Family | Life | Food | Travel

02 May 2016

Family Fun at Exmoor Zoo and Woolacombe Bay

To end our Easter getaway in Devon we decided to go to Exmoor Zoo and spend the evening at the beach, both of which the Mini Mes were eager to do. They love animals and outdoor play so these were certainly great options for our final day out, especially as the weather was once again on our side.




After arriving in the car park I was surprised by how quiet the attraction was for a school holiday, but this was definitely beneficial to us as a family as we could wander around leisurely and take advantage of all the activities and equipment without worrying about queues! 



After looking at the wide variety of big cats and lemurs we stopped off at the otters just in time for their morning feed. All of the enclosures are numbered so they are really easy to locate on the map provided, something that every zoo should do. The female member of staff was really informative and happy to answer any questions and it was lovely to watch the animals eating fish and fruit together through the large viewing panels. 

The Mini Mes found this really interesting and we all learnt quite a lot about them. 





The activities throughout our visit were really great, and as they are included within the entry fee (just over £40 for the four of us), it made it a really good value day out. There are feeds and talks every 15-30 minutes throughout the day which provides a full day of entertainment with handling included too and the opportunity to even face your fears... just like I did.





We popped along to the playing area next which consisted of swings, slides, trampolines - apparatus that was ideal for both toddlers and tweens. We settled down on some benches which were undercover and had a nice lunch and drinks from the cafe too which were reasonably priced. This is situated just next to the Encounter Zone where we decided to brave next for the Spider Phobia session. 

I was quite anxious about attending but at the same time I like to show the Mini Mes that it's better to face your fears and to try things you wouldn't normally do so I ended up holding a tarantula. It gave me a real sense of achievement and I think the Mr was equally as surprised as I was that I managed to complete this, especially when I usually get him to rescue me from any at home.





The interactive experiences continued as we made our way to the wallabies, our favourite part of the day. We were provided with food and allowed to enter their enclosure to stroke and feed them. Minxy was overwhelmed with excitement, especially after seeing the tiny joeys in some of the pouches. They were seriously cute and watching them trying to lean out to get food for themselves was magical.





The rest of our afternoon was spent looking at the aviaries, skunks, alpacas and monkeys before we took a peek in the gift shop and headed back to Woolacombe to feel the sand beneath our toes one final time.

Woolacombe Bay was voted the number one UK beach earlier this year and it's obvious to see why. It is spotlessly clean, there are traditional rides to enjoy and lots of lovely little shops, restaurants and crazy golf nearby too. 

Just after the sun had set we went to a nearby pizza shop, one that the Mr has been to many times over the years when surfing in the area, and it was a delicious end to our holiday. Along with a big tub of ice cream for dessert, of course!




You can read about the rest of our Devon break here and here.

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18 comments

  1. You've got some beautiful animal pictures there, the otters look great!

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  2. An amazing day out and great photos.

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  3. Theses animals are very cute

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  4. I could never hold a spider!...somebody was brave lol

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  5. Oo, er. That was a BIG spider! Sounds like a great day, though.

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  6. looks great, love the lemur photo

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  7. Sound like an amazing day out and great photos thanks!

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  8. Maria Rogers09/05/2016, 11:10

    All looks fab (except the spider bit!!!)

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  9. Looks like a lovely day out apart from seeing that spider lol x

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  10. urgh I'm sorry but just looking at the picture of that tarantula gave me shivers - you were exceptionally brave to hold it!!

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  11. A lovely day out, but rather you than me holding that tarantula, I'd have had a nervous twitch & most probably would have flung it in the air :(

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  12. Seems like a great day. But that spider is HUGE and scary.

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  13. We all love animals so this sounds like a great day out (except for the spider... not going near that!)

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  14. love seeing different animals

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  15. Looks like you all had a good time.

    Rachel Craig

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  16. I love Woolacombe Bay, we live in Somerset and pop down for the day when it's nice :)

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  17. Sounds like a great day out! x

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