New Forest Wildlife Park review, Hampshire

Four species of otters, eight different kinds of owls and one animal-loving tween – you hardly need to read my New Forest Wildlife Park review to guess that this is one of my top picks if you’re visiting the New Forest with kids.

And while it’s a lovely place to visit at any time of year, it also worked really well for a grey drizzly day in October when we didn’t fancy a walk in the woods.

Specialising in British wildlife, there’s a chance to see some of Hampshire’s local animals at the New Forest Wildlife Park, including deer, badgers and hedgehogs, as well as grey wolves, which would once have roamed the woodland.

Today, you’ll be lucky to spot much of the county’s shyer wildlife with kids in tow – although you can easily see the New Forest’s semi-wild ponies, as well as deer, donkeys, cows and even pigs foraging in the autumn – so a visit here is a great way to introduce children to some of Britain’s native animals.

If you visit during school holidays, there are often extra activities for kids – our visit shortly before Halloween included a special trail, spotting letters dotted on pumpkins with clues to track them down as a fun child friendly bonus.

But even without the extra events, it’s not hard to while away a few hours here, wandering the paths around the wildlife park, spotting over 200 animals from 31 different species and making the most of the adventure play areas.

At first glance, the New Forest Wildlife Park doesn’t seem huge, but with several different areas to explore, there’s more to see than you might think at first – and there’s nothing to stop you looping round a revisiting some of your favourite animals from earlier in your visit, as we did.

There are also keeper talks throughout the day if you want to double back to catch one of those – keep an eye out for the details on the board as you enter, although you might also spot staff feeding the animals at other times too (keep an eye out for anyone with a bucket!)

Wandering out to see a string of owls dozing in their enclosures, I did briefly wonder if we might spend half our visit just getting past the first half dozen creatures – although to be fair, I do love an owl as well, especially an eagle owl.

But around the corner were our first otters – giant otters, to be precise, busy patrolling the outdoor part of their own enclosure, after spotting a cheeky squirrel which had dropped in.

Giant otters are, as they name suggests, pretty big so the squirrel scarpered sharpish but we still got to see this mother and daughter lolloping around – they’re almost like seals in some ways.

Strolling back round later, we managed to time it to see them being fed as well, before heading through their tunnel into the indoor section of their enclosure, including their pool.

In fact, if you love otters, you could spend quite a while in this indoor section: as well as the giant otters, there’s also a Eurasian otter, Chestnut, if you can spot him. More solitary than other otters, he’s often tucked up and hidden away in his own inside section (although occasionally goes out for a stroll as well).

There’s no chance you’ll miss the Asian short-clawed otters though – one family in here, another in a separate section outdoors, they squeak enthusiastically at everything and anything, scurrying around each other, dipping into the water than scurrying back off again to investigate something new or play with a stone.

It won’t come as much surprise to learn I’m a big fan of these otters (as is my daughter), who just seem ridiculously cute and cheeky. The family of four we could see indoors – one dad and his three children – looked like they were getting into all kinds of mischief as we watched.

What we hadn’t expected was to be equally won over by the polecats and ferrets – one relaxing in a hammock, two more curled up in a fluffy bed inside a pot, plus plenty of time darting inquisitively around. I’m sure they were as intrigued by us as we were by them.

And in between, tiny fleet-footed harvest mice scampering along little poles and darting into tiny hiding places.

Of course, there’s no guarantee you’ll see all the animals here – they have places to retreat to, and some take advantage of it, including the badgers and the hedgehogs, which were evidently tucked away having a snooze – fair enough for nocturnal creatures.

If you are visiting the New Forest in the rain with kids, this is the main indoor area (plus there’s a small separate indoor conservation section), although there’s some shelter under the trees along the paths if it’s only drizzling.

Continuing on past a pair of beautiful snowy owls and a very sleepy looking Little Owl, there are two play areas – dripping wet during our visit after the morning’s deluge, my daughter was still tempted to take a break from animal spotting and make the most of them.

But up ahead was yet another family of otters, smooth-coated otters and the fourth species to be found at the New Forest Wildlife Park – very sociable they can live in groups of up to 25, although the group here is a distinctly nuclear family: mum, dad, son and daughter.

It was hard to tell which were the adults – everyone got involved in the play flights, the games of chase and a huge digging session at the end, finishing with three otters rolling around delightedly in the mud. We decided the one watching with a slightly resigned expression must have been the mum…!

This part of the wildlife park is also home to several different types of deer which roam around a more open section.

Most were lounging under the trees, but one braver doe was out looking for food and eyeing us up in case we happened to have some.

From here, you move on towards some of the bigger or more dangerous creatures – bison chilling out in their field, an elegant lynx prowling around her enclosure (her shyer sister staying hidden elsewhere) and on to mouflon (wild sheep with huge curling horns) and the wallaby walkthrough.

And to finish? The pack of grey wolves – looking fluffy rather than ferocious, but you’re reminded that there’s an electric fence for a reason.

Although as it turned out, that wasn’t the finish – my daughter was enjoying herself so much that she insisted we went back to the start and spent a bit more time with the otters and polecats. You can’t ask for a much better verdict on my New Forest Wildlife Park review than that!

For more things to do in the New Forest with kids, plus ideas for things to do in Hampshire for families, check out my top picks

New Forest Wildlife Park review: Need to know

Tickets cost £15.95 for adults, £12.50 for children aged 3-15 (under-threes are free), plus there are family tickets for £51. Annual memberships are also available, as well as special keeper experiences for age 5+.

Tickets are currently only available to book on arrival, not to prebook in advance. Previously, prebooked tickets were valid for 30 days from the date of purchase, with no need to specify a date or timed slot.

Opening times vary throughout the year, opening at 10am and closing at dusk during the winter – last entry is around 90 minutes before closing.

There’s a cafe at the entrance to the New Forest Wildlife Park – you can exit to eat there and re-enter if you need to (just hold onto your tickets/receipt) – and picnic areas, so you’re welcome to bring your own food.

There are also toilets by the entrance, including baby changing, as well as more toilets midway around the park.

The New Forest Wildlife Park is on the eastern edge of the New Forest National Park near Ashurst, around 10 minutes’ drive from Lyndhurst and around 20 minutes from Southampton – find directions to the Wildlife Park on Deerleap Lane here. There’s free parking, although it’s first come first served at busy times.

During the summer months, the New Forest Tour open-top bus (Red Route) goes past the Wildlife Park (and there are sometimes discounts on entry if you arrive this way as well).

There’s also a gift shop with a very tempting array of furry creatures, among other souvenirs. If you’re planning to pay by phone, it’s worth knowing there’s barely any data/signal though and no cash machine on site (though cards should work fine).

Allow at least a couple of hours to visit – you could rush round a bit faster if you’re short of time, but most people spend around 2-5 hours at the wildlife park. No scooters and bikes are permitted (and if you’re visiting after it’s been wet, expect some of the paths to be muddy).

Images copyright MummyTravels

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