Places with free entry seem a little too few and far between. However Johnson’s Of Old Hurst offers free entry to their tropical house, as well as visiting their other animal residents. The boys and I were really keen to meet the crocodiles and couldn’t wait to visit. As with most small and independent places, they are reliant on visits and donations. There is a suggested £1 donation per person to be made within the tropical house, however it is a voluntary.
Our morning at Johnson’s Of Old Hurst, Huntingdon
When we arrived and managed to find a parking space we were a little taken aback as to what was on offer. It was a lot larger than I first thought it would be which with free entry surprised me even more. Johnson’s Of Old Hurst has a fully stocked farm shop, Tearoom, Tropical House, Wood walk and Farm Walk. As well as a Steak House which is currently closed due to Covid 19.
Visiting the tearoom for cake!
I thought I had read somewhere saying that entrance to see the crocodiles was through the tearoom. So we decided to head for tea and cake first, then we could go on and see the crocodiles and then explore everything else on offer. Before entry into the farm shop and tearoom (2 separate buildings) you had to queue and wash your hands. There was hand washing facilities available with a foot pump activated sink.
We had expected to pay a little more than what we would usually expect at a tearoom due to the free entry to the tropical house. For 2 teas (which came in a big teapot), 3 apple carton juices and 3 chocolate cupcakes we paid just under £15. The boys really enjoyed their cupcakes and juice and it was lovely to take a moment to gather what was here. It also gave us a chance to see some of the food which was on offer, the burgers looked amazing!
The Tropical House
We then quickly found out that actually you could completely bypass the tearoom itself so when the boys finished we headed to the crocodiles. There was another hand washing station before you enter the boardwalk up to the Tropic House, which we used. It caused a bit of a queue and some people were obviously a little too keen to see the crocodiles that they felt they didn’t need to wash their hands. The boardwalk wasn’t that wide and there was signage to say that you had to stick to one side of the path. Which is absolutely fine until you come across a double pushchair.
Once through the doors of the tropic house there was hand sanitiser station on the wall just inside the entrance and inside is a one way system. It was really hot and muggy inside as you would kind of expect, it is meant to be tropical of course. Mark and I were really impressed on the array of animals inside. From Pythons, to Caimans to what we came to see Nile Crocodiles. There was also Tortoises and Turtles and Iguanas too.
Now, the only downside to this all was how busy it was. There was zero social distancing happening, no staff to monitor the numbers inside and it all felt really crowded. Mark and I soon became uncomfortable, and tried to quickly get around as fast as we could so we could leave. It meant we couldn’t stop and fully appreciate what we were seeing which was a real shame. I fully understand entrance is free, and to place a member of staff at the door would incur extra costs. However, I think with everything going on, it would be something I think should be implemented.
Farm Walk and Woodland Walk
When we left the tropical house we decided to head to do the farm walk. We spotted Meerkats, Goats, Donkeys, an Owl and Pigs! It was really lovely to see so many different animals! and from the farm walk was the beginning of the woodland walk too! As the weather was lovely, we headed in. The walk takes you around the woodlands and hiding in and amongst the trees was various statues. The boys loved spotting them all. There isn’t a map however there are markings on the trees and spray painted numbers that seemed to be going up as we were walking around. I can only assume this was the guide to follow, however I am not actually entirely sure.
When we finished the trail we let the boys have a little play on the play equipment. Mark and I reflected on the whole day out. We came to the conclusion that it was well worth another visit. However, we would be aiming to come on a more quiet day and probably aim for opening rather than midday. I am sure under “normal circumstances” it would quickly become one of our regular places to visit. There was a lot to take in and the animals were really lovely to see and for a place with zero entry costs. Johnson’s Of Old Hurst is somewhere I would encourage anyone to visit. Just not during peak times during Covid.
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