Chew Valley Animal Park — Attraction in Chew Magna

Visited Chew Valley Animal Park as part of my birthday week. A little bit of a challenge to get to via public transport from centre of Bristol, but nonetheless it was a smashing great day. We arrived very early, before the park opened. The weather turned out amazingly sunny by the late morning. There is a great range of animals, and there are a number of fun activities throughout the day.

We particularly loved getting up close to the animals; whether that be feeding the (very eager!) goats, some belly rubs for the pigs, handling mice, rats, guinea pigs and bunny rabbits (… the animals are so cute and friendly!) and cuddles with the capybara. We saw the meerkats fed, all the space is well maintained, the grass is kept short, the animals have access to lots of space in their quarters, natural resources, trees and nature, mud and water to splash about in, safe spaces for them and all the animals are well kept and well looked after. Lots of factual information around. It’s a nice day out for everyone!

Parking is available, and we saw many couples with pushchairs and small children navigating their way throughout the site. Overall, very accessible for most needs.

In the afternoon, we had a capybara experience (AMAZING!), where we got to meet the wonderful and charismatic father and daughter duo Fred and Pebbles. Words do not do enough to describe the experience, it was beyond excellent. We got to feed them their favourite foods, play with them, let them climb on us, rub their backs and rub behind their ears, and cuddle them. I want to go back, and do it all over again, as I had so much fun. The best time! Their keeper on the day; Becky, was truly phenomenal throughout the entire day. Becky was so helpful taking photos of our capybara experience - both Fred and Pebbles are super photogenic and full of character. Becky was so full of professionalism, passion, factual, demonstrated wonder and splendid expertise, and provided banter, fun conversation matched with a warm, friendly and polite personality. Keep up the great work; the team at Chew Valley, visitors / guests and the animals are very lucky to have you. You brought such joy to the day. Becky - you are a star! Thank you so much!

There is lots of signage around and boards to advertise scheduled events. There are plenty of hand wash stations available throughout the site, which are well stocked with soap and plenty of paper towels. Bathrooms inside were very clean, and hand driers available. The site also advertises a variety of local and on-tour entertainment, predominately music-based acts.

Food and drinks were nice, at their onsite restaurant, accompanied by a pleasant atmosphere. The music was fun via several pure nostalgic feel-good throwbacks to the late 90s and 00’s feel good pop hits, with some Linkin Park thrown in too! The dining area is very clean, a great food menu selection, bar and a great quick service by friendly pleasant staff. Food was made fresh and served very quickly.

The gift shop has some brilliant products, which are well worth the money. You can also purchase some goat / deer feed, which we purchased several bags and very soon enjoyed by the goats!

Other staff on the day were also very friendly and smiley.

A perfect day out, and an unforgettable...

I recently visited Chew Valley Animal Park and booked the private capybara experience, and I have to say it was absolutely worth it. The capybaras were incredible to see up close, and being able to pet and feed them made the experience so special. The animal keeper leading the session was fantastic as well, really engaging, full of knowledge, and clearly passionate about the animals, which made the whole experience even better.

On top of that, I really enjoyed the cuddle sessions with the smaller animals. Getting to hold and spend time with the mice, rabbits and guinea pigs was such a lovely part of the visit. My favourite had to be a guinea pig called Coco Chanel, who was a total diva in the best way. In my photos she’s the brown, fluffy one with loads of hair, she definitely stole the show.

The park itself is really well set out with great enclosures that look spacious and well cared for. I also loved how interactive it was in certain areas. The goat enclosure in particular was brilliant; as soon as you go in with food, they swarm around you, which was a lot of fun. The arctic fox was another highlight, such a beautiful and majestic animal to see up close.

It’s also clear the park has thought about the practical side of things too, with loads of washing stations around, which makes the whole experience a lot more comfortable and family friendly.

We stopped at the restaurant as well and were pleasantly surprised. I had the margarita pizza with chips and the pizza was cooked on a stone base, which gave it that lovely authentic taste. On top of that, booking the capybara experience came with a £5 voucher to use on food, which was a really nice bonus.

Overall, Chew Valley Animal Park is a fantastic place to visit. Between the amazing animals, the interactive enclosures, the cuddle time with the smaller pets, the knowledgeable staff, and even the little touches like food vouchers and plenty of washing stations, it felt like a really well rounded day out. I’ll definitely be...

Our first visit and I bought the Capybara experience for my partner and our daughter and it was simply amazing! Really good value for money - the experience included the park admission and £5 lunch vouchers.

Fred and Pebbles the capybara absolutely stole the show for us, but the staff were wonderful too. From the reception desk, to restaurant staff, they were all incredibly helpful and friendly. The keeper was very knowledgeable and answered all our questions and made the experience really magical for our daughter.

They have a whole host of other animals, including emus, kookaburra, cayman, an arctic fox, patagonian maras, deer, ponies, owls, ducks, peacocks, meerkats, porcupines, lemurs and so much more.

Another great part of the day (which is part of a standard admission) is the animal encounter where you can sit, hold and pet rabbits, guinea pigs and rats. You then go next door to meet and feed the goats with a bag of feed you're given when you get your ticket.

The restaurant was stunning inside with plenty of seating and a decent menu at reasonable prices (the pizza made in the pizza oven was particularly good!), as well as a bar offering a variety of soft drinks, hot drinks and alcoholic beverages.

The on-site facilities were perfectly clean and there are hand washing stations located around the park which is great for those who feed the goats and deer.

Accessibility for disabled patrons is very good, with a large disabled toilet, dedicated disabled parking at the front of the car park and free admission for carers which is great.

Overall, a lovely day out even in wet winter weather and will definitely be...