Animal Park – Zoo – Day out with the kids in East Devon
Axminster, Devon
Great for toddlers and younger children aged up to approx. 10yrs
Buggy friendly
Large selection of animals and birds
Free parking
Under 3s go free
Baby changing and toilets
Café and picnic areas
Gift shop
Open from mid Feb – end of November – closed on some Mondays, check opening times and dates here
Dogs not permitted
We spent an excitable few hours at Axe Valley Wildlife park, a small zoo that prides itself on being family-friendly, featuring several little play areas across the site as well as the surprisingly large variety of creatures - some exotic, some more familiar.
There’s a café with eat-in and takeaway options (pizza, pasties, sandwiches, ice creams etc) which can be eaten at one of the many picnic areas (including an under-cover area for showery weather.) Picnics can be brought from home, though everything spent in the shop and café helps towards keeping this charitable wildlife park running.
The wildlife park is a small attraction which I think best suits smaller children, with plenty to delight toddlers and children up to around age 10yrs. In the school holidays, the whole family can join in with scheduled special sessions such as Keeper Talks and Animal Encounters – today’s star of the show was a bearded dragon, which the children got to meet ‘in person’!
You’re never far away from a play area – there are a couple specially designed to appeal to toddlers and some better for older children.
Geese, chicken and even the odd friendly peacock freely roam the pathways, which are surfaced and buggy-friendly.
On our rounds of the park we discovered a wide variety creatures including flamingos, meercats, guinea pigs, zebras, deer, mice, ostrich, and owls, all up close and personal – I myself was glad to see the tarantulas, cockroaches and snakes securely locked inside their enclosures!
The entry prices are linked here, costing us £40 for a family of four, but under 3s go free.
The café, picnic barn, shop, and a couple of the animal enclosures are covered which would make for good places to shelter from rain showers; otherwise this is a mostly open-air attraction.
A great, easy day out with little ones.
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