Aberwhere?: Blair Drummond Safari Park

I’m going to be honest with you here. Blair Drummond Safari Park is just as exciting when you were a kid now that you’re 20 odd... or older! It really is fun for all the family. Yes, okay, it’s more child orientated but who’s to say you can’t let your inner kiddie self out for a day? No one, that’s who!

Set near Stirling, Blair Drummond Safari Park lies on the grounds of Blair Drummond House, a great mansion house passed through families over the centuries which now serves as a home for disabled adults and is a central focal point from the park. Entry price for adults is £13.50, discounts for students, children and senior citizens as always. As you drive in signs sort of sway you to go to the drive through safari first before parking and having a walk around. There is no limit on how many times you go through the outside safari just make you are in a vehicle – lions and tigers and bears are scary on foot! And strictly prohibited. The main animals you get to see are camels, lions, tigers, springbok, zebras, giraffes, elephants and bison. The bison really are WILD! They stomped around in their gang like no one’s business, charging at anything and getting so close to hitting cars some people overtook on the grass to bail out. There are warning signs before you enter telling you it’s at your own risk. So basically don’t take your Porshe into the safari if you have half a brain.

The other main attractions include a sea lion show, a boat ride to Chimp Island, a petting zoo, Lemur Land, Penguin pool, Meerkat Madness and Giraffe and Elephant enclosures. For a bit of fun we also tried out the pedalos, the astro glide slide and the flying fox. The flying fox zip wires goes over the lakes that holds the pedalos so make sure you can pedal real fast to get out of the way of a surprise flying human!

Some of the animals let you get up close and personal with them. The pengins and meerkats didn’t seem to mind people around them when it was feeding time. We got a lovely surprise when walking around Lemur Land. Two beautiful Red Ruffed Lemurs popped out to say hello! They inquisitive creatures and won’t hesitate on grabbing your iPhone if you’re trying to take a picture of them.

There are plenty of facilities to cater for everybody with a restaurant, gift shop, snack stands and numerous toilets along the way. I think it was a great idea to place toilets right at the exit – a saviour for all parents before the set out on the long car journey home. We took our own picnic and were blessed with inside and outside benches to enjoy it on because it did start to rain a little. If you wanted to take your own BBQ food there were BBQ stands with coal already in them all ready to light up which is a nice touch.

Everything except from food, face painting and carnival rides is included in the admission price. Face painting is £4. We were SO tempted so pretend we were 6 years old again and go home with a panda’s face but we were stopping in Dundee for dinner and I’m not sure how well that would’ve went down in Nandos... Oh well, maybe next time!