Not one for your flexible friend (Beale Park)

Name: jopassmore

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Product:	Beale Park
Date:	15.07.02 (560 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: lots to do, great for a hot day

Disadvantages: do not accept credit cards, lots to pay for inside

We were staying with my parents in Berkshire recently. We had been on holiday all week and my husband had the 'going out for the day' bug. I had the 'we have spent far too much money already this week' bug but you can guess who won! My step-mother suggested that Beale Park was a place she thought my 2 year old daughter would enjoy visiting, so that is where we decided to go.

Beale park is a 300 acre wildlife park about a mile from the village of Pangbourne in Berkshire. It has beautiful grounds that can be explored, many different types of animals and birds to see on your way round and plenty of activities for children of all ages.

There are a number of rare breeds of birds to see, as well as some more usual animals, such as goats, sheep, cows and pigs. There is a pets corner where children can learn all about and touch rabbits, guinea pigs, chipmunks, mice, squirrels and lambs. There is a deer park at the end of the grounds where you can see, close up, different species of deer.

Some of the more fun things to do include a ride on the steam train, a trip down the river Thames, a dip in one of the three paddling pools, climbing on the adventure playground (mainly for older children although our toddler felt the need to have a go), fairground rides for small children, a couple of sandpits and crazy golf.

Or, if you are out for a relaxing day (as I was, but failed to achieve!) you can just stroll around the grounds or sit in one of the beautiful gardens and let the world pass you by.

The park is easy to get to, being situated not far from the M4 motorway and parking is free. Or you could take a train to Pangbourne and walk up the river Thames to the park.

One word of warning though. Take plenty of cash with you. We were shocked to discover that they did not accept plastic of any kind at the entrance. I found this a bit strange, particularly as the entrance fee was not an insignificant o
ne (£4.80 per adult, £3.40 per child, or £12 for a family ticket). Also, almost everything you want to do (or more specifically, your children will want to do) inside the park costs extra. The river trip is fairly expensive, as is a ride on the train. We had to bribe our daughter out of the paddling pool by promising her a go on the roundabout, only to discover that it was 70p a turn. Because we had used all but £1 of our cash getting in, we were not able to do much else once inside the park, so we had an angry toddler on our hands for the rest of the afternoon! This did annoy me a bit, as I would rather pay a larger entrance fee, knowing that my children (or child in our case) can enjoy the things they see inside without the constraints of money.

In spite of this, we enjoyed our afternoon at Beale Park. It was extremely hot and busy, as one would expect in the summer. It would certainly be worth another visit out of season, when I believe the entrance fee is also a little more reasonable.

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