Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens Marks 55+ Years as a Top-Rated UK Family Attraction

Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens, a 160-acre walk-through wildlife park set on a historic manor estate near Burford, Oxfordshire, continues to rank among the UK’s most popular family attractions, more than five decades after it first opened to the public.

Home to over 260 animal species, the family-run park has built a national reputation on close, barrier-free wildlife encounters — most notably its raised Giraffe Walkway, which brings visitors to eye level with its resident giraffe herd, and a free-roaming Lemur Walkthrough where guests step directly into the animals’ habitat.

Independent and Family-Owned Since 1970

The Park was founded in 1970 by John Heyworth, who opened the grounds of Bradwell Grove — a Georgian-Gothic manor house built in 1804 and inherited from his grandfather — to the public to fund the estate’s upkeep. Today, John’s son, Reggie Heyworth, continues to run the Park, maintaining its status as an independently operated attraction in a sector increasingly dominated by large corporate groups.

The Park’s animal collection includes Asiatic lions, which have been its resident big cat species since 1995, alongside Southern white rhinos, red pandas, Humboldt penguins, reticulated giraffes, giant anteaters, and several species of lemur. It has had no tigers on site since transitioning to lions in the mid-1990s.

National Recognition

Cotswold Wildlife Park holds a TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice award as the 4th Best Zoo in the UK and a Kennel Club “Best Day Out” award recognising its dog-friendly visitor policy. It maintains a 4.6-out-of-5 rating across more than 4,500 TripAdvisor reviews, with visitors frequently citing the Giraffe Walkway as a standout experience nationally.

Conservation and Education

Beyond public access, the Park participates in European breeding programmes for threatened species, including the Southern white rhino and Brazilian tapir. Daily keeper talks cover each species’ IUCN conservation status, and the Park runs education programmes for schools ranging from Early Years through Further and Higher Education.

Visitor Experience

The 160-acre site includes a Victorian walled garden, an Adventure Playground, a Children’s Farmyard, a Reptile & Tropical House, and Bella, a narrow-gauge train operating April through October. Most visitors spend four or more hours on site, with daily keeper talks — including penguin feeding at 11am and 3pm, and a lemur talk at midday — built into the visit.

The Park offers free parking on every visit, is largely accessible via buggy-friendly paths, and is dog-friendly throughout most of the grounds.

Visitor Information

Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens is located at Bradwell Grove, Burford, Oxfordshire, OX18 4JJ, on the A361, roughly midway between Oxford and Cheltenham. The Park is open daily from 10am. Online e-tickets start from £17.50 for adults and £12.50 for children (ages 3–16) and seniors. Full ticket and visitor information is available at cotswoldwildlifepark.com.

About Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens: Founded in 1970 by John Heyworth and now run by his son Reggie Heyworth, Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens is a family-owned, 160-acre wildlife park and botanical garden on the grounds of a Georgian-Gothic manor house near Burford, Oxfordshire. Home to more than 260 species, the Park has been named the 4th Best Zoo in the UK by TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice awards.

Media Contact
Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens
Bradwell Grove, Burford, Oxfordshire, OX18 4JJ
[email protected]
Website: https://cotswoldwildlifepark.com/