Mike Laycock and his car brave the baboons of Knowsley Safari Park.

Well, he couldn't say he hadn't been warned.

Numerous signs had informed him that drivers who entered the baboon enclosure did so at their own risk. There was even a "car-friendly" alternative route that avoided the creatures.

But he had wanted to drive through the "baboon jungle" - the only one of its kind in the UK - and now there were baboons all over his vehicle.

One was examining the rear windscreen wiper with a little too much interest, another appeared to be trying to pull the trimming from the top of the rear windscreen and several more sat on the roof or the bonnet.

But from the grin on the driver's face, he didn't appear too worried, and it amused my daughter and her friend, who had joined us for a day out at Knowsley Safari Park on Merseyside.

As for me, I just kept on moving, particularly when my daughter excitedly told me that a baboon was heading straight for my car, and I left the enclosure with the vehicle intact.

As it happened, I didn't want to spend too long in there anyway, as my visit coincided with last Sunday's heatwave, when the sweltering weather would have done justice to an African safari holiday, and the heat when the windows had to be shut was stifling.

Such heat explained - but hardly justified - the actions of another motorist who allowed his daughter to open the passenger window when only a few yards from the lions in another enclosure, despite numerous signs instructing drivers to keep them closed.

Fortunately, the creatures were doing what they do best: sleeping in the sunshine.

There aren't that many safari parks left in Britain, and Knowsley - a 550-acre park - is the nearest one to York. It's getting on for 100 miles away, but it's dual carriageway and motorway all the way, so you can get there in an hour and a half, providing you are not stuck in a jam.

It's well worth the journey if you (or your children) love wild animals. It gives you an extraordinarily close and intimate view of creatures such as monkeys, lions, baboons, rhinoceros, camels and ostriches that you don't get through the bars or windows of cages or enclosures in a zoo. The safari ride lasts for five miles and winds across attractive parkland.

After parking the car, we dived for the air conditioned souvenir shop for a cool-down and then had a relatively cheap and cheerful lunch in the fast-food caf before wandering over to see some more animals - elephants walking across a pleasingly large area of grassland, giraffes staring down at us with haughty disdain and mischievous meerkats fighting and playing with each other.

We didn't fancy the sealion show in a hot display building, but my daughter and her friend wanted a quick go on a mini-rollercoaster in the small amusement park (you had to pay extra for ride tickets).

Their screams confirmed that this was another hit on what had been a thoroughly enjoyable day out.

Fact file

Knowsley Safari Park, Prescot, Merseyside.

Open daily 10am, last entry 4pm.

Admission: Adults £9.50. Children: £6.50 (under threes free). Family (two adults and two children): £28.

To get there: Take A64, A1M, M62 and then M57, exiting at junction 2. Look for brown signs at roundabout.

Further information: 0151 430 9009.

Updated: 08:45 Saturday, June 25, 2005