Towards the end of the summer holidays Erin and I joined Sarah from Boo, Roo and Tigger Too and her daughter for a fun day out at Pettitts Animal Adventure Park in Reedham, Norfolk.
Although I hadn’t been before this visit I had heard lots about Pettitts over the years since I moved to Norfolk. It’s one of those places that gets talked about a lot and I’ve always wondered if it was worth it. However, due to being a non-driving family at the moment it’s somewhere that we haven’t been able to get to as transport links aren’t that great. Luckily, Sarah drove so it was nice to be able to go somewhere new.
Tickets can be purchased online with options for single tickets or family tickets for two adults and two children which works out a bit cheaper. Sarah had booked the family ticket which worked out perfectly for us. You can also add animal feed during the booking process online and this will be ready for you to pick up when you arrive.
Play areas
Something I quickly noticed at Pettitts was that there was plenty of different play areas for children. Right near the entrance there is a huge play area filled with slides, climbing equipment and treetop style walkways. We purposely left this until the end of the day as it was so big and we wanted to make sure we saw everything else too. However, the girls both loved this play area and I think would have stayed longer if we’d let them.
Another play area is construction site themed and this was a lot of fun. There are slides built into construction vehicles and the whole area is set in sand so there are also little diggers for children to play on as well.
Close to the petting zoo there is a large sandpit kind of area with buckets and spades dotted around. This was a great stopping point for us as we all needed a bit of a break from walking around. While the girls played in the sand we got to sit and have a rest on one of the many deckchairs we found to sit on.
Rides
Places that are pretty much all inclusive are the best kinds of days out for us as it means not having to think about those added extras or Erin asking to go on rides that cost more money. This isn’t the case at Pettitts and the rides were all included in our entrance price although there are a couple of things like ride ons that do cost extra. There was about 9 main rides that were included in the price and both girls were tall enough to go on everything.
Although there was a queue for each ride that we went on I don’t think we ever waited for more than 5-10 minutes. When you have small, impatient children with you this is definitely a plus! Some rides we went on with the girls such as the small rollercoasters but some rides they were able to go on together without us which was really nice for them.
Animals
Pettitts also has a really cool petting area and this was a big hit with the girls. I’d say definitely be sure to buy some animal food either when you book or ask to buy some when you arrive. We had 1 bag each but I think you could easily go though a couple of bags… especially if a goat tries to steal the food like it did with Erin.
The petting area is one big open (kind of… it has a fence around it) area where you can meet goats and sheep as well as a few chickens running around. It was nice that it was all so open compared to places such as Wroxham Barns where everything is behind a fence. You can really get up close to the animals and stroke some of them if they feel like it.
Our verdict…
Pettitts Animal Adventure Park is a full day kind of place to visit but you can also only spend a few hours there if you want to. We found that there was more than enough to keep everyone happy for the whole day and there was adventure golf too which we didn’t manage to do. Even though I’d heard good things, Pettitts surpassed my expectations.
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