insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 15 - May 2016 | Page 75

DAYSOUT

Interactive, explorative fun
for all ages at Drusillas Park
Open throughout all seasons, the award-winning Drusillas Park in East Sussex offers
a fun, explorative, and educational day out for all the family and is widely regarded as
one of the country’s best small zoos.

With over one hundred different animal species
in naturalistic environments, there is plenty
to enthrall everyone from the youngest to the
oldest visitor. Animal attractions include the
popular meerkats, where children can climb
inside a dome to get really close, as well
as penguins, red pandas, otters, beavers,
gibbons, a range of monkeys and a walkthrough bat enclosure among many others.
Lemurland allows visitors to get right up close
to a friendly group of ring-tailed lemurs, and
you can watch many of the animals being fed
at the keeper talks that run throughout the day.
Don’t miss Lory Landing, a walk-through
aviary that offers visitors the opportunity to
get up close and personal with a friendly flock
of rainbow lorikeets: brightly coloured parrots
native to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and
Australia. Animal lovers can also see lots of
baby bundles of fur and feathers including Pip
the Parma wallaby, four bottle-fed lambs and a
beautiful baby saki monkey. 
Animals are only half the experience of a day
at Drusillas, however. The brilliant play areas,
including Go Wild! and Go Bananas! have
masses of climbing, sliding, jumping and
swi nging fun, all separated simply for different
age groups, and the interactive maze, Eden’s
Eye, takes visitors on an adventurous quest
through a host of different worlds. Indoors,
there’s Amazon Adventure, a state-of-the-

art soft play complex, plus the Thomas and
Friends™ train offers unlimited rides throughout
the entire year.
Drusillas Park is also home to the first Hello
Kitty attraction in Europe. Hello Kitty Secret
Garden includes three specially designed
children’s rides - excitement will hit new
heights as you reach for the sky on the 25ft
hopper, before taking a turn on the teacups.
You can then jump aboard the Hello Kitty
car ride and enjoy a magical tour of sights
and sounds. There’s also a Hello Kitty house
and parlour (open weekends and East
Sussex school holidays), where fabulous face
painting, temporary tattoos and a range of hair
accessories are all available to purchase, and
where regular meet-and-greet opportunities
with Hello Kitty herself are held during key
holiday times.
There is always something new to see and do
at Drusillas Park and this year is no exception.
New for spring 2016, kids can soak up the fun
in the ultimate splash pad experience, Get Wet!
Following a £300,000 investment, it promises
to be the ultimate splash pad experience and
a fountain of fun for children of all ages. The
spacious, colourful installation replaces part of
the current play area and visitors can enjoy a
taste of the tropics as they dodge the flower
fountains, weave past the wavy palm trees and
become completely immersed in the fun.

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Managing director, Laurence Smith, says: “Get
Wet! provides children with some state-ofthe-art sensory water play, but above all it
is a great deal of fun. There is a quieter area
for our youngest visitors and a grassed area
with benching where adults can relax too. It
has been designed and created by water play
experts, Ustigate, who are the UK’s largest
splash pad installation company. We are
delighted with the final result.”
Located just off the A27 at Alfriston, Drusillas
Park is open all year round (except December
24, 25 and 26) from 10am until 5pm (last
admission 4pm) during winter, and from 10am
until 6pm (last admission at 5pm) throughout
summer.
Drusillas Park
Alfriston Rd
Alfriston
BN26 5QS
01323 874100
www.drusillas.co.uk
@drusillaspark