Part wildlife encounter, part bushcraft retreat and part luxury camping experience, it offers families the chance to see the safari in a completely different light – quite literally once the gates close for the day.

The adventure begins where most visitors’ experiences end.

As the last day guests depart, sleepover participants are treated to a private guided walk through the Foot Safari.

Animal workshops at Knowsley Safari Sleepover (Image: Knowsley Safari)

Without the bustle of daytime crowds, the atmosphere changes entirely.

Giraffes browse quietly, meerkats remain alert on sentry duty, and the Amur tigers command attention with an effortless majesty that feels all the more striking in the fading evening light.

The slower pace allows children to ask questions, linger longer at enclosures and engage more deeply with the wildlife around them.

A welcome dinner – tasty burgers or pizzas and animal-themed doughnuts – is followed by what is, perhaps, the heart of the experience: gathering around a campfire as dusk settles over the safari.

Staff members strike an admirable balance between knowledgeable guides and enthusiastic hosts (Image: Knowsley Safari)

Bushcraft sessions replace digital distractions as families learn practical outdoor skills, sing together and hear stories as they toast marshmallows beneath an increasingly star-filled sky.

It is simple entertainment, but remarkably effective.

There is something undeniably captivating about sitting around an open fire while knowing that rhinos, zebras and bears are settling in for the night only a short distance away.

Accommodation comes in spacious explorer-style bell tents, thoughtfully prepared with proper beds and enough home comforts to ensure that this is camping without unnecessary hardship.

Knowsley Safari’s sleepover is part wildlife encounter, part bushcraft retreat and part luxury camping experience (Image: Knowsley Safari)

The novelty of spending the night surrounded by more than 500 animals – including Southern white rhinos, giraffes, zebras, Andean bears and Amur tigers – never quite fades.

The goats and geese in the next field served as a reminder for the children that this is no ordinary campsite.

The camping is run by The Outdoors People, who really know their stuff, and provide brilliant hands-on outdoor skills training, as well as setting up the fires, making the hot chocolates and providing welcome overnight support.

Toasting marshmallows Knowsley Safari Sleepover (Image: Knowsley Safari)

Morning arrives early, but willingly so.

Breakfast around the campfire provides another opportunity for families to sit together before boarding an exclusive safari drive through the reserve before the park opens to the public.

Watching lions bask in the early morning light, rhinos grazing peacefully and herds of zebra moving across the landscape before the day’s traffic arrives offers a perspective few visitors experience.

The accompanying Camp Knowsley programme elevates the experience beyond a simple overnight stay.

Throughout the visit, children can immerse themselves in woodland activities that include den building, fire-lighting, first aid demonstrations, water purification, pancake making over open flames and paracord bracelet crafting.

Activities are designed to encourage resilience, curiosity and confidence in the outdoors (Image: Knowsley Safari)

These are activities designed to entertain, but they also encourage resilience, curiosity and confidence in the outdoors.

What distinguishes the Safari Sleepover is its sense of authenticity.

Rather than relying on elaborate theming or artificial spectacle, it succeeds by giving families time and space to engage with nature.

Staff members strike an admirable balance between knowledgeable guides and enthusiastic hosts, while the pace of the programme allows moments of quiet appreciation alongside organised activity.

At £600 per tent accommodating up to four guests, the experience sits firmly in the premium category.

Yet the price includes exclusive wildlife encounters, accommodation, meals, guided activities and access to Camp Knowsley’s full programme – we made a full day of it afterwards, taking in both the sealion show and the birds of prey experience.

There are still three more dates this summer – August 8, 15 and 22 – find out more and book here.

For families seeking a memorable alternative to a conventional short break, it represents a thoughtfully curated experience rather than simply an overnight stay.

In an era when many family attractions compete through ever bigger rides and louder entertainment, Knowsley Safari has taken a different approach.

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By slowing the pace, encouraging outdoor exploration and offering privileged access to one of Britain’s best-known wildlife parks after dark, it has created something increasingly difficult to find: an experience that feels genuinely distinctive.

The children may remember the marshmallows, campfire songs and den building.

Adults are perhaps more likely to remember the stillness of the safari at sunset, the quiet anticipation before dawn and the unmistakable thrill of waking within earshot of lions, tigers, rhinos and giraffes.

Both, however, will leave with stories that linger long after the sleeping bags have been packed away.

Would you want to take part in a Knowsley Safari Sleepover? Let us know in the comments.

The funding is being distributed through South Oxfordshire District Council’s Councillor Community Grant Scheme, which offers up to £7,500 per councillor for non-profit organisations, including voluntary groups, and town and parish councils.

