Princess Mononoke comes to Kent (Wildwood (Herne Bay))

Member Name: edinburgher

Product:	Wildwood (Herne Bay)
Date:	13/03/09 (365 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A great family outing, with a large range of fascinating animals

Disadvantages: Not that easy to get to

On paper, a wildlife park in Kent and an animated movie by Japanese genius Hayao Miyazaki about giant wolves may not have much in common. What I found on an overcast autumn day in late 2008 was, however, no less wonderful and I have a tale to tell that's also about a magical forest, majestic animals and a beautiful girl.

To prevent the similes becoming too silly, I'll reveal early on that the beautiful girl was my lovely girlfriend, who was just as excited at the prospect of seeing a range of fascinating creatures in a semi-natural environment as I was. Getting to the park was fairly tricky for us, as it involved travelling from Bromley to Herne Bay by train and then negotiating the transfer by bus. This would have been fine but for the fact that the bus driver promised to give us a shout when we reached the park, got off the bus two minutes later and didn't bother to tell the new driver! We were both feeling a bit grumpy by the time we got to the park and a good dose of whimsy and excitement were just what we needed.

*Getting there*

Wildwood is situated between Canterbury and Herne Bay in Kent.
It would appear to be far easier to get to Wildwood by road, but don't let this put you off the public transport option. All the information you need is available on the Wildwood Trust website www.wildwoodtrust.org - an enthusiastically created, if somewhat unpolished site. Those taking public transport will be rewarded with a 50% discount on admission - a great little saving for considering the environment when planning your outing. Please note, this discount is not valid on the already discounted family ticket. For those of you who cycle here it's even cheaper and I'm sure you can stretch to the £0.00 it costs! That's right, cyclists get in for free.

*Entry costs and opening times*

Wildwood costs are very reasonable for the great range of animals present and at time of writing they are:

Adult: £9.50
Child: £7.50
Family: £31
Senior: £8.50

These prices comprise a 10% donation to the Trust's conservation projects and I suppose you could ask not to pay it. If you're like me and love animals, however, you'd probably feel like a bit of a git for doing so. The park is run by a charitable trust and it's possible to make a gift aid submission that will allow them to reclaim further monies from the government based on the cost of admission/donation. It is also possible to join as a member and receive additional discounts.

Wildwood is open every day of the year, 10-6 in summer and 10-5 from October onwards.

*Accessibility*

Despite being in a woodland setting, Wildwood caters to wheelchair users and those with impaired mobility well. The paths are reinforced to allow wheelchairs to go along them, although they do advise a 'moderately' fit helper. The park can provide its own wheelchairs as well, which might be useful if you don't want to get your own chair covered in muck.

*Facilities*

The park has a particularly good little gift shop, picnic areas, a childrens' play area and clean bathroom facilities (including wheelchair accessible ones). The one disappointment for us was the food, which was a mix of stodge, overpricing and school dinner fodder. We spent somewhere in the region of £4 to get two tiny cones of chips and this was about the only thing on the menu we could afford after spending £60 between us getting there and getting in. A family would really struggle to get a good feed here for a reasonable price and I'd definitely take a picnic next time. After all, few things are better than sitting under some pine trees in a large forest eating your lunch.

*Wildwood itself*

Wildwood itself covers 40 acres of picturesque ancient woodland and has a real aura of tranquility and mystery about it. It is home to a throng of animals, most of which are native to Britain and some of which are endangered. I won't list them all, but highlights for us included:

Wild boar - These gentle, tusked beasts were having a great time wandering about their enclosure and were fairly secretive and shy around visitors. This was understandable, as they had young with them which were keeping close to mum!
Roe deer - Relatively common in parts of England and seen in the Scottish Highlands, these graceful animals seemed quite inquisitive and very sedate.
Polecats - I'm not sure whether the polecat we saw had fleas, but it was a cute little beast all the same and spent some time scratching behind its ears like a cartoon dog.
Red squirrels - Far more attractive in my eyes than the non-native grey squirrel, the red squirrels were bundles of barely contained energy and zipped around their enclosure (interestingly designed to go directly over a footpath used by visitors).
Wolves - Possibly the most impressive of all the animals in the park. The beautiful and healthy wolf pack were breathtaking to look at and just a little intimidating in their very primal enclosure. The sight of a large adult wolf appearing from behind a tree mere metres away is an odd mix of terrifying and enchanting. We spent a good 25 minutes just staring at these fantastic critturs.
Owls - We saw snowy and eagle owls and the size of the latter was huge! It was only late afternoon, so he was somewhat snoozy, but that was good as it allowed us to get a closer look.

Scottish wild cats - Definitely the highlight of our day. We were graced with the opportunity to see these incredibly reclusive and people-averse cats close up and engaging in a range of playful activities. The adult pair had recently given birth to a ridiculously cute kitten and his antics as he went between pestering his tolerant mother and his imperious father were hilarious. Mum put up with him - retrieving him when he wandered too far and cuffing him on the head when his war games got too much for her. Dad - on the other hand - was having none of it and promptly sat on a branch out of reach of the kitten, who promptly forget about him anyway.

Some of these animals (particularly the wolves), had very large enclosures, but I did feel somewhat sorry for the Scottish wild cats, who were in a fairly small run. This was somewhat mitigated by my personal pleasure at seeing an animal that is almost invisible in the wild. As an anecdotal example, my Dad is an avid hillwalker in Scotland. In over 30 years he's only seen a Scottish wild cat once and that was retreating into a bush.. If they're breeding, I have to rest assured that they can't be too miserable in their habitat?

*Schools, education and volunteers and events*

The park can cater to group visits, offers a range of useful print and audio visual material through their site and provides some opportunities for erstwhile park workers and students etc. More information is available on their site. You can also download information packs and further details on conservation research carried out by the Wildwood Trust.

The park staff offer a range of themed events and many of these would suit kids best. These are usually free or cheap (a few pounds) to take part in. Events that might suit adults more include the opportunity to visit the park after dusk - one that we'd love to try in future. Who knows, maybe we'll hear some wolves howling?

Summary: Bring a picnic, some patience and soft shoes for a long day out staring at wonderful beasts!