Accessibility

This access statement does not contain personal opinions as to our suitability for those with disabilities but aims to accurately describe the facilities and services that we offer all our visitors.

Introduction

Situated just outside Filey the 5-acre Park is set within open countryside. With its special mix of friendly animals, birds, gardens and wildlife habitats, we welcome visitors of all ages and abilities. This outdoor attraction consists of a variety of friendly animals in spacious enclosures, different gardens, including a sensory garden and a formal garden surrounded by aviaries, several different wildlife areas and a children’s play park. The larger animals can be fed with special food which is available to buy at the entrance or in the shop. There is also a shop selling a range of reasonably priced themed gifts, and a café serving light refreshments. The park is mostly level, with a slight incline towards the furthest point, and has various regularly spaced seating areas – some are under cover.

We endeavour to make continual improvements and adaptations, both in terms of physical barriers and participation in all aspects, within the constraints of the site and the financial resources available to a small family-run attraction. We will regularly monitor and review our policy and consult with Local Disability Groups, and welcome any suggestions to help us achieve this.

Pre-arrival

For full details and maps of how to reach us please see the directions section of our website. Alternatively, you can plan your journey by public transport using the bus and train timetables on the links below.

The nearest railway station is Filey, which is 1mile away (a 20–30-minute walk). Taxis are available at the station. If you require an accessible taxi, you can book this in advance, see contact information for details.

There are regular buses that stop outside our main entrance from both the north (Scarborough) and the south (Hull); services 12 and 13. Please ask for ‘Filey Zoo’. All of the EYMS buses are now low-floor, easy-access and with full wheelchair-accessibility. Some buses provide ‘This Stop’ and ‘Next Stop’ information to help ensure that passengers do not miss their stop, making journeys stress-free.

Car Parking and arrival

There is free parking on site with 3 clearly marked Blue Badge parking spaces situated on the left as you enter the car park, and immediately past the main entrance building. The disabled spaces are of tarmac with a tarmac path leading directly to the entrance. The main car park is surfaced in large loose gravel/stone; please ask a member of staff to assist if you have difficulties on this surface.

Admission Entrance

From the Car Park there is a smooth tarmac surface to the queuing area that leads to the Pay Desk window, which is approx. 1m high. Payment is via cash or card (with a £3.00 minimum card spend) – including contactless payments. Entrance to the Park is through a lightly sprung push-gate.

The Zoo

A tarmac path continues from the entrance to the café, gift shop, toilets and into the first area of the zoo. After this point the main footpaths around the park are of a compacted stone surface approximately 12ft (3.6m) wide. At times there may be some lose stones on the surface which can be slightly soft during very wet weather.

The Formal Gardens have 5’ (1.5m) well compacted pea gravel paths with additional lawned paths within each garden. The Secret Garden is accessed via a 36” (0.9m) inward-opening door. A short bark path leads to a deck (overlooking the Wildlife Pond) via a wooden ramp; narrower bark paths continue through the Secret Garden. A further compacted stone path leads out of the garden.

There are many interpretation boards around the park, covering the different birds, animals, wildlife and sensory garden. The majority of these are at a maximum top height of 165cm, and in large font with pictorial content.

There are hand-washing facilities (with hot and cold water) in the toilets. Further cold-water hand-washing stations can be found outside the toilets, in the centre of the park, and at the furthest point (near the play park).

Toilets

The toilets are located approximately 30 yards from the entrance and are the only toilets in the zoo. They contain separate facilities for both male and female, with baby changing in each, and a separate unisex WC for disabled (a key is not required to access it). The flooring is vinyl so care must be taken if wet

There are covered hand-washing facilities outside the toilets with a long trough sink, cold water, soap and paper towels.

Disabled WC:

The WC height is 19”/ 48cm
There is a horizontal rail on the wall to the right of the WC
There is a vertical rail to the left of the toilet
There is a wall mounted drop-down rail to the right of the toilet
The wash basin is 28”/70cm high with lever taps
There are vertical rails at either side of the wash basin
The toilet paper, soap and paper towel dispensers are 39-43”/100-110cm high

Café

The café is adjacent to the entrance and toilets and accessed via a ramp onto a raised terrace with outside seating (for café users only). The door into the building has a low threshold and is 35” (90cm) wide inward opening and is usually left open in fine weather. A further short ramp leads down into the café which has level vinyl flooring throughout.

The café is counter service, though staff are always happy to assist on request. The serving counter is 34” (86cm) high. Payment is via cash or card (with a £3.00 minimum card spend).

We sell a range of hot and cold drinks, light snacks such as cold sandwiches, sausage rolls, pork pies, crisps, cakes, and ice creams etc. There is a microwave available to heat baby food and sausage rolls etc, but we do not serve cooked or other hot food. We usually have a small range of ‘free from’ snacks, but if you do have special dietary requirements, we would recommend that you contact us first. You are welcome to bring your own food and there are plenty of areas to picnic.

Dogs

We welcome all dogs (on short leads – maximum 1m), where they are allowed everywhere except the children’s play park. They must be under the supervision of a responsible adult and should not be lifted onto enclosure walls and fences or allowed to bark continuously. A water bowl is available near the toilets,

We look forward to welcoming you. If you have any queries or require assistance, please check our FAQs page or contact us