On Good Friday, March 27, 1970, the Cotswold Wildlife Park opened to the public for the first time, with fine weather and admission prices of five shillings for adults (25p) and two shillings for children (10p!).

This was the culmination of a huge effort over the previous year by the park’s founder, John Heyworth, and his team — Brian Sinfield (the park’s first curator) and Les Scott (head gardener until 1999), and not forgetting a large bank loan taken out by Mr Heyworth.

Visitors arrived to find some 12 mammal species (including wallabies, tapirs and llamas), 62 bird species (including some of our Chilean flamingos which are still living in the lake area) and 20 species of reptiles and amphibians.

Although on a shoestring budget, great care was taken to make use of the beautiful natural features of the house and surrounding parkland with its many fine specimen trees and the Walled Garden had been brought back from being an overgrown wilderness.

The park developed steadily as visitor numbers grew. A reptile house was added in 1971, rhinos and zebras arrived in 1972 and the park’s popular narrow gauge railway opened in 1975.

The following year, one of the UK’s first insect and butterfly houses opened to visitors here.

The 1980s saw the arrival of leopards, tigers and fruit bats and the opening of the Tropical House in the Walled Garden. Just as importantly, this decade saw the complete re-roofing of the listed Victorian manor house at the centre of the park, saving this beautiful building for future generations to enjoy.

Highlights of the 1990s included the arrival of Asiatic lions (replacing the Bengal tigers, which died of old age in 1996) and the rebuilding of many of the Park’s original enclosures such as the walk-through bird aviary in the Walled Garden.

The next decade has seen this process continue, with the addition of new enclosures such as the walk-through lemur exhibit, ‘Madagascar’ and the wolves.

New greenhouses have been part of a major push since 2000 to develop the Park not just for those who love animals but for those who love gardens and horticulture too.

In the 40 years since the Park opened, some 12.5 million visitors have enabled the park to grow into one of the UK’s major and most respected zoological collections, with gardens that give equal interest and pleasure.

This progress was officially recognised in July 2009, when the park had its most recent official zoo inspection, which is carried out every three years by a team of government-appointed inspectors under the 1982 Zoo Licensing Act.

These independent experts examine all aspects of the park’s operations, including the welfare and management of the animals, the park’s education and conservation programmes and much else besides.

The conclusion to their detailed written report showed that the park has come a long way since that opening day: “The inspection team were very impressed by the Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens. The animals were in excellent condition and included many unusual and fascinating species, the horticultural displays and enclosure plants were stunning, the staff were enthusiastic and knowledgeable and the new “Madagascar” lemur walk-through and peccary and wolf enclosures were of a very high standard and presented the animals in novel and exciting ways. We should like to compliment the Park on the plans for the new wolverine enclosure and on the ongoing support for overseas conservation projects (including Madagascar and Tanzania)”.

Cotswold Wildlife Park opens its doors at 10am every day, with last admission at 4.30pm.

For more information and ticket details visit the website: www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk