Peak wildlife park is a lovely little wildlife park situated 20 miles from Derby and Stoke on Trent and an hour from Stockport. It has a great selection of animals including lemurs, meerkats, wallabies, penguins, giant Sulcata tortoise, giant rabbits, and more. It’s really easy to walk around, as the animal enclosures are all close to each other, and the paths are concrete, making it the perfect day out for little legs!
See the penguins at Peak Wildlife Park
There is a great penguin enclosure at the centre of the park, it has a nice viewing platform with open glass, so you can watch the penguins swimming around. You also get a good view of the penguins swimming underneath the water. The kids loved watching the penguins, especially when they dived off the rocks into the water!
Walkthrough experiences at Peak Wildlife Park
Get up close to the Lemurs
This was one of our favourite areas of the wildlife park, as you get to walk alongside a family of Madagascar lemurs. On our visit, the lemurs were up high walking on canopies, and pretty much walking over our heads! We also saw a few flights over food…which the kids thought was funny as the lemurs were chasing each other around with pieces of fruit. And watch out for the ‘lemur squeals’ as we called it…lemurs have very high-pitched screams…they certainly made us jump! This walk really was a highlight for us.
Stroke the Wallabies
As you walk through the park you come to Wallaby Wanderland, this is another walk-through enclosure where you can get close to the wallabies and stroke them. Unfortunately, on our visit, the wallabies wanted to be left alone so they hopped away from us, but we saw plenty of other children stroking them, feeding them, and having photos with them.
Cuddle the Giant Rabbits
Our kids have been asking for years if they can have a rabbit so when they saw the rabbit enclosure, they were so excited! This open space is perfect for children to get up close and cuddle the giant rabbits. My little girl and her friend even gave them names, apparently in the photo below this one was called “Chestnut”. The girls spent at least half an hour here playing with the rabbits and making up games, they had a great time.
Walkthrough the African Village
The last walkthrough area of the wildlife park we visited was the African Village. Here you can see pygmy goats, chickens, and meerkats. We did a couple of loops to make sure we saw all the animals! Paths are accessible and suitable for pushchairs.
Lots more animal enclosures to see throughout Peak Wildlife Park
Dotted around you can also see other animals such as the giant sulcata tortoise and meerkats. All viewing areas are good for children of all ages.
Personal Animal Experiences at Peak Wildlife Park
The wildlife park offers several different personal animal experiences. Packages include Be a Keeper, Junior Keeper, Mini Keeper or Look a Penguin in the eye. Prices start from £70, visit the website for more details.
Indoor and Outdoor Play area at Peak Wildlife Park
There is a great indoor soft play area situated just as you enter the wildlife park. This was closed during our visit (due to Covid-19 restrictions), but we managed to have a little look inside and it looked fun and suitable more for children under the age of 10 years.
Thankfully, the outdoor play area was open along with a bouncy castle (which is included in the price of your entrance ticket). It poured with rain on our visit (as you will see from the photos) but it didn’t stop our children from having a fun time bouncing around…even if they did get soaked!
Food and drink at Peak Wildlife Park
If you want to take your own food and drink, there are plenty of picnic areas to sit with wooden tables and benches. If you would prefer to buy food there is the Real Food Café which serves hot drinks, cakes, a selection of snacks and pizzas! The toilet facilities are also good with disabled toilets and baby changing areas which are all well signposted and easy to find.
The gift shop at Peak Wildlife Park
Close to the entrance and exit, there is a small gift shop, selling a range of souvenirs and eco-friendly items, and there seemed to be gifts across all price ranges…it’s your choice if you decide to go in with the kids!
Dogs are not allowed
Unfortunately, at Peak Wildlife Park there are no on-site facilities for dogs, so they politely ask that you leave dogs at home if possible. Foxwood Kennels are situated 10 minutes from the park and are happy to take dogs for the day, you can call them on 01538 266667 to make a booking.
Prices and Parking at Peak Wildlife Park
Parking is free, and there are plenty of on-site spaces. Pricing is £12.95 for an Adult (17-64yrs), £10.95 for a child (2-16 years old), under 2s are free! Senior Citizens from 65 and students with a valid photo ID card are £10.95. Carers are free with Disabled visitors (please see the website for more details). Also please note that you must pre-book your visit, and you have to pre-book a time slot at the cost of £1. The online booking system is easy to use though and only takes a few minutes to make your booking.
