days out

If you like big cats, camels and kangaroos (well, wallabies) then Paradise Wildlife Park is the place for you. It may be one of the smaller wildlife parks in the UK but there are plenty of animals on show. 

Lions, tigers, cheetahs and snow leopards roam alongside more unusual and endangered animals like mara, hog deer, tamarins and tapirs. The rainforest and reptile areas house weird and wonderful delights like two toed sloths, the lesser hairy armadillo and hissing cockroaches (perhaps not the first choice for the Park's adoption scheme). 

Lunch at Safari Sam's Restaurant is the usual selection of salads, jacket spuds and burgers. You can bring a packed lunch to eat in the picnic area.

Once refuelled, there's more to enjoy. You can swash buckle at pirates' cove, enjoy the helta skelta and bouncy castles, go for a tractor ride or pop your swimming costume on for a splash in the lagoon. If that isn't enough, there's a ride on the woodland railway, gold panning and 18-hole adventure golf (extra charges apply).

If it rains, there is an indoor soft play area for the kids (with Starbucks coffee for the adults), but we think that a visit is best enjoyed on a fine day.

Highlights

• The variety of animals on show in a compact, easy to navigate site
• Lots of extra amusements for little ones

Admission (2010): adult  £14, child (2-15yrs) £11, seniors £11, visitors with a disability £8, family of 2 (1 adult, 1 child) £24, family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children) £48, carers £8.