Skip to main content

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

Popular posts from this blog

Michael Morpurgo's Farm Boy @ Lichfield Garrick

The author Michael Morpurgo is a brilliant story teller and his Farm Boy story is no exception. This production has at its core a story that hooks you in and keeps you captivated. A grandfather and his grandson talk you through stories from their family that intertwine with the history of World War One and life on a farm. This play had parts that made me smile and chuckle but more parts that gave me goosebumps and a ripple of emotion. When grandfather made a confession and called on his grandson to help him, I was hooked waiting to hear the burden that he had born for his entire life. No spoilers though, come and see the play for yourself. The music in Farm Boy is an original score written by Matt Marks. It enhanced the story telling evoking memories and pictures in my mind. This combined with the strength of the story is clearly the reason the show has been at the Edinburgh Fringe and 'off Broadway' in New York. Throughout the show, there are just two actors on...

Review of Gangsta Granny by Heartbreak Productions.

In 10 years time, my children won’t specifically remember the occasions that I picked them up from school, cooked our favourite pasta dish or watched their swimming lesson. But they will remember some of things that we did that were out of the ordinary. They will remember some of the memories that we made together. As we headed out of the door on Friday evening, I knew we were making memories. I was just hoping it wasn’t going to be because the whole family had got soaked to the skin sitting in a park on a Friday night watching a play. We had a flask full of hot chocolate, a box of malteasers and some large umbrellas borrowed from a neighbour. We were heading to a Heartbreak Productions outdoor show in Walsall Arboretum. It was pretty exciting heading out in the evening and walking through an empty park to get to the bandstand where the show was being staged. When I told Little Lady what we were going to see, she was extremely excited. In fact, we all were because ...

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...