Five Tips for a Great Day at Twycross Zoo

As the summer came to an end, we headed over to Twycross zoo

to take a look at the new Gruffalo Discovery Land.

Here are my 5 tips for a great visit.

1. Before you get there, book your tickets. It's always cheaper to book your tickets in advance online. There are also some great offers to be had. In the past, my family has benefitted from free entry with a Blue Peter badge, free entry for dads on fathers day and free entry for educators with my school badge at certain times of year. Blue Light cards also give discounts.

2. Visit The Gruffalo Discovery Land early in the day. It's Twycross' newest attraction and it gets busy by the afternoon. We went through the ticket booths, turned left and walked back on ourselves to get in there as the first thing that we did. This meant that my children where able to press the buttons and do the games without queuing or rushing.

3. Time your gift shop visit! When we left the zoo in the middle of the afternoon, the gift shop was rammed and the queue was snaking around the shop. Everyone gets funnelled through here as they exit so that perhaps explains why it gets so full as most people are leaving. I'm a bit of. meanie with gift shops, but if your children have got money to spend, a mid morning visit might work better. There are other gift shops at Lorikeet Landing and inside The Gruffalo Discovery Land.

4. Remember towels and swim stuff! There is an excellent splash pad which is open during the summer months at Twycross Zoo. I remembered our things at the last minute but other parents were clearly not so lucky and children were being dried with jumpers. (We've all been there!)

5. Download the map. There are no paper maps as part of the zoo's efforts to be more environmentally friendly. It's very useful to have one though. I photographed a map displayed on a board but we had already done a lot of walking forwards and backwards by that point. (Carrying a 3 year old is tiring!) This makes sure that you don't miss anything and and get to visit your favourite animals.

So, there are my top tips. Please feel free to share your own tips in the comments to help others.

Comments

Preparing to Potty Train

I do not have the perfect method for potty training. I am not an expert. I found potty training my daughter to be really, really hard work. This blog aims to share my experiences about how we prepared for potty training. I have found a great deal of support and encouragement from other parents, people who have been through similar experiences. Sometimes conversations make me think- ‘I’d never do that!’ or ‘Great idea’ or just reminded me that I needed to get on and do something. I hope that reading this is like having an encouraging friend. We started quite early for most children in the UK at 20 months. Back in the 70s and 80s this was pretty common from what I can gather so I decided to just get on with it. There were some reasons which influenced my decision- Little Lady wore cloth nappies some of the time and truthfully, I was fed up of the dreaded soaking bucket in the garage. She also hated having her nappy changed by this age and would cry and scream- I’d had enou...

Starting School

Starting school is a huge event in a child’s (and parent’s) life. There are new routines, new clothes and other new children. Having seen this transition as a Deputy Head Teacher, and more recently as a parent, I believe that there are some things that parents can do to make this move as smooth as possible. Here are my top four thoughts. Firstly, there are some brilliant books about starting school. My all-time favourite is Starting School by the Alhbergs. It’s obviously dated in parts. For instance, most schools won’t have a mum who comes into school to play the piano! However, it is beautifully illustrated and shows the different parts of the school day and events during the first term at school which provide lots to talk about. Other great titles are ‘Bella Starts School’ and ‘Harry and the Dinosaurs go to School’, both by Ian Whybrow. It’s well worth investing in a book or two, as they can be revisited lots of times during the school year. Secondly, ...

MiniBrum

What is it? MiniBrum is a play space for under eights based on the theme of a mini Birmingham. There are different areas for children to explore including a canal barge, a construction zone and a shop. The whole of MiniBrum is designed to support children’s role play and exploration of real life spaces. The unique interactive gallery has been created with the input of over 800 children and families from across Birmingham. Where is it? Mini Brum is part of ThinkTank which is Birmingham’s science museum. MiniBrum is on the third floor next to the recently revamped planetarium. Entry to ThinkTank is £14 per adult and £10.25 per child. Under 3’s are free and during Birmingham term time there is a special adult and toddler (aged 3-5) ticket for £15. Another great offer is the £3 per person entry fee after 3pm on term time weekdays. When does it open? It opens to the public on 25 th May in time for half term. I would expect it to be very busy. My advice woul...

Capable Child

Search This Blog