Following a roaring reopening, a popular wildlife park near Ottery St Mary is set for a really wild summer of fun.
Wildwood Escot is preparing for a summer of fun, starting from May half term after a phenomenal reopening.
More than 3,000 people visited the park in the first week of reopening, April 12 to 18, with families enjoying the last week of the Easter holidays as lockdown eased. The park is now ready to welcome Brits thirsty for staycation attractions and days out after restrictions eased again on Monday.
General manager George Hyde said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the support from visitors since we reopened, it’s so wonderful to see the park full of happy faces and laughter after a long winter.
“We’ve put in place reduced capacity and several systems and additional measures so that visitors can enjoy a fun day out with no worries, and we’re delighted that everything has been running smoothly. We’re thrilled to see so many people safely enjoying the park and reconnecting with nature and we’re thrilled to be welcoming visitors old and new.”
Visitors to the park have been welcoming Miska, the Arctic fox, a new member of the Wildwood family. He arrived from Denmark during lockdown and is becoming a firm favourite.
With more than a year of postponed animal reintroductions to the wild, limited resources for animal rescues and a generally hard strain on funds for conservation, the park and Trust is also thrilled to be back in the swing of wildlife conservation. Projects such as breeding the endangered hazel dormice and the building of new breeding facilities for the rare wildcat can finally restart and funds generated by reopening are all helping to ensure that these vital projects can continue.
Wildwood Escot has the Visit England ‘good to go’ seal of approval, highlighting covid safe places to visit. The park is doing both daytime and evening opening slots throughout the summer. To book a visit go to https://devon.wildwoodtrust.org/wildwood-escot-reopening-plans/