Beale Park

Beale Wildlife Park and Gardens is situated by the River Thames, between the villages of Pangbourne and Lower Basildon in Berkshire, England. It has three main areas of attraction: collections of small exotic animals, farm animals and birds; landscaped gardens and woodlands; and children's play areas.

In 1956, Beale Park was formed by Gilbert Beale who decided to give the 350-acre (140 ha) Thames-side park land to ?the people? by converting it from private farmland into a non-profit making, charitable trust. In those days it was little more than a track and a couple of ponds.

Over recent years, the park has expanded to accommodate a wide variety of visitors, especially the youngest ones. The park has recently built a Roplay area, a pets area, sand pits, paddling pools, Little Tikes Play Area, and the Beale Railway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) section of 10 1?2 in (267 mm) narrow gauge railway on which is run a diesel locomotive, "Sir Humphrey Davy"; and previously a steam locomotive, "John Remmy", each capable of pulling 5 carriages and 50 people. Thirteen people were injured when a steam train crashed on the Beale Railway on Saturday, 27 June 2009.

For older visitors, there are the gardens, lakes, and the model boat exhibition.