The UK's best animal experience days

With its spectacular natural landscapes and surrounding waters that are home to terrific wildlife, as well as an excellent array of zoos and farms, the UK is a tremendous place to enjoy amazing animal experience days. Below is a selection of some superb places to visit that offer a puurrfect day out for animal lovers of all ages.

Farne Islands

Bird lovers should definitely flock to the Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast where 23 species of birds are waiting to wow, including Arctic Terns, Eider ducks and around 37,000 puffin pairs (best seen by boat between May and July). The islands are also home to the biggest breeding population of grey seals in England and there are over a thousand seal pups born here annually mostly during October and November.

Skomer Island

Skomer Island provides superb seal and bird spotting opportunities. There is a variety of seabird species to be seen, including puffins, but one of the main draws for birdwatchers is the world’s biggest colony of manx shearwaters. The best time to see puffins is from May to early July. Sleek grey seals are also on show here and a key highlight of Skomer Island is that the pup season stretches for longer here than in other UK breeding colonies (early September to end of November). Around 160 pups are born here each year.

Longleat Safari and Adventure Park

With such a wide variety of exotic animals such as elephants, rhinos, giraffes and monkeys you’ll really feel like you’re on safari when you visit Longleat. In addition, the park is ideal for visitors who are seeking big cat experience days. There are several big cat experiences to choose from that allow you to go behind the scenes and get up close to lions, cheetahs and tigers. You’ll also have the chance to feed these majestic creatures – but don’t worry, it’s not you they’ll be snacking on as food and guidance is provided! Check out the nearby campsites here.

Chester Zoo

Boasting 400 different species of animals, Chester Zoo is sure to have a critter that will charm any visitor. The zoo is also a great place to experience being a zookeeper for the day. The experience lasts a full day and is ideal for discovering what daily life is like for a zookeeper. There is a choice of animals to look after and a variety of tasks to get stuck into, from food preparation to cleaning the habitats and feeding the animals.

Go wild with whale watching

Getting the chance to spot such magnificent creatures as whales in their natural environment is an awe-inspiring event. The UK has a number of locations that provide the opportunity to see different kinds of whales. Sperm whales can be spotted via boat trips that depart from the Outer Hebrides. Long-finned pilot whales venture into the Minch strait in spring and summer. Visitors who travel to the Shetland Islands may get lucky with sightings of minke whales to the east of the islands and humpback whales to the south.

Cannon Hall Farm

The award-winning Cannon Hall Farm situated about five miles from Barnsley is sure to delight older and younger animal lovers with a number of baby animals born throughout the year such as lambs, piglets, Shetland ponies and llamas to name a few. A fun selection of events takes place at the farm each year including the likes of cow and goat milking demonstrations, as well as exciting ferret racing and sheep racing.

Hampstead Heath

If you go batty for winged creatures of the night then flit over to Hampstead Heath where you may catch a glimpse of bat species such as the noctule bat and the Daubenton's bat. Bat watching is an excellent wildlife watching experience if you’re keen for something a bit different, plus it’s free! The London Bat Group is a good place to gather advice on bat-spotting in London.

With so many choices, you’re guaranteed to have a whale of a time.

Whether you want to see stunning exotic animals, adorable farm animals or wild and wonderful creatures in their natural environments, the animal experience days above won’t disappoint. Many of these places offer the chance to see animals at close range, though with animals in the wild it’s a good idea to maintain a respectful distance so they aren’t disturbed and you can enjoy watching their charming antics and gracefulness for longer. These animal experience days are great fun for visitors of all ages and are sure to generate hoots of delight all round.

Not quite found what you're looking for? Here are all sorts of other animal experience days.

Wanting a stay where you can enjoy amazing wildlife experiences? Discover our zoo and safari park glamping sites here.