The epic Sussex family day out with animals, play areas, rides and more

Because for just over 100 years, this Sussex-based small zoo with attractions has been entertaining families from across our county and beyond.

Drusillas was a firm favourite in my childhood years. I have so many good memories of looking at all the animals, as well as playing in the huge play area and play barn.

We even had annual passes at one point, such was our love for it. So it is always with great joy that I take the next generation of my family to this brilliant attraction.

We visited on a sunny Sunday a couple of weeks ago, and met my parents, sister and brother and his family there. Based in Alfriston, East Sussex, it was an easy drive for all of us coming from different towns across West Sussex – and even better it wasn't too busy on the day we visited.

As we have so often done in the past, we started by exploring the zoo and seeing the wonderful array of animals at the park. But, if you’d rather mix things up and try some rides first, you can cut through from the monkey enclosure to do this.

You could spend way more than a day just watching all the animals. From red pandas, to giant anteaters, to Bactrian camels, to penguins, to lemurs… the list is almost endless.

I think the placid capybaras might be my favourite, but the super cute fennec foxes are also right up there.

What’s lovely is that Drusillas has a real focus on education and conservation, with many school trips held there every year, as well as education days and animal keeper experiences on offer.

To make things even more exciting for children, they can pick up an animal spotter booklet to fill in on their way around, as well as take part in the Zoolympics – a series of animal-themed challenges, such as seeing which animal they can jump as far as, which animal they can scream as loud as and which animal they weigh the same as.

It’s a great way to keep kids engaged, and if I’m honest, it’s really good fun for adults, too.

Much as I could have stayed with the animals, the play area was calling and my children and their cousins had a whale of a time running around and enjoying all it has to offer. What’s great is there is something for children of all ages. We had kids ranging from one to 12 with us, and they all had a great time.

There’s also a large soft play and café on one side of the play area, and a splash pad on the other. You could literally spend all day in here alone, and most children happily would!

If you did that, however, you’d miss out on the rides and that would be a real shame. Not only are the rides fun for all ages, the theming is lovely. I particularly adore the Rainforest Carousel with all the different animals you can ride on.

My children love the Hippobus and the Flying Cheetahs. And the whole family always enjoys a ride on the Safari Express Train.

There is also a maze and an arcade with free games in it. Plus, there are some pay-for experiences such as panning for gold and a huge inflatable slide. There’s also the brilliant Spark, a magical immersive play experience.

My family spent some time in here, and the kids loved the interactive walls and the augmented reality video where you can ride a rhino, ostrich or zebra.

We stayed from park open to close and could happily have stayed much longer. It really was a fun-filled day out.

For more information, see https://www.drusillas.co.uk/