My day out: Tamar Otter and Wildlife Centre

Having a day on my own with no children is almost unheard of, so I decided to make the most of it and take a solo day trip in Cornwall. I researched some top places to go and the Tamar Otter and Wildlife Centre popped up with five stars on Trip Advisor. Having never been there before, I decided to go and explore.

Not knowing anyone who had visited, I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but all the reviews I had read were really good so I was looking forward to my day out.

The location was a little hard to find as the pin on the map was in the wrong place, but I advised them of this on arrival and advised me they are fixing it shortly. This didn’t put me off as I just popped in the postcode and off I went. There is not much around the attraction but it is signposted well.

Like most attractions which have animals, I knew there would be information about the animals on information points, but I wasn’t expecting the wealth of knowledge that the keepers spoke about at the talks. They answered any question and interacted with all ages, making everyone feel welcome.

I ate a very naughty cake in the café which was amazing. All the sandwiches are made fresh which is brilliant and looked excellent. There is a little shop in the grounds which looked very fairly priced, and great for children with a little pocket money to get a good souvenir.

The attraction is right on the public footpath, so an amazing plus point to your day out as parking is free. They have lots of different types of otters, but also many other animals including free roaming deer and wallabies.

This is a very unique place in Cornwall, as there are not many places where you can hand feed wallabies and deer, well not that I know about anyway. There is 21 acres of woodland and countryside for you to explore, which is a great bonus. Some of the places are a little steep, so may not be suitable for the less mobile if they want to explore the full park, but a sturdy pushchair or wheelchair would get around fine. Some of the animals are wild so young children will need to be supervised at all times.

I can’t wait to visit again. The birds of prey are lovely to look at, and I would love to see my children feeding the animals without any barriers. The servals where asleep during my whole visit so I would like to visit again to see them. 

Top tips for visiting the Tamar Otter and Wildlife Centre:

  • Parking is free
  • There are lots of picnic tables to take your own food, or you can enjoy the onsite café that is very reasonably priced and has great food
  • It takes a couple of hours to walk around, enjoy the trails, and listen to the two talks of the day
  • The only thing that might not suit everyone is that there are animals that roam free, so it is not suitable for a day out with a dog

About the author: Emma is our holiday home manager who visited Tamar Otter and Wildlife Centre in June 2019.