Is £25 for a family to get in really what a charitable trust should charge? (Beale Park)

Member Name: azana

Product:	Beale Park
Date:	15/04/09 (223 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It is a nice park

Disadvantages: More and more expensive every visit

Beale Park is situated on the River Thames, and is near Pangbourne and 6 miles from Reading. The park is a landscaped park of 350 acres in all, and there are gardens and some child friendly playgrounds to visit and a variety of wildlife to see.

There is no doubt that on a sunny day, as it was on my most recent visit, Beale Park is a nice place to go, however I do have to wonder if the park has lost sight of the founder's mission to create and give the park "to the people" as I would have to say that the only people now able to visit and enjoy the park would be those with a fair amount of spare cash. Much as I admire the park's conservation work the park is, for a charitable trust, a rather expensive day out.

Admission:

2009 prices seem to be much higher than those in previous years and reviews on the dooyoo site. You now have to pay for children over 2 (previously under 3's were free as they are in many major attractions), and a family of 2 adults and 2 children pay £25. Adults are £8.50 in high season, and children £6.00, prices being a couple of pounds less in low season which is February to October.

What is there to see and do?

There is a train which runs round the park, included in the entrance, which is actually quite good but can only be ridden once for "free". The train travels the length of the park so you can see the various animals that the park houses. There are wallabies, meerkats, various monkeys, deer, goats, pigs and rabbits and guinea pigs. There are also quite large varied owls and birds to look at, and you can while away quite a lot of the day looking at them if you are there with children.
There are 3 park areas, one adventure type playground, one climbing playground for older children and a little tikes village of houses and vehicules. There are also two paddling pools. The little tikes village may be mid transformation as it looked a little run down on our visit and they had changed the sandpit to a rather perilous one which my two year old fell from, backwards onto her head.
In fairness to the park I have emailed them to say that the little tikes village was a cause of concern and I will update my review if they are indeed planning improvements. All of the playgrounds are fun for children but nothing special. There are two paddling pools though one seemed to be in the process of being repaired. To my annoyance there was a trampoline section and tea cup ride of the small fairground ride size, I say annoyance as these were a further £1.50 that I was not prepared to pay, with the predictable fallout amongst my children!
You can go on a river cruise for an additional cost - the cruises are run by a private company.
There is a large lake, quite a few walks and a picnic area at the end of the park with deer and goats. All in all the park is pleasant to walk around and well maintained, there are a few animals to see but not on a very small zoo scale.


Food:

The food and drinks seemed to be rather highly priced, £1.70 for an icecream and £2 for a bottle of Oasis. I would advise you to take a picnic.

Overall:

Overall in the three years I have been visiting the park I have had some nice visits, I have to say, however, that with this season's price rise I am not sure that the park is great value for money, I certainly wouldn't consider going as a Summer holiday day-filler/treat, just too expensive.

On the website the Trust who run the park state:

"Since the Trust was formed the bird collection in particular has advanced from a few peacocks to one of the foremost collections in Europe. The main source of funding for these important projects is from ticket receipts at the gate so Beale Park relies on its visitors more than ever before. Visitors are helping conserve rare and endangered birds just by coming to see the collection and enjoying a day out at this traditional wildlife park."

Laudable as conservation is I think your average visitor does expect value for money and to pay a reasonable amount. I am not sure whether £1.70 for an icecream or £6 for a 2 year old to look at some animals and birds is actually reasonable. I was a little disappointed by my most recent visit in all honesty, so with regret I can only give the park 3 stars - I just don't like feeling like I am a charity on a family day out and I think I could have spent £25 on a better day out elsewhere, it is a pity as this should be better than it actually now is in my opinion.

http://www.bealepark.co.uk for current information

Summary: There are a few things to see and do but a little disappointing