Last Updated on 17 August 2026 by Colette
So I know the title of this article is a bit negative so I’m going to start by saying I’m not bashing Peak Wildlife Park – it has a lot going for it. What I am saying is that it wasn’t worth the expense or travel time for our family.
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Three reasons we wouldn’t bother going to Peak Wildlife Park again:
1. The main reason we visited Peak Wildlife Park was I’d seen advertised that you could ‘walk with capybaras’ and take selfies with them etc but in reality what this meant was you could get into the enclosure where one capybara would sit resolutely still on an island and not move all day, not even when summoned by her keeper for breakfast… I’m sure on other days she’s more adventurous but it was definitely disappointing for us today.
2. Peak Wildlife Park is a really small venue making it great for little legs but for us we had managed to exhaust the whole place within three hours and that included stopping for a picnic and listening to at least 45 minutes of educational talks. If I’m going to drop the best part of £100 on a day out (and that was with a half price kids’ discount) I want to be there all day to feel I’ve got the value from it. For younger kids there’s two decent play areas which would easily have helped to fill the time but as we are now a family of teens, they don’t really hit the mark any more!
3. Peak Wildlife Park is about a 1.5hr drive away from Manchester and whilst I don’t mind a decent drive for a day out, I need it to be a full day out to make it worth the effort. The drive there and back took as long as the experience itself. I’d rather drive further to West Midlands Safari Park to see bigger animals (and hippos) or stay more local and go to a farm!
We loved that you can get into lots of the enclosures to get up close and personal with the wallabies, red squirrels, goats etc and enjoyed watching one of the polar bear brothers playing happily with his ball but there were also plenty of enclosures where we couldn’t see anything at all – I’d read reviews that suggested it’s best to get to Peak Wildlife Park first thing to see most of the animals but, having been there for opening time today, I don’t think that really helped us much. Of course zoo visits can always be a bit hit and miss in terms of what you get to see but with somewhere bigger, you’ve got more options I guess.
There’s keeper talks taking place all day and the two we watched were really interesting – we learned lots about capybaras and polar bears – though we did feel a little preached at about climate change and charity donations to support animals.
I’ve read loads of really positive reviews about Peak Wildlife Park but for us, it just didn’t cut the mustard today I’m afraid. I can absolutely see why families with younger children rave about Peak Wildlife Park, however with teenagers in tow, there just wasn’t enough there to make the cost and travel time worthwhile for us.
Have a read of these articles next:
If you’re spending a few days exploring the Peak District, considering visiting The Monsal Trail.
If you’re looking for somewhere to stay in the area, we love Landal Darwin Forest.
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