Millets Wildside Reviews Summary

Animal Encounters

Pros:

• "We did the owl encounter & it was amazing."
• "Wow - what an amazing experience! We (2 adults and kids between 7 & 12) were blown away by the flying demos."
• "Having the opportunity to feed the Meerkats and have them jump all over us was great fun."
• "The keeper was friendly and knowledgeable, did a great job trying to keep the naughty raccoons amused."
• "We booked a meerkat experience for two, and absolutely loved it."
• "Really enjoyed the racoon experience, my only disappointment was being in with another couple which wasn't stated when purchasing the experience."
• "We were gifted the Meercat and Raccoon Experiences and both were amazing!"

Cons:

• "However, the price of the raccoon encounter could better reflect the reduced experience compared with the meerkat encounter (due to legislative changes beyond the centre's control)."
• "We went for a meet the meerkats experience. 4 meerkats and 10 people to feed them with tongs was very disappointing compared to other venues."
• "Please note: you are unfortunately not allowed to feed the raccoons yourself, their teeth and claws are too sharp."
• "Unfortunately all the birds are bred in captivity to be exploited here... they look healthy enough but they don't look happy as they are tied down to little posts and do not get to fly."
• "Raccoon encounter is entirely different to what it was, yet they’re charging the same amount of money pretending it’s great value."
• "Birds look incredibly sad and one was tearing apart the frame on its enclosure in an attempt to escape."
• "Feel a little emptiness for the birds in captivity, if I apply a human feeling to these creatures I’d say they are sad at being kept locked up."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Ben was very friendly and everything he taught us was fascinating."
• "The lady who gave the talk about the Meerkats whilst we were feeding them was very informative."
• "James was so informative, funny and you could tell he loves his job and the animals."
• "The staff were amazing and really knowledgeable."
• "The handlers were very knowledgable and welcoming."
• "Staff are all super friendly and very knowledgeable."
• "Our keeper was wonderful, she was really enthusiastic and knowledgeable."

Cons:

• "Won't be stepping foot in the place if that's the way they talk to customers. Very upsetting."
• "Phone was picked up by a man who was speaking to me with a very unfriendly manner."
• "The man on the phone was rude from the get go and made it quite clear just talking to me on the phone was an inconvenience."
• "Shockingly poor customer service and absolutely no thought for the customers."
• "Absolutely appalling customer service!!"
• "Awful customer service. Rude lady on the phone."
• "Horrible experience. No empathy or kindness from staff."

Facilities and Accessibility

Pros:

• "The other birds and facilities were spotless and all the birds seemed happy."
• "Lovely walk through woodlands and fields, all nicely looked after."
• "The site is huge lots of parking."
• "All enclosures were so well kept - the raccoon enclosure looks small until you notice they have tunnels going off it that seem to go around half of the centre!"
• "The whole place is wheelchair accessible."
• "The centre has a fantastic array of birds of prey. Is well maintained and great for little explorers."
• "Plenty of parking spaces and there is a lovely cafe right next to the wildlife park (Farmhouse Kitchen) which does great food!"

Cons:

• "Down side for wheelchair users is the entrance/exit to steep and concrete goes into dirt."
• "It's advertised as 'bigger than you think' but is actually pretty small."
• "A number of the enclosures are empty and others contain bird with no information to the extent that the one bird we haven't actually seen before at free events by other falconers we had to track down a member of staff to get any details about."
• "Food stops being served at 3pm. Be warned! Cakes and tea after that point."
• "No toilets or cafe at the falconry centre."
• "Visited other day. It's ok but major issues are: they don't adhere to social distancing policies, nor many visitors, hand gel didn't work at one station near Meerkats."
• "The whole place is wheelchair accessible. There a ramp to eat outside or go forward on to the animal and playground area."

Value and Experience

Pros:

• "An absolutely fabulous attraction."
• "Farm shop was incredible and the produce and goods look and taste fantastic."
• "We had a great time visiting and taking part in the Meerkat experience."
• "Highly recommended and lots to do for young and old alike!"
• "Really cheap entry and, from what I saw, the handling activities you pay extra for look well worth it!"
• "This place has so much more, and is larger, than you expect and is such a great price."
• "The entry fee for a day visitor is such good value for money and if you like birds or want to learn more the falconry day is worth every single penny."

Cons:

• "Be careful buying gift experiences, consider a leaflet plus cash! If your voucher expires, it expires and situations you might think would mean the date is extended could not be!"
• "Had to cancel due to COVID Track and Trace app. We were told we have to pay a £20 re-booking fee even though it was all prepaid via Red Letter."
• "Our car broke down the night before our booking so we couldn't make it. When we called up and explained we were told we would have to rebook at full price."
• "Absolutely fuming that they wouldn't just let us rebook a different day. Won't be wasting my money with them ever again !!"
• "Maybe being such an integral part of millets estate, which is free to get in, is strangling the falconry centres ability to charge."
• "Horrible booking experience. Tried to rebook 7 days in advance. 50% on top of the price (£57.50)."
• "Absolutely rip off for PYO strawberrys and you can't just turn up you have to book online."