Running Wild at Auchingarrich (Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre (Comrie))

Member Name: cookie334

Product:	Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre (Comrie)
Date:	21/04/09 (222 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Get to handle and feed animals, great play areas, plenty picnic spots and bbq areas

Disadvantages: Expensive for what's there, not enough variety of animals to keep older kids entertained

*** Location ***

Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre is located in Perthshire in Scotland, just outside Comrie and not too far from Crieff.

As far as I'm aware there is no public transport to Auchingarrich and the only way to get there is by car or hired bus. For us, it was a long drive through the country and we found it quite difficult to find the Centre even with the use of Sat. Nav. There are no signposts until just before you get there, but we eventually made it and it really appears to be in the middle of nowhere, however, Crieff is only a 5 mile drive away and it will take about 15 minutes to do this.


*** Arriving at Auchingarrich ***

You have to be careful not to miss the turn off, because if you don't notice the signpost, you would be forgiven for not realising that you had just passed the entrance to a wildlife centre as there are no other obvious signs that you are there. Once you turn off the road there is an uphill drive through gravel to the car park, and along the way you might spot the odd wallaby or meerkat out of your car window.

The car park seems large enough and there was lots of parking space when we visited during the Easter holidays albeit on a cold day.

Before you enter the Centre you have to pay at a window at the entrance and you can also purchase bags of food for 50p here to feed the animals as you go around. You will be given a map which is great as the place is quite large and also a car window sticker.


*** The Animals ***

There are quite a few animals at Auchingarrich, but there are a lot of birds, which can be a bit boring for older children who are expecting lots of variety. You will also find pigs, highland cows, meerkats, wallabies and a donkey to name a few.

The Wildlife Centre is spread over a huge area and I never once had any problem with the amount of space any of the animals had to roam around in. All the animals were in huge areas with plenty of natural surroundings and were as clean as you could expect while keeping it all as natural as possible.

There were two main highlights for the children in our group, and the adults as well actually. The first was the Hatchery, which is home to the baby chicks and the rabbits that you are able to handle. The older children in our group found this truly amazing, especially since we were there around Easter time. If you are lucky enough you may even witness a chick hatching during your visit. While we were there, there were a few eggs in the incubator with their cracked eggs, waiting to hatch, and a baby a day or so old, which didn't have its fluffy feathers yet, but we didn't get to see any being born.

The second highlight was the Falconry Centre, which is not run by Auchingarrich but is situated inside the Wildlife Centre. There is an additional fee for this of £3.00 per adult or £1.50 per child. On the day we visited, this was half price so we decided it was worthwhile and we were so glad we did. There were many different owls and hawks and we were able to see an eagle chick being fed and the children were able to hold an owl, which they were over the moon about.


*** Play Areas ***

There are two areas for the children to run wild and play at while the parents chill for a bit. The first is outdoor and has loads to do, climbing frames, swings, slides and even giant tunnels known as the "rabbit burrows" for them to run around. The second is an indoor barn and has slides, swings, climbing frames, a sand pit and more. Both play areas are great and have areas for most ages. The kids in our group ranged from 14 months through to 7 years (or 28 years as I remember one of the dad's joining in) and they all found plenty to do in both areas.

There is also an old fire engine in the Centre that the children can go inside and climb over, which is a great photo opportunity and the kids absolutely loved it.


*** Eating ***

There are plenty picnic and barbecue areas throughout the Centre. However, the day we were there was absolutely freezing and so we opted for the onsite café. There wasn't a huge selection of food available for a lunch, but soups and baguettes and the likes for adults and great little lunch boxes for the kids. There was a huge selection of drinks, hot and cold and plenty bars of chocolate, cakes, crisps and ice cream, so plenty of options for snacking. There didn't seem to be a problem with eating picnics brought from home here either, although I'm not sure if this was again down to the time of year. I can't imagine they'd be too happy at people sitting inside with their home made picnic while paying customers were without a seat, but I'm sure this would only be a problem on the busiest of days.

There was a good amount of seating. Our party of 7 adults and 6 children had no problems finding tables together inside right in the middle of the lunchtime rush. I have a feeling there may be a lack of seats indoors at busier times of the year, but there are plenty of benches and things outside as well, so I don't think this would be a huge problem.

We were served very quickly in the café and the staff were very helpful - even carrying my tray to my table for me when I had my hands full with children.


*** Services ***

I'm pretty sure there is only one set of toilets in the Centre and they are situated beside the café and gift shop. I noticed there were only 3 toilets in the ladies and though this wasn't a problem when we were there, I think this could cause a bit of a wait at busier times of the year. The toilets were clean enough and well stocked. The baby changing area is separate from the toilets and although I didn't use it personally I was informed it was nice and clean.

There is a small gift shop beside the café which stocks lots of souvenirs both little and large. There are stuffed animals, little toys, wooden construction kits, posters, stationery items and the likes. Some are very reasonably priced, whereas others are expensive for what they are, but it's easy enough to buy the kids a little something to remember their day.


*** Prices and Opening Times ***

Adults £7.50
Children £5
Family £24

Children under 3 are free and the family ticket will admit 2 adults and up to 4 children.

There are also discounts for big groups.

Bags of food are 50p each

I think the price is very expensive for what you get to see. There isn't a huge variety of animals and the Falconry Centre is extra on top of the entrance fee. However in saying that I think I if you are a family with 4 children, the family ticket would be extremely good value for money.

The Wildlife Centre is open every day from 10am until dusk, however the gift shop and café does close at 5pm.


*** Things to Note ***

The car park and many of the paths are stones, so it can be extremely difficult pushing your average pushchair/pram.

The Centre is very open and quite high up and so on a cold day it can get super cold. It is mostly outside so unless it's the height of summer and a scorching day, I'd suggest wearing layers so you are warm enough.

There are a few creatures that have free roam of the Centre. The peacocks and the meerkats can just pop up anywhere, so keep your eyes peeled. The meerkats peeking out of the paths ahead of us were highly entertaining for the children.


*** Overall ***

For us the Falconry Centre saved the day. We had driven a long way and were a little disappointed up until this point. There isn't a huge selection of animals and most of them we could see in fields etc back home with no fee at all. However, the kids enjoyed it, which is of course the main thing at these places. The animals are well kept and seem healthy and happy enough. The staff were helpful too which is always a bonus and if it hadn't been for the cold weather it would've been an extremely enjoyable day out. However, the price I think is where Auchingarrich loses it's appeal. For a few pounds more we could've visited Edinburgh Zoo or Blairdrummond Safari Park and had a whole day out and seen much more interesting and exciting animals. It was a nice enough place, just expensive for what it is.

I wouldn't recommend travelling any distance to go here in particular. If you are in the area and like the sound of it then yes, by all means pop in and see what you think, but we travelled almost 50 miles and just felt it was a bit of a let down. However, like I said before, if you are a family with 4 children, this could work out a good budget day out for the whole family.

www.auchingarrich.co.uk

Summary: A good place to visit, but not worth the money unless you're a family with four kids