Holt Pound, Farnham, Surrey, GU10 4LD
(near Alice Holt. See my review about Alice Holt HERE)
Play
We went to Birdworld at the weekend and took one of our friend’s 8 year old and 5 year old with us. We had free children’s tickets that we won at auction for the “Forget Me Not Baby Angel” charity event in May, so wanted to cash these in.
It took us 35 minutes to get too from Basingstoke and we went via the M3 and Farnham. You can also get to Birdworld easily from Basingstoke via Alton.
There are essentially three parks at Birdworld: Birdworld, Jenny Wren farm and Underwater world. We went to all three parks and our favourite was the Jenny Wren farm, mainly because the children were able to handle some mice and baby guinea pigs! Even the stroking of a python didn’t beat the handling of the mice!
In Birdworld I liked that you could go into some of the enclosures and see the birds up close. We managed to get a good view at the Penguin feeding but most of the penguins were moulting so there weren’t that many on display. We then wandered down to the Pelican feeding which was fun to watch.
We spent a lot of time at the feeding station, watching how the food was put together for the birds, as my little one was fascinated with this. After lunch we headed to the Jenny Wren farm and I was hoping we would be able to get into the Heron display, but we missed it by two minutes as the mice handling was more interesting! lol.
We had the most fun in Jenny Wren farm. The two oldest children loved sitting on the tractors and my little one loved being able to get up close with the rabbits in their enclosure. She also enjoyed seeing the chicks that were on display.
On the way out of the park, we also really enjoyed the peacock walk and the willow maze in Birdworld. The children spent about 20 minutes chasing each other around in the maze and there was a bench nearby so we could watch them having fun safely.
The two older children loved the play areas, especially the 7-14 year age appropriate play area. They spent ages trying to ring the bell at the top of the climbing poles.
We went through Underwater world on our way out. It took about 10 minutes, as the children were getting very tired. Be warned that the tanks are high up, so if you have a little one, you will need to carry them through Underwater world.
Tips
When you go through the entrance, ask for the children’s competition questions. Unfortunately we weren’t automatically given these, but they did help with keeping the 8 year old entertained. There is also an alphabet to look out for, which kept the bigger ones engaged.
Follow the signs for “Suggested route”. This route gives you the best view of everything that’s available.
If you want some peace and quiet, head to the Peacock walk. This was empty for the whole 30 minutes we were in it. There is also a secluded bench which would be great for breastfeeding.
Food
We took our own picnic, so I can’t comment on the food. They did have a good deal of two hot meals for £10 which looked very reasonable.
The picnic area was in a good location and had a play park next to it. Just watch out for the wasps from the bins.
Facilities
Seemed good on the whole. The gardens were exquisite and we spent some time smelling all the herbs that were in one of the herb gardens on the way to the Penguin Tank.
Baby Facilities
Weren’t great. My husband did the nappy changes that day and he said that the nappy changing room was grim. He liked that there was a step in there for the little ones to get to the sink though. However, he said the nappy changing room was so grim, that we did eau natural changes outside for the rest of the day!
Parking
Is free!
Prices
Are expensive (aren’t they all!). I was very surprised with how expensive it was, considering what was on offer.
In summer, an adult is £15.95, a 3-6 year old is £12.95 and a 7-15 year old is £13.95. A family pass is £49.95.
However, under 3’s go free!
Rating 4 out of 5
We had a nice day out, but I did feel we had to string it out with lots of time in the play parks onsite. Plus, given how grim the baby changing area was and how expensive it was, I think 4 out of 5 is a fair rating.