A Family Day Out at Marwell Zoo – Brickosaur Experience
Living in Bournemouth, we are only around 45 minutes away in the car from Marwell Zoo, which is situated between Southampton and Winchester. We absolutely loved visiting earlier this year, so when we were given the opportunity to go again, this time whilst the Brickosaur experience was on over the summer, we didn’t need to be asked twice.
How to Get There
Marwell Zoo is a lovely family day out in Colden Common, near Winchester in Hampshire, a short drive from the M3.
Marwell Zoo Address: Thompson’s Lane, Colden Common, Winchester SO21 1JH
Ed loves Lego and has passed his appreciation on to the children, who all enjoy building new creations, so everybody was excited to see the collection of Lego dinosaurs dotted around the wildlife park.
Marwell Zoo was pretty busy, as you can probably imagine during the school summer holidays but, despite the crowds in places, we managed to see everything we wanted to and to get some lovely photos to capture our day out to look back on.
There are 21 different Brickosaurs to spot around the park (some have more than one dinosaur, so there are around 50 in total), and you can mark them off on a free trail map or on the Marwell Zoo app, which is free to download and is also brilliant for finding out more information and planning your route around the zoo.
The app doesn’t let you tick a dinosaur off until you are right by it, which encourages you to walk all the way around and properly hunt for the Brickosaurs.
Each of the Brickosaurs has an information plaque, which tells you about the building process. We all found it really interesting seeing how long each Lego dinosaur took to put together, how many people were involved in the build, and how many pieces of lego were used.
Our favourite Brickosaurs were the Tyrannosaurus Rex and its baby, which are located in front of Marwell House and look pretty impressive – the T-Rex is eight metres! This one doesn’t have all the same information as the others as you are encouraged to guess how many bricks it is made up of for your chance to win a family tour of Bright Bricks in Bordon.
Base Camp & Build Your Own Lego
The Base Camp is a really fun area for kids, and those young at heart, to build their own lego creations along with photo opportunities and a dedicated Brickosaurus shop. We could have happily stayed in this area for ages.
As well as the Brickosaurs, there are obviously all the animals and birds that are usually at Marwell, and we enjoyed walking around and seeing lots of these as well during our visit. The children are aged eight, six and two and there is something for all of them at Marwell.
Cameron enjoyed discovering some new animals he hadn’t seen before, including the Bongo and Red Panda, which is an animal Ed and I hadn’t actually seen in real life before either.
Meanwhile Carly, who is about to go into year two at school, wanted to read up on everything as we went round and Benjamin enjoyed searching for the animals at each enclosure and pointing them out to his brother and sister. All three loved the play areas, which are located around the park, as well.
There are plenty of areas to enjoy a picnic in, as well as places to eat if you’d rather something hot, including a Barbecue gazebo, which I believe is part of the Brickosaur experience. There are also places to purchase ice creams around the zoo and a large gift shop by the exit with a huge range of souvenirs, soft toys and foil balloons to choose from at fairly affordable prices.
We had a fantastic day out as a family at Marwell Zoo and thoroughly enjoyed the Brickosaur experience. It made things that little bit more exciting, hunting for the dinosaur sculptures around every bend, and I would definitely recommend a visit before it goes at the end of the summer holidays.
Essential Information
How much does Marwell Zoo cost?
Currently, children are charged £17 aged 3-16 years and adults are charged £21. Family tickets are available which brings the cost down by about £4. These prices include a small donation, which is optional.
Is Marwell Zoo open all year?
Marwell is open from 10am every day except Christmas and Boxing Day. Closing times vary throughout the year so please check the website for details.
Can I Stay At Marwell Zoo?
For those travelling further, there is a rather handy hotel, Marwell Hotel on site too. Marwell Hotel, is a safari-themed hotel with family rooms set in the countryside.
Some family rooms come equipped with bunk beds and a double bed.All rooms have a kettle – which is useful if you need to make up a bottle of milk. Facilities include a large indoor swimming pool,an outdoor play area, free wifi and an activity pack for kids! All very convenient if you are exploring a bit more of Hampshire or perhaps visiting Peppa Pig World, or other children’s attractions in Hampshire.
(For more family friendly accommodation in Hampshire, this guide will help)
For more details on Marwell Zoo and the Brickosaurs event, see here.