looks out across a little horseshoe-shaped cove which has been eroded out of chalk cliffs by the action of the wind and waves, leaving distinctive isolated stacks standing offshore. Behind the bay, Tennyson Down rises to an impressive height of 482 feet.

2. Compton Bay:

The beach at Compton Bay is one of the island’s best-kept secrets with nearly two miles of sandy beach.

3. Needles (it’s the farthest point) Rocks + Light House + Alum Bay:

Located in Alum Bay (which is known for its multi-coloured sand cliffs and stunning views), the Needles is one of the most beautiful spots on the Isle of Wight and perhaps it’s one of the most famous landmark… Unfortunately, many of the attractions are closed during the wintertime, especially in Needles.

The Needles is a row of three distinctive stacks of chalk that rise out of the sea off the western extremity of the island and is a must see for all visitors to the Island.

In needles, don’t miss to take the 180 Steps to the beach. The other option to reach the beach will be to take the Chair Lift. From Alum Bay  you can board a boat that takes you right up close to the rock formation.

4. Sandown Bay:

Situated half-way between Ryde and Shanklin, in a beautiful sheltered bay, Sandown is a seaside place with a healthy tourist population. It is famed for its long golden sandy beach and traditional British seafront and pier.

5. Ventnor Town/Beach:

Ventnor beach is the southernmost holiday beach on the Isle of Wight and is well-loved by locals and visitors alike.

The higher part is referred to as Upper Ventnor; the lower part, where most amenities are located, is known as Ventnor.

6. Monkey Haven: (https://www.monkeyhaven.org/)

Located in Newport, Monkey Haven is home to several species of the lovable primate. There are also meerkats, snakes and owls housed at this small attraction which has been awarded several accolades for its work in rescuing vulnerable animals from neglect and abuse.