We went to the safari park where dinosaurs are roaming this summer 40 minutes from Manchester
After experiencing the baboons and lions on safari, families can also pay a visit to some fearsome dinosaurs too at the popular family attraction across the summer.
- 10:08, 9 AUG 2023
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For anyone who grew up in the north west, a trip to Knowsley Safari Park is probably writ large in the memory. Visions of the monkeys grabbing car windscreen wipers being among the images imprinted on my brain.
But this summer, the safari park has even more attention-grabbing guests in its midst. Namely with a gaggle of dinosaurs for visitors to meet all across the school holidays .
Naturally, as we all know, dinosaurs are extinct. But they've been brought back to life in convincing animated puppet form for the Jurassic Summer event at Knowsley, which is around a 40 minute drive from Manchester.
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Families will get to meet baby dinosaurs, and even give the little creatures a stroke as the dino rangers take them across the Knowsley Foot Safari zone. Then there are also Dinosaur Alive shows twice daily for visitors to get to see the larger Jurassic beasts take centre stage.
I headed along with my two boys who were near terrifed when they saw a large Velociraptor stroll into view. And my youngest even hid under the wooden seating when the king of all things dino emerged into view - the T-Rex.
They found it a little less scary meeting the baby dinosaurs - including a cute little Stegosaurus and Triceratops tot.
But while they may have looked scared meeting the dinosaurs, it was nothing compared to the fear of my 7-year-old as we headed out on to the real-life safari and the monkey enclosure with all its warning signs came into view.
Perhaps after he'd heard me joking with my mum about the windscreen wiper incidents of old, he flat refused to go through the baboon enclosure once we drove out on the safari.
Thankfully, there's also a "car friendly route" which runs alongside the monkey cages where you can just about see the cheeky little animals, rather than experience them clambering onto your car.
My kids were also pretty scared about the prospect of driving through the lion enclosure too, which I was a little surprised about. I thought they'd feel pretty safe in the locked car.
We had a bit of a queue at this area, it later turned out because all the lions were lay down together having a big snooze. So all the cars were basically waiting in a queue for the passengers to try and get a picture of this tranquil scene.
Thankfully for me with the lions being asleep on our visit, it also finally quashed the fears of the kids that they were somehow going to get eaten alive by the wild beasts.
But overall we absolutely loved the safari drive - which is the UK's longest across a 550-acre site. It's utterly exhilirating when you first drive into the safari and are greeted by a crowd of galloping deer literally leaping across the fields in front of you.
There's also the Foot Safari to walk around where you can see giraffes and the Amur Tiger Trail with lots of spectacular viewing spots to get up close and personal with the wild cats - safely behind reinforced glass of course.
When are the dinosaurs at Knowsley?
Knowsley Safari's Dino Takeover is running every day until Sunday 3 rd September through the school summer holidays.
The dinosaur events happen throughout the day, starting from 11am with a roaming dinosaur, and at 11.45am and 1.30pm you can expect the Dinosaur Alive show at the Birds of Prey arean.
There are then regular meet and greets with the dinos through the day, and a chance to meet baby dinosaurs across the Foot Safari side of the park.
What else is there to see and do at the safari park?
You can easily make a full day out of it here beyond all the animal attractions. At the Foot Safari hub you will also find loads of play areas, a sandpit, and a full on fairground with rides suitable for younger kids.
Be warned though that the fairground rides are not included in your ticket price so you may need to budget accordingly if you have two kids begging you to go on them all like I did.
There is also a main restaurant on the site serving a host of hot and cold treats, a smaller more casual cafe and coffee shop, as well as an ice cream kiosk close to the entrance.
How much are tickets?
The cheapest way to get tickets is to buy in advance online on the Knowsley Safari website here . Adult tickets priced from £14 to £25; children aged from 3-15 and seniors priced from £14 to £22.50, while children under 3 go free, as do carers.
How to get there
Knowsley Safari is in Prescot, Merseyside, on the A58 bypass, just off the M57, around 40 minutes away from central Manchester. The postcode for sat nav is L34 4AN.
Prescot train station is only a few minutes taxi ride from Knowsley Safari, or is a half an hour walk.
If you don't have a car (or don't want to risk a monkey incident) you can still do the Knowsley Safari route by booking a spot on its Baboon Bus for £6.50 per person on top of the normal admission price.
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