I visited the UK’s ‘No.1 walkthrough wildlife park’ – it was the perfect day out

Located in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, Yorkshire Wildlife Park is the “UK’s No.1 walk-through wildlife adventure”, according to the zoo’s website.

Having last visited the wildlife park before the pandemic, I was excited to see some of the park’s changes and see some of the new residents.

After parking in the impressively large car park, we entered the park via its new entrance at the east of the zoo, also known as ‘The Yorkshire Hive’.

If you’re not keen on spending the entire day exploring the park and looking at animals then you can explore some of the shops, restaurants and cafes at The Yorkshire Hive.

The area, which is free admission, includes Evolution, an immersive dining experience restaurant, Wilds Café Bistro, a rustic eatery that’s perfect for a quick coffee and a hearty lunch, and Uproar, a dinosaur-themed fully immersive indoor play area.

Shops include Rupert’s Candy, Vintage Buzz, Wildlife Clothing Co., Bon Bons Baby & Toddler Wear and the Safari Store.

Once we had explored some of the shops, we entered the park and headed straight to the new ‘Dinosaur Park’ known as Pangea.

This new reserve allows visitors to explore the five lands of the supercontinent known as Pangea. Fully immersive with 30 life-sized moving and roaring dinosaurs, the mini park was an instant hit with educational signs explaining where each dinosaur species lived, what they ate and how long ago they roamed the Earth.

Despite being in a group of adults, we were completely immersed in the experience and found the Cathaysia Mountains section particularly interesting.

Leaving the park’s dinosaur section, we visited the sea lions at Point Lobos next. These Californian sea lions are extremely entertaining, jumping in and out of the water, barking and sometimes playing with a ball.

The sea lions’ home is the largest purpose-built habitat of its kind in the world with two naturalistic lakes with varying water depths, sandy shorelines and rocky beaches.

One area of the park that should not be missed is Lion Country. During my visit, I was lucky enough to see four African lions in their massive seven-acre habitat.

From the waterfall bridge, I could enjoy a 360-degree view in all directions which meant I could see the lions enjoying a nap as well as grooming one another.

My favourite part of the park is Project Polar, home to the largest collection of Polar Bears in England. While located a safe distance from me, I was struck by their sheer size and power. Visiting on a particularly warm day, I saw two of the polar bears swimming. One of the bears jumped into the pool, creating a large splash as he did and continued to play with a blue ball.

At 600kg, these vulnerable species are the largest living land carnivores on Earth. Yorkshire Wildlife Park is also the world’s leading centre for Polar Bear welfare and conservation.

Visiting the Into Africa exhibit, I managed to get close to a young giraffe attempting to eat some leaves from a low-hanging branch.

At six metres tall, adult giraffes are the tallest living land animals on the planet and are exceptionally good at foraging through the treetops.

Some of the animals I saw up close were baboons, meerkats, lemurs, capybaras, rhinos, wallabies, maned wolves, red pandas and more.

I managed to see a glimpse of most of the animals at the park other than the cheetahs who remained elusive that day.

Tickets for Yorkshire Wildlife Park can be booked online in advance but cannot be amended after booking. There are some on-the-day tickets available from the office but these cost an extra £5 per person.

Adult tickets (16+) cost £27.99 per person online and £32.99 on the day. Tickets can cost more on peak days and event peak days.

Children under three go free and those between three to 15 years cost £22.99 online and £27.99 on the day.

Car parking is free of charge and the park is open most days 9.45am to 6pm with last entry being 3pm.

I would highly recommend visiting Yorkshire Wildlife Park either with children or a group of adults. We spent six hours exploring the park and stopped for an ice cream and a coffee halfway. 

There are plenty of cafes, restaurants and refreshment stands throughout the park so even if you fancy a snack or a spot of lunch, there are plenty of options available.

Alternatively, visitors can bring their own picnic and have lunch at one of the many benches around the park.