Lake District Wildlife Park: REVIEW

Lake District Wildlife Park is home to over 100 species of animals and offers a fantastic family day out in the Lakes. Situated just north of Keswick, this 24-acre park weaves animal enclosures into a landscape of woodland, rivers, and lakes, all with the mighty Skiddaw massif rising in the backdrop.

Need more ideas? See our guide to Keswick with kids.

Where is Lake District Wildlife Park

Address: Bassenthwaite Lake, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 4RD 
Click here for Google Maps location

Arriving by car, the park is well signposted along the main roads and there is ample free car parking on site.

If using public transport the park is on the Stagecoach X4 (Workington – Keswick – Penrith) bus route. The stop is conveniently located a 7-minute walk from the entrance.

Opening Times

Lake District Wildlife Park is open daily year-round, except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Opening hours are 10am to 5pm in spring and summer, reducing to 4:30pm in autumn and winter. Last entry is one hour before closing.

Do check their website for opening times.

Ticket Prices

You can pre-book tickets online, although it’s not necessary, as you can simply turn up on the day if you’d rather keep your plans flexible depending on the weather.

Additional optional extras

Animal feed is available for £1 upon entry and there are animal experiences available to buy.

Be prepared for children to want a ride on the electric quad bikes, which cost £2.50 per ride and run around a very small track near the entrance.

Inside The Lake District Wildlife Park

Before you get started

There is a map of the park at the entrance and another on the toilet block wall, alongside an itinerary for the day’s keeper talks and bird of prey shows. It’s worth taking a photo, as paper copies are not provided and signage around the park is fairly limited.

The adventure playground

The somewhat modest entrance opens onto a large picnic area, where you’ll find most of the main facilities. The children’s playground is immediately in sight, featuring wood carved animals to play on as well as a giant hive, balancing, climbing and other play equipment. 

Interspersed around the picnic spot are a few animals and aviaries. Be sure to seek out the tapir relaxing in the stream or grazing on the grass. If you’re lucky the laughing kookaburras may give you a unique performance demonstrating how they got their name. In this area you will find the toilets, cafe and gift shop.

The animals

The animals living at the wildlife park are predominantly mammals and birds, with the reptile enclosure closed for refurbishment until further notice. There is, however, an animal encounter show that features a reptile or two. 

Home to over 100 species, visitors can spot an eclectic mix of animals including lemurs, gibbons, zebras, flamingos, bush dogs, red pandas, servals, lynx, and birds of prey, alongside familiar farm animals that children can feed.

Indoor play area

Set inside the Indoor Education Centre is a soft play area. The building is looking a little tired in places, but children are unlikely to notice or care, and the soft play area is surprisingly spacious.

Exploring the wildlife park

After passing the indoor play area and aviaries, the site opens out into larger enclosures surrounded by the natural Lake District landscape. Toddlers may require a pushchair at this point as the paths wind around the 24 acre site. Bear in mind that if the weather is not favourable there is very little shelter and all the animals and most of the talks are held outside.

Keeper talks

The keeper talks are well worth a listen to and often coincide with feeding times, giving visitors a chance to see the animals up close.

Bird of prey show

The bird of prey show is a must-see, with the birds flying from posts positioned directly in front of the seating area, giving the audience a brilliant up-close view. The handler shares not only information about each species, but also insights into the individual birds themselves, bringing their personalities to life in a genuinely endearing way. It’s also worth noting that there are two bird of prey shows each day, with different birds featured in each.

Cafe

The café is reasonably priced, with a selection of home-cooked hot meals, pastries, sandwiches, as well as children’s hot meal and lunchbox options. There’s also a range of drinks and ice creams available. If you’d rather bring your own food, there’s plenty of outdoor space for a picnic, although covered areas are limited.

Facilities

• Soft play
• Adventure playground
• Cafe
• Baby changing facilities
• Toilets
• Gift shop

The Lake District Kids verdict

We arrived just after opening time to allow for a full day if needed – and it turned out we needed it.

The eclectic mix of animals, keeper talks and bird of prey show were engaging and just the right length to hold our young children’s attention. When enthusiasm waned for walking around the park we all welcomed the change of pace the indoor and outdoor play areas gave.

During our visit, the animals were surprisingly easy to spot, although perhaps we were just lucky. Seeing a serval, lynx, red panda, and bush dogs all wandering around in full view felt particularly special, and overall we found Lake District Wildlife Park to be good value for money.

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