South Lakes Safari Zoo Near Old England Hotel

Round up the troops for a proper family outing and take a trip to South Lakes Safari Zoo! 

At around 45 minutes’ drive from the hotel and with a free car park on arrival, this is a journey worth making. You’ll find over 1,000 animals - including many rare and endangered species and everybody’s favourites, the big cats - in an environment designed to suit their specific needs whilst bringing you, their guests, as close as physically possible to their daily life and habitat. Walk amongst roaming kangaroos, wallabies and emus and hang out with lemurs, squirrel monkeys and tamarins – plus, there’s a walk-in aviary where parrots, macaws and other birds fly free.

There are numerous ways to interact more closely with the animals – from joining a feeding session, to experiencing an animal encounter or even being a zookeeper for a day. You’ll need to pre-book these – although feeding can be arranged on the day of your visit if there’s space – and if even if you’re simply going for a jolly good look around, it’s cheaper to book your admission in advance. 

The zoo also has a big outdoor adventure playground with zip wires and climbing areas, swings and slides so there’s plenty to keep everyone occupied.