Lewis Clarke, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do · Burford
Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens
A wildlife park and gardens near Burford with animals from around the world, a narrow-gauge railway, free parking and room for dogs on leads in most of it.
Family-friendly · Dog-friendly
The family day out on the Oxfordshire side of the Cotswolds, and unusually welcoming to dogs on leads outside its indoor and walk-through areas. Book online to save £2 an adult and £1.50 a child, and allow at least four hours.
- Good: Dogs on leads in most outdoor areas
- Good: Free parking
- Good: Flat paths, and a Changing Places toilet
- Good: Narrow-gauge railway from April to October
- Worth knowing: Weekdays closed from 4 January to 4 February 2027
- Worth knowing: Hard to reach without a car
About
The Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens is at Bradwell Grove, on the A361 two miles south of its junction with the A40 at Burford. Animals from around the world, among them rhinos, giraffes, Asiatic lions, penguins and the lemurs of the Madagascar walk-through, live in 160 acres of parkland and gardens, with a narrow-gauge railway running from April to October.
It opens every day but Christmas Day: 10am to 6pm in summer, with last entry at 4pm, and 10am to 4pm in winter, with last entry at 3pm. From 4 January to 4 February 2027 it closes on weekdays for maintenance, opening at weekends only. The park suggests at least four hours. Penguins are fed at 11am and 3pm in the walled garden, and a keeper gives a talk at the lemur feed at noon in the Madagascar walk-through, which closes earlier than the rest of the park.
Parking is free, and picnics are allowed on the lawns and in the shelters. Dogs are welcome on leads, but not indoors, in the walk-through areas, the restaurant or the shop. Paths are flat, there are accessible toilets in each block and a Changing Places toilet by the gift shop, and wheelchairs and scooters can be hired if booked ahead. It is hard to reach by public transport.
Opening hours and season
| Monday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Wednesday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Thursday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Friday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Saturday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Sunday | 10:00 to 18:00 |
Summer 10am to 6pm, last entry 4pm; winter 10am to 4pm, last entry 3pm. Closed Christmas Day, and weekdays 4 January to 4 February 2027. Madagascar closes 3pm in winter, 3.30pm in summer.
Facilities
- Car parkFree
- Dogs on leadsNot indoors, in walk-through areas, the restaurant or the shop
- Narrow-gauge railwayApril to October, noon to 4pm; adult £2, child £1
- Skymaze play areaTreehouses, bridges and slides
- Changing Places toiletNear the gift shop; code from the shop
- Restaurant
- Gift shop
The details
- Time to allow
- At least four hours
- Features
- Café · Shop · Picnic area · Play area · Parking
- Parking
- Free, on tarmac and grass, with disabled and coach spaces. You can go back to your car during the visit.
- Without a car
- Hard without a car. The nearest bus stop is on Burford High Street, then a taxi; Charlbury station is 11 miles away, with no taxi rank, so book a taxi both ways.
Photos
The lake Photo: Lewis Clarke, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
Spring daffodils in the grounds Photo: Lewis Clarke, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
The walled garden Photo: Jonathan Billinger, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
The manor house Photo: Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Location
Accessibility
- Step-free access
- Accessible toilet
- Changing Places toilet
Flat, wide paths; the park calls itself 99% accessible, all but the Bat House first floor. Wheelchairs (£20 deposit) and scooters (£10 for 2 hours, £20 a day, £50 deposit) are booked up to 4 days ahead on 01993 825716. Prams and pushchairs are not allowed in the Madagascar walk-through or on the train. Carers need tickets.
Places to stay nearby
-
The Hideaway
Glamping · Filkins and Broughton Poggs
A shepherd's hut for two in an enclosed garden in Filkins, with a wood-fired hot tub, a log burner and room for one dog, a walk from the Five Alls.
Dog-friendly · Hot tubs
Verified Oct 2026
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Bull, Burford
Hotel · Burford
A coaching inn on Burford's High Street, opened in 1536 by its own account, now a hotel with 18 rooms, three restaurants and a treatment suite.
Wedding venues
Verified Oct 2026
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The Lamb Inn
Inn · Burford
An inn with rooms in Burford, part of Cotswold Inns and Hotels, taking bookings for rooms and tables and welcoming dogs.
Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- Burford Garden Co. Café 3.4 km away
- Burford Tolsey Museum 4.0 km away
- The Hideaway 4.0 km away
- Bull, Burford 4.0 km away
Sights nearby
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Burford Priory
Sight · Historic building · Burford
Burford Priory is a Jacobean mansion on the site of a medieval hospital in Burford, remodelled by Speaker Lenthall in the seventeenth century, with his chapel of 1661 to 1662 beside it. Grade I; a private house, seen only from Priory Lane.
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St John the Baptist, Burford
Sight · Church · Burford
St John the Baptist is Burford's great wool church by the Windrush: Norman at its core, with a fan-vaulted porch, the Tanfield and Harman monuments, and the font where a Leveller carved his name before three were shot in 1649. Grade I; open daily, free.
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Burford Bridge
Sight · Bridge · Burford
Burford Bridge carries the road over the River Windrush at the foot of Burford's High Street: four low arches with pointed cutwaters, medieval in origin and heavily remodelled in 1791. Grade II*, on the way in and out of the town.
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River Windrush
Sight · River · The Oxfordshire Cotswolds
The River Windrush rises on the high wolds of Gloucestershire and runs south-east through Naunton, Bourton-on-the-Water, Burford, Minster Lovell and Witney to join the Thames at Newbridge. Public footpaths follow much of it, and eight of our walks meet it.