Idyllic Family Days Out at Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire, England

We recently captured this funny video of an African Bongo having a spot of Spring madness and since it brought smiles and laughter to us I thought I should share it - enjoy!

Last year we signed up for monthly cinema tickets which depending on which cinema you attend will cost anything from £180-£228 per year per adult (not including the cost of the popcorn, ice-cream, nachos and drinks) and the weight that you can put on in the process - all those calories and no activities can take a toll on your body.

This year we decided that it was time to find a family activity we would all enjoy, something that would get us out in the open air, interact with each other and other people, stimulate our bodies, our minds and we'd have lots of fun in the process.

After a lot of discussions we decided that this year we would buy Annual Tickets for Woburn Safari Park, we've been going there once or twice a year since we moved to this house and as we live so close it seemed ideal, there are no limitations on the Annual Tickets you can go as often as you wish for as long as you wish. We now go at least once or twice a month, sometimes it's a whole day with a picnic, but at other times it's an after-school couple of hours, a place and time when we can concentrate on each other and talk, a time to touch base with no internet, or computers, and of course our fun place to be when we don't fancy a long car journey, no two visits have ever been the same and I have to say we've had a fabulous time - it's been worth every single penny.

Speaking of Cost - it is definitely cheaper than a monthly cinema ticket, and we're a lot fitter, and although they don't have a Family Ticket, which I thought was rather strange, they do have a special offer where you can purchase an Annual Ticket for 1 adult and 1 child for a combined price of £100 (instead of £70 for an adult and £50 for a child) a saving of £20, not a massive reduction but for something that you can use as often as you like for a whole year I think that's very good value for money.

There are indoor and outdoor dining facilities at the Safari Park but we much preferred to pack a picnic (plenty of room to stretch out on the grass) and take a long leisurely break in the middle of the day before seeing the many activities that the Safari Park has to offer.

Apart from the animals they have many activities on-site including:

• Mammoth Play Park - indoor soft play and indoor slides

• Bobcat Run - 6 lane slide of differing speeds

• Swan Boats - swan-shaped pedalo boats on the lake near the dining facilities

• Great Woburn Railway - the children will love a train ride around the park

• Tiny Tots Safari Trail - toddlers only bouncy play area

• Badger Valley Toddlers Play Area

• Outdoor Adventure Play Area

They also hold daily talks and exhibitions with many of the animals for you to go along and watch which are absolutely free and special activities for you to go along on a more personal visit and get up close to the animals. There are so many other attractions that it would take me hours to describe them all, however they have a fabulous website which I've linked below that will tell you everything in greater detail.

If you've read any of my other hubs you will know that one of my many passions is photography and having the tickets to Woburn Safari let me indulge in this favourite pastime of mine - and with that in mind:

Here come the animals ....................

Everyone I know loves the Monkey Enclosure but do be warned these inquisitive and friendly little monkeys will sometimes climb on board your vehicle to peer inside in search of something to eat (please do not feed any of the animals) or just looking for something to play with, unfortunately they have been known to bend car aerials and play with your windscreen wipers and in the process cause damage, I have been through this area many, many times and so far I have been lucky, but this is definitely one of my favourite areas in the safari park and I never miss it.

The Lemur Enclosure is a walk through area, there is always a member of staff or two inside the enclosure at all times so that they can keep an eye on things and they are only too happy to answer all your questions. They usually have a bucket of fruit that they feed to the gorgeous Lemurs and who are friendly enough to come up to the Keepers and take food from their hands, great fun to walk through, just remember to wash your hands on the way out.

This is my daughter's favourite part of the park you can go inside the Aviary and feed the tropical birds inside with little cups of nectar, be warned they do land on any available space, heads, hats, shoulders, hands, arms - just don't stand still for too long or you may just disappear.

There are of course many, many more attractions at Woburn Safari Park and the amazing collection of animals and facilities is well worth a visit - take your family out to Woburn this year and find out for yourself just how good it is.