South of England Rare Breeds Centre Reviews Summary

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Wonderful, friendly staff, very patient with children, lovely animals, play areas and places to eat and drink, great prices too."
• "Friendly helpful staff, checking in was quick, smooth & easy parking instructions."
• "The staff were all so lovely, friendly and chatty. They clearly loved both the animals and their jobs."
• "The staff were fun knowledgeable and the children had such a great day out."
• "Absolutely fantastic! The set up is excellent, the staff super friendly and helpful."
• "Staff are always so happy and friendly, such a lovely atmosphere."
• "All the staff are friendly and helpful."

Cons:

• "This is not our first visit to the centre, but will probably be our last... we were both really upset by the way we were spoken to, we didn't enjoy our visit and left after less than an hour."
• "We also saw a member of staff enter the goat area and attempt to kick the goats out of the way."
• "The old adage of it's not what you say but the way that you say it, certainly applies to the lady at the ticket booth."
• "Informed staff, reply was a couldn't careless🤬."
• "The singular staffed petting area was worth the wait in the queue. Very covid distanced in this area. And the staff member bright and warm and welcoming."
• "Also be careful of the dragon parking attendant who was pretty rude for no real reason - not the way you wish to start or finish your day!"
• "Our visit to the park was utterly dismal. The birds of prey are tied by their feet In a static position in their enclosure."

Animal Interaction and Petting Areas

Pros:

• "Fantastic interaction with the animals."
• "The petting corner is the best. Massive variety of animals are all stroke able and great to interact with."
• "The animals are cute and you can pet some of them."
• "The petting zoo was great, animals well looked after and swapped out regularly so they didn't get tired/stressed etc."
• "The animal petting area is really good and the piglets super cute as we got to scratch their bellies."
• "Kids love getting up close to the animals. There are some to touch - rabbits, goat, horse etc."
• "You can get up close and touch most of the animals, which are just beautiful."

Cons:

• "The children shouldn’t be allowed to pet the animals without someone who works there holding them, as children have no idea how to handle animals."
• "Some of the enclosures looked very neglected, the chickens especially, many who were missing feathers and bleeding."
• "Depressed horses, crack hooves, no bedding🤬🤬🤬."
• "The day gecko is in a completely unsuitable setup... Day geckos are arboreal and tropical so they need high humidity and the poor gecko here is in a dry enclosure with nothing to climb on."
• "Over weight rabbit, I use own and show rabbits, dump on bale of straw, so all kids pick and touched, not cool."
• "The lack off proper care to very few animals, is terrible."
• "The petting area can get a little crowded at times but that’s ok."

Facilities and Cleanliness

Pros:

• "Brilliant day out so much to do so much to see animals a wonderful staff very helpful toilets very clean."
• "The whole area seems well layed out, clean, tidy and accessible."
• "Their living conditions were extremely clean and they all looked very happy."
• "The eating areas were clean and we even saw a man spraying the tables and chairs to clean them."
• "For a rural petting zoo, the facilities were faultlessly clean and tidy, and each staff member or volunteer we met was friendly and helpful."
• "The animal petting area is very good with well trained staff and a great deal of attention given to cleanliness and coverage of personal hygiene."
• "Have been today was my granddaughter first time as she 17months and hasn't been anywhere had a lovely day very well organised plenty of hand washing facilities."

Cons:

• "The restaurant was expensive and not well stocked. It also looked a bit run down and bland."
• "The wait for food was huge despite there barely being any customers, it was hugely overpriced when it did arrive and everywhere just felt a bit run down."
• "The shop was shut at 4:05... I was met with a we're closed now. And ignored when I asked why as the centre was open until 4:30."
• "No sighs to Woods, we lost over hour, paths unsuitable prams."
• "Lack of clean water/shelter from hot sun/bedding, was quite apparent."
• "Nothing much has changed its all looking a bit 'tired'."
• "Not enough toilets for the space/land they have."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Great place for young children, a lot of animals to see and pet."
• "The admission price is great value for money and I wouldn't hesitate to come back here again."
• "This place always excels my expectations, well worth the money, well organised."
• "Very good value for money, there are lots of animals to see."
• "Fantastic value for money for the whole family."
• "Great value for money, clean toilet facilities, lots of hand washing stations, a brilliant day out."
• "The price to get in is also very good and affordable to many people."

Cons:

• "Literally the only downfall was the food. Extremely over priced and really not worth it."
• "Pretty good but feel they could offer a little more for the entry fee."
• "Quite expensive. Great for hygiene. Birds of prey were on very short chains. Some birds looked in distress with bald patches."
• "The cafe was dead at lunch time, probably something to do with £10.50 for a burger and chips."
• "I wont visit again out of principle. You would still have had many visitors today and im sorry i feel your pricing is greedy."
• "However 5 icecreams did cost £10 so taking your own food is advisable as with most farms or parks."
• "I have given you one star today as i was going to book the 3 of us in. £95 is extortionate and unfair."