“And here, in the depths of Stirlingshire, sit the monkeys. On my new bloody car. If they rip off my wipers, I’ll be bloody livid.” I hope you read that in the voice of David Attenborough, otherwise it would be a weird way to start a post. You see, this is about our trip to Blair Drummond Safari Park near Stirling and whether you should go yourself. I’m going to try and not use obvious language like “it’s a wild day out” or “it’s a jungle out there”, but I can’t promise anything.
What animals are in the safari park?
At the safari park, the main draw is the drive-through section. This is where you stay in your own car and drive slowly around a pre-determined track through separate big-animal enclosures. The first one has rhinos, and they are not afraid to get up close and cross the road themselves. Fortunately, there are park wardens in some pretty beaten-up Land Rovers who won’t hesitate to put themselves in their path if the rhinos are looking a bit frisky. These big beautiful animals share their enclosure with some other animals that you probably won’t have heard of, but they are very nice to look at too.
Next, you will pass through the lion enclosure. We have found that the best time of day to visit them is the morning before it gets too hot and they end up just lazing around the savannah Stirlingshire. They can get frisky themselves and like a good play, but I’ve never seen them really bother cars. There are Land Rovers here too though, so I guess it’s not unheard of. The lions do not share their enclosure with anyone else, for obvious reasons. Apparently, a monkey got in with them once and…well…you can imagine.
Speaking of monkeys, there’s an enclosure you can choose to avoid if you so wish. That’s because the monkeys – the little darlings – may decide to clamber over your car and do unspeakable things to it. Now, we have been here a total of three times over the past couple of years. The first two times we were in our lovely old car where everything was falling off anyway, so it didn’t matter if the monkeys had a party on it. But did they? Did they even give it a second glance?
No, reader. They did not.
But what do you think happened in our shiny new car? Yup, big ol’ fat monkey climbed up it and sat on the roof. Luckily, no damage was done else I’d be tempted to introduce it to the lions. So enter here at your own risk (it is fun to see them though).
And so, then you enter the final stage of the self-driving safari past lovely camels and reindeer. It’s a lovely way to end, seeing them wallow in cool puddles and on the grass. They all look very happy.
What other animals are at Blair Drummond?
The majority of the remaining animal space at Blair Drummond is set up more like a zoo. There are penguins, otters, horses, pigs, more monkeys, and even an elephant. There is also a bird of prey event three times a day and you just have to make time for one. They are brilliant, and the chap who runs them is really friendly, funny and knowledgeable. You sit in an outdoor amphitheatre and the birds fly above your head – sometimes their wings flap your hair, they are that close! It’s a great experience that I wholeheartedly recommend. We’ve seen vultures, owls, hawks and a small bird (whose name I forget) who likes to chuck fake snakes in the air to kill them and it’s one of the weirdly cutest things I have ever seen.
But there are two animals I would like to specifically draw your attention to.
Giraffes
Long before Edinburgh Zoo got giraffes, Blair Drummond had them. Our boys LOVE these animals, and I can understand why. Although they should be gangly, I find them graceful and calming, eating away with their big blue tongues. There is a high viewing area you can watch them, as well as see inside their enclosure if it’s a bad day. They share their space with zebras. We go to the giraffes at least twice on our visits, they are just lovely to watch.
Tigers
Take a look at this, the homepage (as I write in August 2021) for Blair Drummond Safari Park.
There is, quite clearly, a tiger there. It is as if a tiger is the main thing you’ll get to see. It’s like they are saying. “Yeah we got tigers bruv. Come on down and see them, they’re like totes everywhere.”
LIARS.
Here is, in fact, the view of the tigers that you get.
Three times we’ve been in the past two years and can you guess how many times we’ve seen a tiger? That’s right, zero bloody times. And it’s not for lack of trying. Now, I understand you are not guaranteed to see these animals, but nobody we spoke to on any of these days had seen a tiger. We even went to their enclosure at different times of day.
Unfortunately, a large walkway over their enclosure is closed due to covid, although I don’t know why. Make it one-in one-out or something. Install cameras or a ticket system, I don’t know. So instead all you get is a large fence to look in from ground level. The tigers I think know this, and stay away and hide. If you see a tiger here, you are one of the lucky few, and I implore you to buy a lottery ticket immediately. Frankly, if you do want to see a tiger, go to Edinburgh Zoo. This is the only disappointing part of the Blair Drummond visit, but perhaps once the walkway re-opens it will be better.
What else is there at Blair Drummond Safari Park?
Away from the animals is another favourite of our boys’ – dinosaurs! There are loads of large dinosaur statues, some that move, some that squawk and some that spray water at you! Kids will love this little walk through pre-history. For reference, however, please note that any wife-themed jokes about the dinosaur here named Irritator have already been done by me, so don’t waste your time.
Irritator dinosaur 
There’s loads of things for the kids, from a free gigantic adventure castle to a pirate ship, and paid rides to go on too. There’s loads of space to run around, and benches to sit for lunch. Food is available to buy of course, but we do like a good picnic in our family.
There is some kind of boat ride too, but it’s been closed all the times we’ve been so I don’t know if it’s any good. If you have been, do let us know your thoughts!
Blair Drummond – should you go?
I love Blair Drummond. An adult ticket costs £16.50, and children and old folk is £13.50. 0-2 years go free. I know that can be a lot of money for a family of four (or more), but if you are looking for a special day out then it’s totally worth a visit. It’s all about making memories, right? And if you get there first thing you can absolutely spend the whole day there without getting bored or repeating yourself. But I think you’ll want to drive through the safari park at least twice…
Just make sure you book online in advance.
So I would absolutely recommend a visit to Blair Drummond Safari Park near Stirling. Assuming, of course, you aren’t desperate to see a tiger. And here’s a tip – there’s a great little place just next to it called Briarlands Farm. It has a kids area (make sure you book in advance) and in the summer, you can pick your own strawberries! So if you are staying in the area, give both of these places a visit for a fantastic family holiday in Stirlingshire! And if you are looking for more animal-based adventures, here’s our post on Deep Sea World in Fife.