We have just visited and made a video of our visit to Knowsley Safari Park so thought we would add a blog entry as well!
The video includes a full drive around (sped up to save time!) the 5-mile safari tour at the park. This is followed by a walk around areas including the Sea Lions, Giraffes and Tigers.
I have also included a few of the kids rides are the end so you can see if they are suitable for your child.
Here is the video…
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It took us about an hour to drive around so I have used a tool called ‘hyper-lapse to speed up the video. I paused the video at key moments to insert portions of interest.
Booking tickets for Knowsley Safari Park in advance
At the time we visited you still need to pre-book online. You could still not just turn up so this is always worth checking. We visited on a sunny Friday in October 2021.
As the kids were at school the park was deserted and very peaceful. How long this restriction will be in place is any ones guess, but best to check.
Knowsley Safari Park drive
The safari park drive at Knowsley is about 5 miles long and took us about an hour to do in total.
The road has two or three lanes in places so there are plenty of spaces for people to pass you if you want to take your time. If you want to pass others to get to a specific attraction you can.
There is a speed limit of 15mph which people were observing. You are also told to keep your windows shut which some people were definitely not observing. There are also quite a few potholes so we would recommend taking your time!
The first attraction we came across was the Zebras. These were in their overnight enclosure with just one zebra out and about which was a little disappointing. I was slightly worried this might be the case for the whole drive, but fortunately, we were not disappointed.
As we progressed around we came to a magnificent animal. The park does provide stickers and guides but we are afraid unless it obvious we were a little clueless sometimes. All we can say is they were magnificent and if you want to identify them on the video please let us know!
Carrying on…
We then came across some ostrich which decided to block the road. They plucked their feathers right in front of the car, came up to the window, looked us in the eye and then left.
We drove through several paddocks of various sorts of deer or moose. We came across some very large bison who were sheltering from the sun and some amazing rhinos. It was surprising just how close we were allowed to get to the rhinos, or how close they are allowed to get to the cars. There were no fences.
The monkey enclosure (baboons)
When you get to the money enclosure there was a choice, to go through the enclosure or to bypass it. There were clear signs to say your car WOULD be damaged if you went through the enclosure so we decided to go around.
We are glad we went around. You could see the other cars emerging without windscreen washers or wipers and covered in ‘mud’. On the bypass route, you get to go to the other side of the fence so can watch the (lots of) monkeys jumping all over the cars that choose to go through.
If you do want to go through, Knowsley runs a baboon bus for about £ 8 which lets you sit on their bus and experience it without risking damage to your car. As this also went around the safari drive and had a guide that could identify other animals for you it is probably worth the extra £ 8 for that alone.
Anyway, from what we saw, there was no risk of damage to your car, it was a certainty. We even saw a monkey ‘mud’ covered car having to be towed further round the drive, just not worth the risk to us!
Lions and tigers
Unfortunately, the lions were in their night enclosure so we did not get to see them. They were working on the main lion fences during the week we visited but this was made clear on the website before we booked.
Better safe than sorry, maintenance is inevitable and I guess it is best to schedule it for such a quiet day.
We thought this may be the end of the safari with nothing more to see but then came across some hairy camels. Huge hairy camels. I didn’t expect to be impressed with camels but these were very impressive. The keeper was just feeding them so they all gathered for us to the side of the car.
Finally, just before the end of the safari (apart from some more deer or antelope), we got a sighting of our first tiger for the day. The tiger was patrolling the edge of its enclosure. The enclosure looked large.
Taking to foot, the gift shop and the tigers
At the end of the drive, you park up and can have a look around the pedestrian area of the wildlife park.
There is a cafe, toilets and a gift shop of course, but also the ‘new’ tiger enclosure which is one the largest we have seen in the UK if not the largest and home to two lovely animals.
As the tiger enclosures are quite large it is a short walk around the perimeter to get to whatever area the tiger has decided to be in. It is worth it to see these amazing animals. There are wire fences and glass screens. Where the tiger will be is up to the tiger! We were lucky as both tigers were clearly in view and magnificent.
The Californian sea lions and birds of prey
The Californian sea lion enclosure is less impressive and seems very small. The building the sea lion show is in is large enough so as did not see the show so can only hope there is a larger pool inside and the sea lions were not kept in the small pool outside all of the time.
We hope to return again to see both the full sea lion show and the birds of prey show. The birds of prey are another area that is very well kept. It is the first time I have seen an American Bald Eagle up close, they are amazing.
The giraffes and other attractions
Continuing on foot, the giraffes have their own large area. When we were there they were being fed by a small group of people on a feeding experience which looked like fun. The giraffes seemed happy enough, they were being fed and just walked away when they had had enough.
There were some other smaller attractions such as a tortoise and larger ones like the woodland walk but, to be honest of lesser interest. The wolves area was being worked on (October again!) so they were in the main safari.
The rest of the pedestrian area weaved around a few kids rides. These are in the video and included a small roller coaster and pirate ship. Our niece who is 5 would find these a little small now, but would still go on them.
Happy to recommend
The park is excellent, always very clean and well kept with lots of staff always visible everywhere. It is a nice way to spend a few hours.
Knowsley Safari Park drive is probably better than the walking area. It is worth getting out of your car to stretch your legs just to see the impressive tigers and their enclosure which is one of the best we have seen in a zoo.
I have also never seen an American blad eagle before close up, they are an impressive bird. I hope it gets to fly fully and is not just kept in the cage. Unfortunately, we did not get to see the birds of prey show as the doors literally closed as we approached. We tried knocking on the door seconds after it closed to see if they would let us in but we were too late, by literally one minute! Again, I suppose you have to draw a line somewhere.
However, we will return. Probably after visiting our other local zoos at Chester and Blackpool first.
To sum it all up
I would sum up Knowsley as ever-changing, you never quite know what you will get to see and perhaps that is part of its charm.
I would definitely visit on a quiet day as I can imagine it is quite a different experience on a busy school holiday or weekend so if you get a chance to visit on a quiet day, grab it.
Have a great day out, we did.
Links
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