As you may know, every year we buy season tickets to Anna’s Welsh Zoo (Manor Wildlife Park). I try to buy them as early in the year as possible to make them worthwhile. Previously, the latest I have ever bought our season tickets has been February Half Term. This year, however, has been a funny old year and for one reason or another, our season ticket purchase had to wait until this August. Now we’ve got them, we are certainly going to make the most of them.
Fifteen Reasons Why We Love Manor Park
1. We love the “Green” play area with all the colourful toys, bikes, giant rhino and dragon bandstand. This Summer there has also been a zoo themed bouncy castle which the kids had great fun on.
2. We love to see the animals. We watch the baby meerkats, first of all kept warm under the heat lamp, then happily thriving outdoors with their family and then eventually starting a family of their own.
3. We love the chicken and goat walk-through, where “our kids” learn to be gentle with the “goat kids”.
4. We love the natural woodland and surroundings, the trees to climb.
(Danny and Rebecca look a bit like they are posing for a 1970’s album cover in this photo but I promise you it is a natural shot and the year is actually 2015!)
5. We love counting how many stripy zebras we can see and learning our first zebra themed jokes.
6. We love swingball, playing in the park and jumping in the hay barn (the hay barn becomes especially handy on rainy days).
7. We love seeing the Camels and singing “Alice the Camel Has Ten Humps” as we enjoy the wildlife walk.
8. On the wildlife walk, we love learning first numbers and letters and eventually reading the signs and solving the puzzles all by ourselves.
9. We love the giant wooden chairs (perfect for many failed attempts at family photos. One day they will all be smiling. Sigh. At least I can say we are “keeping it real”).
10. We love watching and giggling as the rhinos roll around in the mud, then trying not to think about the mess in the car as our kids do the same!
11. We love watching Steve (the once sad and lonely gibbon who was too afraid to leave his cage) swing high in the trees with his sweetheart Lisa and their mischievous young gibbon, Bryn.
Everytime I see them, I can’t help but wave and call to them as if they are old friends.
12. We love seeing the pet cat, who always come up for cuddles. In this picture, she sits in the lemur enclosure which made the kids laugh.
13. We love the peacocks who impress us with their plumage and feed from our hands.
14. We love walking through walk in enclosures. We marvel at how the baby lemurs cling on to their mother, feed the wallabies and try to win at being the first to spot the albino.
15. We also love seeing something new on every visit and learning how Manor Park support critically endangered animals. They have just joined the Sumatran Tigers captive breeding programme to help support this species.
Terima the Tiger arrived on the day of our visit. We saw her when she came out to feed, but as it was her first day she stayed in the caged part of her surroundings. Since then, she has ventured out into her more natural surroundings, so I will take a better photo for you when I get a chance.
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Now, we have our season tickets and Izzy will be in school mornings from September, I’m aiming to take her to Manor Park straight after school one day for a picnic, play and then home to pick the big kids up. That’s this terms challenge anyway and I really hope I manage it!
Have you visited Manor Park yet? What do you love about it? There are definitely more than fifteen reasons…
Fab post! We've never been but we have an inset day next Tuesday and am really tempted to make the most of it…. off to check out prices 🙂
You will love it! x
Looks like there's a lot of variety. Those giant chairs would definitely be a draw for us to.
They're great, aren't they? x
Looks like there's loads to do. We've still never been. I've just clicked through and checked the price of a season ticket. It seems very reasonable. x
Yes, Double Bubble's are such great value. Definitely worth it x
Manor Park looks like a great place to take the kids and really relax in the surroundings. It's amazing the array of animals they have there for you to see, I bet it fun to watch the Rhino's and the Zebras in particular. It's great that you have so many reasons as a family that you all love about Manor Park. Thanks for linking up with me on Country Kids.
It's lovely. Yes, there were so many more I could have added lol x
What an amazing place and an awesome day out =) #countrykids
Thanks, it is lovely x
I've never heard of this place but it sounds lovely. I like the variety of animals, everything including a cat!
Yes, that made me laugh! lol x
We have been meaning to visits Anna's Welsh Zoo for ages and plan to go at some point when the kids have gone back to school and it's bit quieter – love all the photos and sounds like the perfect place for a family day full of fun :)Laura x
I know you will love it x
Never been here – not entirely sure where it is but it looks a great place for kids. My two are more interesting in adventure parks than animals at the moment though.
It's near Tenby in Pembrokeshire x
This has been on our list of places to go for ages but not quite made it as yet. I didn't realise there was so much to see! How fab that you have a season ticket – hope you make your challenge of going there after pre-school! x
It's great. The surroundings are so natural and beautiful. I hope I do too! x