Cotswold Wildlife Park

The drive through Oxfordshire's rolling hills delivers you to a proper working zoo where you'll actually see animals doing things rather than lying comatose in the heat. Cotswold Wildlife Park spreads across 160 acres near Burford, so there's serious ground to cover. You're wandering through landscaped grounds spotting everything from red pandas to giraffes, with the kind of spacing that means kids don't feel squeezed into a theme park queue.

It's a family operation that takes conservation seriously without turning it into a lecture. The enclosures are generous and thoughtfully laid out, though on a scorching day even the shade gets fought over. You'll want a good four to five hours minimum, longer if you're the type to watch penguins actually swim rather than stand there looking bored.

Historically it's been one of Britain's more progressive zoos in terms of how it houses animals, and staff actually engage with visitors instead of just pointing at signs. The real skill is arriving early - mid-morning on a weekday in shoulder season is your sweet spot. Summer weekends turn it into Cotswold chaos.

If you're based at Burford Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite just down the road, it's a straightforward outing. Wysdom Touring Park sits within striking distance too at just over two miles. Neither location gives you much else within staggering distance, mind, so the zoo needs to be the draw rather than part of a packed itinerary.