A lovely day out for all the family (Noah's Ark Zoo Farm (Wraxall))

Member Name: jenjade

Product:	Noah's Ark Zoo Farm (Wraxall)
Date:	22/02/09 (194 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: loads of animals things to see and do great play area loads of space

Disadvantages: Some of the tracks are hard for buggies

Noah's Ark Zoo farm is situated near Wraxall between Weston-Super-Mare and Bristol. We went to the farm as a day out back in August and found it one of the best animal farms we have very been to there was so much to see and do. The farm is based in 100 acres of beautiful Somerset countryside. Which means that there are loads for room to let the children run free safely?

The farm is home to a huge range of animals out across the fields there is a track, which will lead you past Rhinos, Zebra, Deer and Camels. At the end of the track is an enclosure, which contains Giraffe you can go inside the shed and stand on a high platform to look at Gerald the Giraffes face I loved this, as he looked so gentle and had kind eyes. I have seen Giraffe before but never for there level had the children also loved this as they could look down over the park and see loads of the animal. You can then walk back from the Giraffe enclosure past yet more animals including rare cattle, Tapir, Capybaras, Buffalo, Goats and sheep. There is a play area out by the animals so the children can climb and play on a tractor and run around while there parents can look at the animals. There are plenty of picnic areas too with benches and large areas of grass.

There are several shed near the entrance to the park, which contain Gibbons, Reptiles and some other small animals. Some of the sheds smell a bit too strong because of the animals I am guessing this cannot be helped but it means staying inside the sheds for a long time is not an option.
When we were at the park, the keepers and staff were getting out allsorts of animals to hold and look at throughout the day. We held a snake, ferret, rabbit and guinea pigs as well as feeding a baby lamb.

There is a café onsite, which was slightly expensive although they always are at the parks we bought a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake and it tasted very fresh. The café has some tables inside and outside which were clean and well maintained.

The indoor play area was our favourite part there were slides, climbing ropes, ball pits, trampolines, etc it was amazing and the children were happy inside there for hours! We played tag, hide, and seek inside the barn. The children said on the way home there favourite part was the play area and holding the animals.

They offer tractor rides but these were at additional expense so we decided not to go on a ride round. There was a barn with horses and ponies in and a barn with hay bales and a rope swing. There were a few toilet blocks but when you have small children, you can never have enough toilets.

There was a gift shop but unlike many other places we have been you do not have to go in there to get out of the farm! We did go for a little look and they had some nice things like t-shirts, pencils, etc.

In one of the barns was a seating area where they do talks about the animals this was very interesting. It was a good length and very factual and informative. They had animals as props during the talk the only thing I was not that keen on was the religious side of things Noah's Ark seem to be very Christian and there were many stories about god etc. that might not suit everyone.

The park is open from 10.30 am until 5.00 pm Monday to Saturday. The park is seasonal and is opened from the 9th of February through until the 7th November.
Information on direction from there website www.noahsarkzoofarm.co.uk

Buses
The X7 bus stops at the Noah's Ark Zoo Farm gate.
Trains
There are two ways to get to us via train:
1) To Bristol Temple Meads train station.
Then catch a bus to the bus station in the city centre (the No. 8 or 9.) From the Bristol bus station, you can then catch the X7, which stops at our gate.
2) To Nailsea and Backwell train station.
This is a smaller train station, but closer to us.

Day ticket prices
Admission prices for 2009 (valid until 7th November 2009)
Babies (Under 2) Free!
Child (Aged 2-16) £8.50
Adults £10.50
Concessions £9.50
Family (2+2) £35.00
Family (1+3) £33.00
Free car parking!

Also posted on Ciao under the same username Jenjade

Summary: A lovely day out with load sof animals