The Autistic Driver

Review of West Midland Safari and Leisur...

We were last at West Midland Safari park a couple ...

We were last at West Midland Safari park a couple of years ago, and in that time there has been some noticeable work done on some of the grounds. The park is very pleasant, and nicely laid out, with areas where you have to have your windows closed spilt apart by areas where you can open your windows. If your car has good air conditioning, this is not overly important. But if your car lacks this feature, or perhaps your compressor has blown and so you can not make use of this wonder of science and technology... It is very welcome.

The beginning of the park takes you past some amazing rhinos that, even though they tend to keep their distance from the cars, are quite imposing. Make sure you have your camera ready! There is quite a severe hill climb during this section, and every time we have visited there has been the unmistakable scent of burning clutch in the air.

A highlight of the lion enclosure is the off-road section. Certainly not ideal for all cars, but it isn't "4x4 Off-Roader" level, just a loose surface which takes a slightly different route to the main road. On our most recent visit, it was incredibly hot, and so the lion has all retreated to the boundary fence to enjoy the shade it offers them. The off-road section takes you much closer to this fence, and so on this particular day it meant being able to see the lions which were barely visible to people on the road road.

You do have to be careful with feeding the animals, particularly with younger children. But the animals are generally very friendly and in some cases demonstrate a great deal of patience. Although the giraffes didn't always want to wait for the food to be outside of the cars before they were eating it.

There is a quite impressive entertainment park with a number of rides and stands. The parking area is large, with a lot of hard-standing parking, and plenty of overflow parking on the grass areas. There are food stalls, and an eating area. There are also quite good toilet facilities, including changing facilities. When we arrived, a couple of the toilet stalls were decidedly not fit for use. We walked across to the information and first-aid centre to report this issue, and by the time we had been round the park and needed to use the toilets again they were sparkling. The take away from this is that the toilet facilities are checked regularly (like many places they display a time check sheet for cleaners to sign), but if there is a problem, you just need to let them know.

West Midland Safari Park is a good day out for the family, and whilst other parks (Woburn comes to mind) might be more developed, West Midland is under constant development and expansion. So it is definitely worth going back periodically to see what has changed. Plus when you have paid for entry to the park, you get a ticket for free re-entry during the same season (the season ends early in November), on any day the park is open, except Bank Holidays, and not for the Fireworks Festival.