Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park

Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park occupies a one-hundred-and-sixty-acre estate a few miles outside Stirling, just off the A84 on the road towards Callander and the Trossachs. It opened in 1970 as Scotland’s first safari park and remains one of the central belt’s busiest family attractions, home to more than three hundred and fifty animals across drive-through reserves and walk-through enclosures.

The drive-through route is the part most visitors come for. Cars pass through reserves holding lions, rhinos, zebra, bison and antelope, and through the monkey enclosure where the resident macaques climb over the vehicles. The park keeps Scotland’s only giraffes, and the herd is one of the recognised highlights alongside the tigers and the chimpanzees on Chimp Island, reached by a short boat trip across the lake.

Walk-through sections add a lemur enclosure, a pets’ farm and an explorer dome, and a dinosaur trail running more than twenty life-size models through a stretch of woodland. Keeper talks, birds of prey flying displays and sea lion training demonstrations run through the day on a published timetable, and the education team uses them to set out the park’s conservation and breeding work.

The adventure side covers a large play area, pedal boats and an aerial assault course for older children. Food runs from an indoor restaurant to a pizza hut and barbecue and picnic areas. Tickets are booked online in advance and the park sells out on busy weekends and through the school holidays. Blair Drummond, by Stirling, FK9 4UR. Open spring to autumn; phone 01786 841456 or see the Blair Drummond website.