Animal Parks in the UK - Your guide to the animal farm park experience for children

Visit some of the very best
attractions in Dorset, Devon,
Wiltshire, Somerset & Hampshire

Choose a place on the map and click on the links.
You will find great Historic Houses, Castles, Cities, Abbeys &
Cathedrals, Gardens, Country & Animal Parks, Museums, Steams Fairs
& Historic Transport, Antique & Crafts Centres,
Ships & Ferries and more for your great days out in UK.

1 Fleet Air Arm Museum
2 Adventure Wonderland
3 Weymouth Sea Life Park
4 Wookey Hole
5 Condor Ferries
6 Tutankhamun Exhibition
7 Monkey World Ape Resc.
8 Glastonbury Abbey
9 The Priest's House Museum
10 Wimborne Model Town
11 Paultons Park
12 The Tank Museum
13 Swanage Railway
14 Sherborne Castle
15 Splashdown Poole
16 Great Dorset Steam Fair
17 The Dinosaur Museum
18 National Motor Museum
19 Farmer Palmer's Farm Park
20 Heavy Horse Park

21 Go Ape! Park
22 Corfe Castle Model Village
23 Lulworth Castle
24 Haynes Motor Museum
25 Exbury Gardens
26 Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
27 Teddy Bear Museum
28 Salisbury Cathedral
29 The Keep Military Museum
30 Terracotta Warriors Museum
31 Blue Pool
32 Royal Signals Museum
33 Roman Baths
34 Mummies Of The Pharaohs
35 Teddy Bears At Christmas
36 Seaton Tramway
37 Kingston Maurward Gardens
& Animal Park

Animal Parks in the UK have established themselves as much loved and visited attractions. Huge number of children and their parents visit UK's animal parks every year. There are around 50 animal parks and farm park attractions in the UK. Many farm parks evolve from original dairy or livestock farms as was the case of the renowned Farmer Palmer's Farm Park.

Farmer Palmer's Farm Park

Palmer's dairy farm was turned into a tourist attraction in 1998 and specially designed for families with young children. The farm park is owned and managed by the brother-sister team of Phillip and Sandra Palmer. In 2006 Farmer Palmer's Farm Park near Poole in Dorset gained Category A in the competition held by National Farm Attractions Network. Judges mentioned the distinctive marketing style and the quality and cleanliness of the farm park.

NFAN, an association for rural animal parks in the UK, awards the best British tourist attractions with NFAN prizes. To judge the contestants NFAN takes the annual number of visitors and family-friendliness into consideration. Class A animal parks should attract at least 50,000 visitors per year. To keep the competition fierce, NFAN will raise the threshold to 75,000 visitors next year.

Monkey World Dorset - Jim Cronin

Monkey World is a 65-acre monkey shelter and zoo near Wool, Dorset, UK. This animal park was set up in 1987 by Jim Cronin. He and his wife Alison Cronin ran this attraction together for 20 years until Jim Cronin died on March 17, 2007 in Manhattan. Born in New York, Jim Cronin had lived in the UK since the opening of the ape rescue centre - Monkey World.

Monkey World animal park in Dorset was originally designed to shelter chimpanzees abused by beach photographers in Spain. They usually abandoned their chimps at the end of the summer season. During the years Monkey World evolved from a small animal park into an important link in the system of wildlife conservation. Monkey World animal park now provides home to different species of primates. Monkey World animal park works with governments around the world to stop the poachers from killing apes or smuggling them out of their natural habitat.

Through the past two decades, Jim Cronin had established himself as an internationally acclaimed expert in the rescue and rehabilitation of abused apes and monkeys. He was the guiding force behind enforcements of international treaties reviewed to provide a better protection to primates. Jim Cronin made Monkey World a home to over 160 rescued primates of 16 different species. Now Monkey World animal rescue centre is among the most popular tourist destinations in the UK, attracting animal lovers from all over the world.

Animal Park - Kingston Maurward

Kingston Maurward was originally a large privately owned mansion in Dorset, UK two miles outside of Dorchester. The estate was built by George Pitt in 1720. The house and gardens of Kingston Maurward, are owned by Dorset County Council and is home for the agricultural college. Many areas of the estate are open to the tourists who come to Kingston Maurward to see the farm park and beautiful gardens.

Kingston Maurward Farm Park owns an extensive collection of animals - big and small. Favourite among children is a pair of lovely donkeys called Button and Pebbles. Much beloved are the miniature Shetland ponies who offer joyful rides for children. Other members of the friendly farm park company include goats, pigs and smaller animals like guinea pigs, rabbits, ducks and chicken.

Farm parks and animal rescue parks have proven to be very popular among families as they provide not only entertainment but are also a perfect source of education.

Farm parks and animal parks featured in Great Days Out:

New Great Days Out UK attractions in 2008: Heavy Horse Park | Go Ape! Park | Swanage Railway | Corfe Castle Model Village

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How about a wonderful holiday or a couple of great days out in some of the Southern England counties? Get to know them better:
Dorset is a county in South West England. Dorset is famous for its beautiful coastline - the Jurassic Coast, and many holiday resorts. Area: 2,653 sq.km Population: 701,900	Somerset is a county in the South West of England. Somerset is a rural county of rolling hills and the Somerset Levels. Area 4,171 sq. km Population 884,400	Hampshire is a county on the south coast of England. Hampshire is a popular holiday area, with strong maritime connections via Portsmouth & Southampton. - Portsmouth. Area 3,769 sq. km Population 1,671,000
Wiltshire is a county in South West England. It is famous for its high plains and wide valleys. Wiltshire is the home of Stonehenge and other important landmarks. Area:3,485 sq. km Population: 630,700	Devon is a county in the South West of England. It is unique among English counties, in having two separated coastlines, on the English Channel and Bristol Channel. Area 6,707 sq. km Population 1,109,900	Free holiday brochure Great Days Out to advertise your business. Are you proud of your county but do not see it listed? Feature it here along with your tourist attraction. Click on the brochure image to apply for inclusion in the 2009 issue of the Great Days Out UK brochure and website.
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