Lady’s Guide to Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital

Today I want to share my guide to Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in England with you. This hospital for injured wildlife in Haddenham, Buckinghamshire claims to be the busiest of its kind in the world.

Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital

I want a pet. I would love to get a dog or some other sort of canine. For a long time I tried unsuccessfully to convince my neighborhood fox to be a part-time pet, foxes being quite an anomaly to San Franciscans like me.

Sadly, the fox wasn’t as thrilled about the idea as I was.

But the longer I live in the UK, the more I realize there are quite a few native animal species that are new to me and would make adorable pets. Unfortunately I have neither the time nor the place to keep one.

So instead of bringing a pet to me, I go to my pets. Or my would-be pets, anyway. Last year this took the form of a trip to Dogs Trust, where I visited my sponsor dog.

This year I went with the fox theme and traveled out to Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Haddenham to visit the resident animals at the visitor center.

Tiggywinkles has a mission to rescue and rehabilitate all species of British wildlife, and the center cares for over ten thousand animals every year.

There’s also a visitor center where some of the animals that are unable to return to the wild live. I went to see those very animals last week.

Given it was December, most of the critters weren’t out and about. But with patience and a bit of luck, I was able to see a lot of Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital’s resident species.

First came the deer and red kites, which were in enclosures near one another. The deer were grazing peacefully along a fence they shared with neighboring horses and cows.

The surprisingly large number of kites were in four huge aviaries. They were actively flying and jumping around.

Next came the badger enclosure at Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital. Sadly, the only thing that could be seen of them was the holes they’d dug in the ground.

But the nearby fox area yielded more viewing satisfaction. Two foxes were out on the hill, curled up and sleeping peacefully. I wondered if they would notice if I picked them up and took them home. Probably.

Next came a large pond full of ducks, herons, and other waterfowl at Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital. They swam, waddled, and walked around their area, oblivious to the frozen water and near-freezing air.

Farther along there were two spotted rabbits at Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital. Both were chewing on anything they could find. One hopped up to say hello while the other gnawed on a tree branch.

Despite the plethora of wild animals at the center, the real treat at Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital was the hedgehogs. The center had been named after Beatrix Potter’s famous Mrs. Tiggywinkle, after all.

Walking inside the animal hospital, I couldn’t wait to see the hedgehogs. But I was initially directed to the world’s first museum dedicated entirely to the little creatures.

It was filled with everything from huge stuffed animals to collections of porcelain hedgehogs.

The main event was downstairs in Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital. When I first walked up to the windows, all I could see was what looked like towels haphazardly thrown into small buckets.

I was about to walk away disappointed when I noticed one of the towels moving. Suddenly a tiny black nose appeared, followed by two little eyes and a round prickly body. A hedgehog!

Within minutes all the towels were wiggling, and out from under them came hedgehogs of all sizes. Some were burrowing intently while others were content to wander around their buckets in search of food or entertainment.

One even played peek-a-boo with me for awhile. I wanted to stay forever. Or take them all home with me. Either would suffice.

But eventually I had to tear myself away from the adorable little hedgehogs.

I left Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital’s visitor center feeling sad to leave, but glad that I’d gotten my pets-for-the-day, and—more importantly—that my entry fee had gone to a good cause.

I drove back through the picture-pretty village of Haddenham—where a sign informed me that it had been voted the Best-Kept Village in Buckinghamshire—and thought for a minute about moving closer to Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital to be a foster carer for an injured hedgehog.

For now I think I’ll stick with traveling to the center and hoping my local fox will visit me more often.

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