New Forest Wildlife Park

The collection covers more than 30 species, with otters as the standout draw: Asian short-clawed, Eurasian, smooth-coated and giant otters are all kept here. Elsewhere along the route you can look for European bison, European grey wolf, northern lynx, wolverine, Scottish wildcat, wild boar, red, fallow and sika deer, red-necked wallabies, owls and harvest mice. The Native Species House adds smaller residents that are easy to miss in the wild, including European pond turtles, three-spined sticklebacks, yellow-bellied toads and yellow-tailed scorpions.

Keeper talks and feeding sessions are a core part of the visit, not an extra, and they are worth building your route around. Check the day's talk and feeding schedule when you plan your visit or when you arrive. Hands-on keeper experiences are separate organised offerings and are not part of a standard visit.

Breeding and rehabilitation work is a substantive part of what the park does, involving threatened and recovering species such as giant otters, Scottish wildcats, pine martens, European polecats, hedgehogs, water voles and European bison. Reading the enclosure information as you go makes the visit noticeably more interesting, especially for older children.

The park is off the A35 between Southampton and Lyndhurst, close to the M27, and is reachable using two nearby train stations and a main bus route. The final approach along Deerleap Lane is a country lane without pavements, so take care if you are walking the last stretch. Parking on site is free but first-come, first-served, so arriving earlier on busy days gives you the best chance of a space.

Some visitors find the site smaller and more compact than a large zoo, though there is still enough to fill a comfortable half day. On accessibility, wheelchair users, mobility-scooter users and pushchairs are welcomed, but many paths are surfaced with pea shingle, one section is deeper, and there are three large walk-through enclosure doors, so parts of the route can be difficult for some wheelchair users without assistance.