It's a wild world

Kids will have fun at Wild Wood
The Weekender

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London Zoo is a wonderful place to take children. I've been there often in the eight years since my son Liam was born and we'll be visiting again this summer to see the new Komodo dragon enclosure. But despite the excellent conservation work the zoo does, I always leave feeling slightly uneasy.

The cages seem so small, and staring at a magnificent, intelligent creature such as a gorilla in these cramped, prison-like circumstances seems almost obscene.

So Port Lympne Wild Animal Park near Hythe is a zoo for people like me who don't much like zoos. Set in rolling Kent countryside, it was founded by the late John Aspinall to conserve and breed endangered species, and most of the animals live in large family groups as they would in the wild.

For me, the gorillas are worth the admission price alone. Port Lympne and its sister zoo, Howletts, house the biggest collection of gorillas anywhere in the world with more than 100 new births recorded since 1975.

The largest family group lives in the aptly named Palace Of The Apes, and if I'm ever held captive, I pray it's in five-star circumstances like this.

There's a large private indoor area where the animals can retreat from public view, a vast glass-fronted indoor area on two levels covered with straw and full of toys, climbing nets and even a big slide.

Then there's more than an acre of garden that visitors can look down into from a high walkway or via glass windows at ground level. We spent more than an hour here watching a mother groom and feed her baby, younger animals rolling playfully down the slope and a majestic silverback sitting under a tree. A second enclosure is almost as large and luxurious and houses the bachelor males.

The park is huge, and the 40-minute safari trailer ride is well worth paying extra for (tickets need to be booked an hour or so in advance on busy days, and cost £2 and £1 for children). It's the only way to get close to the small herd of elephants in the upper fields, and the trucks trundle slowly past all the main animals, giving plenty of photo opportunities. Liam and his friend loved it.

For lunch in the pleasant Conservatory Restaurant there were the usual dreary kids' choices of chips with chicken nuggets, sausages or fish fingers. But a child's portion of the spicy pasta on the main menu was given to Edward, eight, without hesitation, and both that and Liam's baked potato came with a drink and fresh fruit for £4.50.

We ate a fine chickenand-mushroom pie and an even better roast duck in hoisin sauce (both £6.50). The vegetables were barely warm, but were crisp and tasty so I'm carping here. With a cake, more fruit and four extra drinks to take away, the bill still just topped £30. Elsewhere in the park there were cafes serving big burgers and hot dogs for £2.50, and plenty of places to picnic.

While you're up there, it's worth having a quick look in the mansion. My boy isn't big on stately homes, but only the ground floor is open to the public and we all loved the colourful wildlife murals that cover almost every inch of the walls.

History buffs may also like a look at the paintings of the house and its views by Winston Churchill. We then set out around the park on foot, following a marked route past wolves, wild dogs, Indian and Siberian tigers, several types of monkeys, black rhinos, wild horses, deer, bison, water buffalo and red pandas with more distant views of the elephants.

Because they're all in big cages or open fields that are unapologetically arranged to suit the inmates rather than their visitors, seeing everything takes you on quite a trek. By the time we got to the magnificent Barbary lions, we were glad to find a shady outdoor cafe for drinks and ice creams.

On the day we visited the undergrowth in the lions' enclosure was being tidied and cleared by keepers, and the animals sat in a smaller adjacent cage keenly observing the action.

Normally, however, they have space to roam --and a glass-fronted observation area should give great picture opportunities. We've been reading C.S. Lewis's Narnia books at home, and looking at the biggest of the male Barbary lions --apparently now extinct in the wild - Liam knew exactly who he was seeing: 'It's Aslan!'

The hill back up to the mansion is so steep that my calves hurt the next day, and if you're with young children or grandparents you may like to hop on the minibus that runs from the cafe.

But it's worth the hike to see the odd-looking tapirs and the smaller cats en route. The cages are arranged to give the cats privacy and encourage breeding, so you have to work at spotting them --which makes the ones you do see all the more special. The shy but stunning ocelot, the fishing cats and an Indian desert cat that looked like our tabby at home kept our lads happy.

The route moves through lovely gardens to open fields and shady woodland. With the magnificent views over Romney Marshes to the sea and the animals roaming in groups, there was so much to see that our boys barely noticed they were tired. Besides, they knew the trek ended back with the gorillas, and they were keen to see them again.

Did they enjoy the day? As we pulled out of the car park Liam was already asking when we could come again. And when he grows up, he wants to work there.

Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, Lympne, near Hythe, Kent (01303 264 647). Off Junction 11 of the M20. Mon-Sun 10am-6pm, last admission 4.30pm. £11.95, child four-16 £ 8.95, under-fours free, family ticket (two adults, two children) £34, additional child £5 each. www.howletts.net

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