I’ll kick this review off with telling you just how cheap The Living Rainforest is. £36 for the 4 of us….for a whole year!
Now it’s not big but it’s definitely clever and 100% worth the visit the kids loved it.
This was a last minute change of plans thanks the the absolute unholy rain that set upon us as we were about to leave! We were lured into a false sense of pretense of sun early. No matter on we trundled.
It’s an easy drive….unless it’s pissing it down and you get stuck behind a bastard lorry trying to overtake another one. It’s under an hour away too so you’ll get a decent amount of use from your annual ticket.
The car parks big enough but shit the bed! Make sure you don’t get whiplash going over any of their potholes 2mph should keep your necks safe.
We’ve been before and its never been too busy and despite the rain, it being a weekend and them having a Christmas market on it was still comfortably busy.
When you get in grab yourselves some free trails for the kids on the left. There a 3 different ones depending on the child’s age or key stage which I thought was a great touch especially with the clip boards.
It’s not as hot as I remember it being the last time we went but note you’re not going to need your arctic expedition gear to visit. It’s the living rainforest they’re trying to recreate a rain forest funnily enough.
You head into the first room through though giant face twatting curtains that stop the animals from getting out. Calm your tits they don’t have jaguars casually strolling around munching on your kids heads when they go in for a cuddle. They do however have a sloth……apparently. That things like a fucking unicorn. Has anyone else seen him/her?
You’ll get wet in here there’s water dripping everywhere, you’ll get smacked in the face with giant leaves and I swear a plant with a very suspicious looking flower tried to slip me one too.
They have a few new bits there that weren’t there the last time we went like the butterfly house. There are the usual warnings about not touching them….No problem didn’t see a single bloody one anyway! The area looked fairly new though so maybe they haven’t got a lot yet….either that of they’ve taking the piss about the sloth and the butterflies and they don’t actually exist. Haha brilliant, bet everyone still looks every time! Might start charging kids £5 each to come and find the fairy and poddington peas that live at the bottom of my garden.
The 2nd room through more face twatting curtains is the best room for the kids. You’ve got free roaming birds the kids love! Little monkeys (can’t remember their real names) an Armadillo!! (Seriously cool) turtles, Terrapins, bugs and more its absolutely brilliant.
There’s a huge tank area with giant fish (think I missed my calling as a biologist with descriptions like these) then Clark started giggling “look mummy that turtles having a ride on the other ones back” yep that’s right two horny little exhibitionist turtles getting their jiggy on in front of the magnified glass of the tank. Obviously I got photos i swear I’m not some kind if weird pervert into bestiality! But I do have a childish sense of humor.
We got round it pretty sharpish but I reckon we could have gone round a few times and found something different each time.
There’s a little cafe, nothing posh but plenty of seating and looked reasonably priced. You can take a picnic too if its sunnier and use their garden with a pretty decent play area!
The play areas cool lots of climbing parts and mostly made from rope. The safety flooring covered the whole area it looked in good nick too. We’ll definitely be back in summer to utilise this area!
The shop looked really cute too. A shit load better than the Christmas market they had on anyway (sorry sellers no offence)
Distance from Bicester: 46mins
Sat nav: Hampstead Norreys, Thatcham RG18 0TN
Wheelchair friendly: Yes
Equipment upkeep: 7/10 few parts need a bit of tlc but nothing terrible
Cleanliness: N/A it’s a bloody rainforest ffs
Facilities: 10/10
Age range: All ages
Safety: 8/10 few dodgy areas to keep eyes on little ones especially by the water
Fun factor: 10/10
Dog friendly: Hell no!
The living rainforest is run by a charity too so you know your moneys going to something worth while. They do tours (free) and have lots of events on throughout the year. It’s 100% worth the visit and despite being small it packs a punch. If you’re stuck for things to do in the rain then look no further. We love it here!
If your kids like animals then have a look HERE for more ideas on where to take them.
You can find The Living Rainforest’s website HERE
