Day Out at Birdworld Surrey

Birdworld, Farnham, Surrey

Covering 26 acres in Farnham, Surrey, Birdworld is home to over 2,000 animals and birds, including many rehabilitated birds. There are three main sections across the Birdworld park: a central area with the birds in aviaries and exhibits, a children’s farm and an aquarium. In this post, I’ll share more about our day out at Birdworld Surrey.

Parrots at Birdworld

With my entrance ticket, I purchased two packs of bird feed – one for ducks, pheasants and geese and the other (dried mealworms) for many of the other birds. There are several encounters scheduled throughout the day including Penguin Feeding, Pelican Feeding and the Owl Prowl feeding tour.

Birdworld

We didn’t see any pheasants on this pheasant walk but it was enjoyable especially for Little T wandering around the trees and little paths.

Ducks at Birdworld

We did manage to put the feed to use just around the corner, passing by a pond with Mandarin ducks swimming about.

Blossoms at Birdworld

The landscaped gardens of Birdworld offer plenty of areas to relax and enjoy the scenery or to have a picnic. Also near this area is a path that takes you to the Forest Lodge Garden Centre.

Pelicans at Birdworld

We carried on through the park, heading towards the Jenny Wren Farm, having a look at the pelicans, emus and rheas along the way. At this point, it felt like we had the park to ourselves but we soon saw that everyone was mostly at the farm, especially families with young children.

Jenny Wren Farm at Birdworld

The farm turned out to be our favorite part of the day out at Birdworld. There was a play area with two tractors that Little T loved sitting on and pulling the levers, while chickens, ducks and turkeys roamed freely about.

Ponies at Birdworld

There are also goats, pigs and ponies on the farm, but we didn’t end up having a look around the field or barn…

Rabbit at Birdworld

And that’s because an Animal Encounter was set up near the play area with several adorable bunny rabbits, guinea rabbits and even little mice for the children to pet and hold.

Rabbits at Jenny Wren Farm at Birdworld

The rabbits were lovely, hopping around this bench table and letting the children stroke their fur. There were so many moving by that Little T was petting one after the other and enjoying every moment of it.

Farm at Birdworld

He also loved holding the little mice. He was told to hold his hands out together for the mouse to sit on his hands and he was very careful not to move. He had several chances to hold a mouse for a few minutes at a time and the whole Animal Encounter was certainly a highlight – we were the first to arrive and the last to leave!

After the Animal Encounter and a good hand washing by the farm exit, we took a lunch picnic break at the play area just outside the farm which has several tables.

Penguins at Birdworld

We then carried on through the rest of the bird exhibits before making our way to the exit, first with a stop at Penguin Beach.

Flamingoes at Birdworld

Seashore Walk at Birdworld

The Seashore Walk exhibit was another highlight of our day out at Birdworld, certainly our favourite part of the bird section of the park.

Birdworld, Farnham, Surrey

We brought out the dried meal worms and Little T had a blast passing them out to the pied avocets. Interesting fact: the avocet became extinct in Great Britain in 1840, and its successful recolonisation at Minsmere, Suffolk in 1947 led to its adoption as the logo of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Waldrapp Ibis at Birdworld

We also fed meal worms to a Waldrapp Ibis which was a great experience, such a magnificient, unique bird that is sadly also critically endangered due to loss of breeding sites and only a small number exists in southern Morocco.

Ibis at Birdworld

Interesting fact: the Waldrapp Ibis was once considered sacred in ancient Egypt.

Birdworld

Overall, I have mixed feelings about our day out at Birdworld. On the one hand, we had two great experiences – the Animal Encounter at the Jenny Wren Farm where Little T spent a good amount of time petting rabbits and mice and the Seashore Walk where we could get up close and feed the pied avocets and an ibis moving freely about.

On the other hand, a number of the bird exhibits could use a good update, in particular the aviaries for the smaller birds. We didn’t manage to see Hornbill Block, where the hornbills and toucans are, or Outbank Landing, a walk-through aviary with the budgies – I think both exhibits sound good and would have added to our experience with the birds. I also would have liked to see more staff around the bird exhibits, it’s always helpful to have someone to guide you or answer questions. Any staff we did meet, the lady at the Animal Encounter and the cashiers at the entrance, were always friendly, helpful and courteous.

That said, we had plenty to keep us busy over our 3 hour visit and I would recommend a day out at Birdworld for the chance to learn about and interact with a number of animals and birds.

Birdworld Surrey

Address: Holt Pound, Farnham, Surrey, GU10 4LD

Opening Hours: Open from 10am to 4.30pm (6pm during Summer/BST). Last admissions are an hour before closing.

Tickets: Adult tickets are £17.95, children 3-15 years are £14.50 and children under 3 years go free

Parking and car admission: External parking is free and there is a large parking lot in front of the entrance.

Good to Know:

While there are a few small cafés dotted around the park, the only restaurant I saw open was the one by the entrance. It is a canteen style restaurant serving mainly fried food and some sandwiches, snacks and refreshments. I would recommend bringing along your own picnic – there are plenty of picnic tables around the lovely gardens.

Have a look the show times at the entrance to plan your day out at Birdworld. There are times for Penguin Feeding, Pelican Feeding and an Outdoor Flying display that runs from Easter to end of October.

It’s helpful to have some small change (50p) on hand to refill your cup of meal worms around the park at one of the machines.

There are a number of play areas around the park. The one by the farm is more suitable for younger children, while there is another one for kids 5 years and up near Penguin Beach.

You’ll find toilet facilities by the entrance, near the farm and next to the Outback Landing.

http://birdworld.co.uk/