The rescue does not allow access to the Hospital area to the public outside of during organised events such as our Open days or Tour combination days, which are 4 days a year. The hedgehogs who are with us a sick, injured or orphaned.
Although our open day, it is still a normal working day for the rescue, the hedgehogs will be being cleaned out during the day and we will also be dealing with admissions as and when needed. So when inside the rescue you will see the daily tasks usually carried out by our volunteers.
FAQ’s
Can I bring in a pram / pushchair? – Unfortunately, the rescue is not big enough to allow prams and pushchairs.
Is there disabled access for a wheelchair – Please let a volunteer know if you need wheelchair access and we can arrange for access through the back entrance where there is more room.
Can I take photographs? – Yes, we allow photos to be taken but no flash photography.
Can I hold / touch a hedgehog at the open day – The hedgehogs are with us due to injury and illness, so only our volunteers can handle the hedgehogs.
On the day
When arriving at the open day please collect your admission passes from the Information Desk positioned opposite the Rescue main entrance. Please arrive at the rescue reception with your passes at least 5-10 minutes before your access time, this is to allow us to take your passes and have everyone ready to go through on time. Please note that the access is a set number of places per time slot, if you miss your slot we cannot guarantee we can get you in at another time.
A large percentage of the hedgehogs we have brought to us are returned to the garden they were found in, the guidelines from the British Hedgehog Preservation Society state that hedgehogs should be returned back to where they came from where possible.
We will only release hedgehogs where there is already an existing population, which is within the guidelines set out by the BHPS, if there is not a population there will be a reason for that.
When feeding in the garden we must remember that this is support feeding, we are not trying to replace their natural feeding.
We recommend feeding the following
Meaty Cat food
Cat Biscuits
Specialist meat based hedgehog food such as Brambles or Vale Hedgehog Food
A shallow bowl of water
Mealworms
Peanuts
Sunflower Hearts,
Dried Fruit
Eggs
Cooked / Raw meat
Processed foods such as cakes etc
The foods that are listed to avoid are due to the effects they can have on the health of the hedgehog
The only time the public have access to the hospital part of the rescue is on our 2 open days each year in May and September. Please see our events page for more information.