Georgina Heritage, cabinet member for communities at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “Out of all the grants we offer this one is personal for our council members.

“We’re able to directly support organisations in our ward that we see make a difference to our communities every day.

“We give organisations plenty of time to get in touch with their ward member and discuss funding they need, but we would encourage them to get those emails or phone calls in early so that we can review the projects and funding being requested.”

Past recipients have included mental health support groups for children, sporting equipment, memorial benches, and solar panels for community buildings.

In the 2024/25 round, the charity TRAIN was awarded funding to help plan and set up activities for young people in Didcot and Wallingford over the summer holidays.

Ben Drabble, CEO of TRAIN, said: “For a lot of our young people, summer can be a really isolating time.

“This programme meant they had something to look forward to and experiences they’ll remember.

“Some of them did things they’d never done before.”

Applications for the 2024/25 round opened on Monday, August 17, and will close at 12pm on Friday, December 4.

Full details are available on the council’s grants webpage.

Tokamak Energy, based at Milton Park, has partnered with US firms Type One Energy and AECOM to help develop the UK’s first private-sector-led fusion power plant.

A fusion power plant is a nuclear power plant because it generates energy by changing the nucleus of atoms.

Fusion power is a method of electric power generation from heat released by nuclear fusion reactions.

No location has been publicly announced for this new plant.

Tokamak Energy employs more than 300 people in Oxfordshire and is helping anchor high-skilled clean energy jobs in the county, supported by wider Government investment in UK fusion research and development.

Ed Miliband

The Government has committed more than £2.5 billion to fusion research and development across the country, supporting the infrastructure, skills and partnerships needed to help British fusion companies grow.

This includes Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production, the Government-backed programme to build a prototype fusion power plant in the UK, where Tokamak Energy has been involved as part of the wider UK fusion supply chain, as well as UK-US research collaboration involving companies such as Tokamak Energy.

That backing is helping create the conditions for Tokamak Energy to work with American partners, attract investment, and develop the technologies needed to bring fusion power closer to reality.

The Government’s Fusion Strategy sets out a long-term path to commercial fusion energy and supports the UK’s ambition to become a world leader in the technology.

The strategy is expected to support up to 10,000 jobs by 2030 while driving investment into communities across the UK.

Foreign secretary Ed Miliband said: “Fusion has the potential to strengthen our energy security, create skilled jobs and drive growth here in the UK.

“Having led the Government’s work on clean energy, I know how important it is to back British companies developing the technologies of the future.

“Through partnerships with countries like the United States, we are helping firms such as Tokamak Energy attract investment, scale up and keep the UK at the forefront of next-generation clean energy.”

Ross Morgan, Tokamak Energy’s Fusion managing director, said: “Fusion will transform global energy markets as a clean, limitless, on-demand power source of the future. But we cannot do it on our own.

“Strong partnerships with the UK and US Governments are invaluable to Tokamak Energy as we scale up and work together to unlock the power of the sun here on Earth.”

Tokamak Energy is also working with the US Department of Energy and the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to advance the science and technology needed for future fusion power plants, using the company’s record-breaking fusion machine at Milton Park.

Minister for energy Michael Shanks said: “Fusion is one of the most exciting technologies being developed in the UK today, with the potential to create skilled jobs, attract investment and generate virtually limitless energy.

“Close collaboration with the US is helping British companies such as Tokamak Energy grow, innovate and bring fusion power closer to reality.”

UK-US collaboration on fusion has grown in recent years. A formal fusion energy partnership signed in 2023 boosted joint work between the two countries, while a first-of-its-kind project with Tokamak Energy in 2024 is helping advance lithium research, an important part of developing future fusion power plants.

In 2025, the UK and US also agreed a landmark nuclear partnership, deepening cooperation on advanced nuclear technologies and clean energy.

In September, the UK and US will co-host the Global Fusion Policy Summit in London, bringing together countries, and fusion industry leaders and experts, to help accelerate fusion development and commercialisation.

Fusion is expected to become a multi‑trillion‑pound global market in the second half of the century, presenting a major long‑term growth opportunity for the UK.

STEP is the Government-backed programme to develop a prototype fusion power plant in the UK and show how fusion could one day provide low-carbon power.

Tokamak Energy has contributed expertise to the wider STEP supply chain, reflecting Oxfordshire’s role at the heart of the UK’s fusion sector.

Oxfordshire sits at the heart of this ambition, with around 500 companies linked to fusion activity across the Oxford‑Cambridge Growth Corridor.

The region is also home to the UK Atomic Energy Authority at Culham, which employs around 2,000 people, with a further 6,000 jobs supported across its supply chain.