Recommended Zoos / Wildlife Parks

No worries - I'm sure there is lots I have forgotton!

I'd forgotten about Thrigby, a real hidden gem, they had Snow Leopard cubs when I was there last year, got some great pictures :love:
My highlight though was looking out of the lower window at the tiger enclosure and suddenly having a tiger looking right back at me, inches away :eek:
it then scratched the glass, quite scary, got a sort of picture of the print

paws_zpssof9jmyl.jpg



Crocs are impressive too
 
I'd forgotten about Thrigby, a real hidden gem, they had Snow Leopard cubs when I was there last year, got some great pictures :love:
My highlight though was looking out of the lower window at the tiger enclosure and suddenly having a tiger looking right back at me, inches away :eek:
it then scratched the glass, quite scary, got a sort of picture of the print

paws_zpssof9jmyl.jpg



Crocs are impressive too

We had a similar close encounter with a tiger - and I remember doing a massive double take at one of the crocs. It was huge!!
 
I figured it was about time I contributed to this thread - my other half and I have visited a lot of the UK zoos so hopefully have some helpful insights! I tend to agree that they all have positives / negatives so here are some general thoughts... both on photography and random visitor info.


What I'd consider 'bigger' zoos:



Chester:

Pros - it's massive with a huge variety of animal and a lot of the enclosures have big viewing windows, no windows or pretty good backdrops. I have only been to Islands prior to the tigers and orangs moving in but it looked very promising. Spectacled bear often sits in a tree.

Cons - it's massive. If you are only there for a day then you have to work quite hard to get round and be selective about which enclosures you may want to go back to if you've not seen someone.



Whipsnade:

Pros - Lovely natural looking enclosures and lots of opportunities to avoid shooting through glass. Probably my favourite zoo although it is our local one so I might be a bit biased! Also has a great restaurant if you're not taking a pack-up. They also walk their elephants regularly and have a good variety of birds in the show.

Cons - Expensive if you're not a member (we are), quite spread out if you're not taking a car in although there are buses round too. The last few times we've just walked it which has been fine - but as we go so often we're quite willing to miss some enclosures.



Colchester:

Pros - I'd class this as a 'big' zoo but it is more compact than the above two. Membership (which we have) gets you into loads of other zoos. Some of them say one visit only but I've never known any of them to check this in any way - they just look at the card and let you in. Great breakfast at Penguinis restaurant.

Cons - Not always the best backdrops / vanatage points. Some enclosures are great - others not so much. Difficult conditions at the bird show - it's a little arena with buildings in the background.



Port Lympne:

Pros - If the weather is nice and the animals obliging - you can get some lovely shots on the safari. One particular gorilla enclosure (gorilla kingdom) also offers great opportunities. Walking bit of the park is much better than the safari with some open top enclosures and a good variety of cats to see. Membership is good value if you're visiting Howletts too.

Cons - the bloody safari ride. If the weather is bad then forget it. Really bumpy. Lots of animals can only be seen on the safari - really limits your options. I really don't like the safari! Walking section is hard work and some bits not very accessible - we went shortly after I finished chemo and I really struggled!



Howletts:

Pros - As above - membership is good value. Tiger / leopard / lion / wolf / Dhole / elephant / Monkey enclosures mostly have good vantage points / glass to shoot through.

Cons - lots of enclosures at the bottom of the park are dark and set back from the path - with lots of wire. Gorilla enclosures not good for photography - Port Lympne is better in this respect.



Yorkshire Wildlife Park:

Pros - lovely big natural looking enclosures and they obviously have a standout species with Polar Bears.

Cons - being a southerner the only one I can think of is location. If this was closer I would be a regular visitor.



Marwell:

Pros - recently improved by Wild Explorers and a newish aviary bit. Cheetahs have one of the better open top enclosures but they tend to stick to the edges like cats are want to do.

Cons - a shadow of its former self for a regular visitor. Less variety than other zoos and some massively frustrating enclosures for photography. Lots of glare / crap backgrounds. Discovery centre / reptile bit rather disappointing. No shows of any kind.



Edinburgh:

Pros - standout species with Panda, Koala and King Penguin (who sometimes come out for a walk around the lawn). It is not open yet but the new tiger enclosure looks very promising. Other enclosures variable - some open top with good vantage points and backgrounds.

Cons - Lost some of its former variety. Hard work to get round as is on a big ole hill. You're likely to spend a lot of time going back and forth trying to see the pandas!



Paignton:

Pros - loads of variety but not overwhelmingly big! Orang and Gorilla sections would be standouts with nice natural backgrounds.

Cons - Some great attractions (like crocodile swamp) but many are hopeless for photography. Lion and Tiger opportunities are limited and / or through questionable glass.



London:

Pros - Two of the most beautiful tigers you'll ever meet... and they produce little tigers quite often! Excellent reptile house. Really nice penguin exhibit where you can easily get underwater shots.

Cons - Expensive if not a member. Actually quite small compared to the other zoos in this category.




What I'd consider the 'medium' sized category:




Bristol Zoo:

Pros - Gorilla Island, twilight worlds and the bugs exhibit. Loads of variety but really compact.

Cons - Questionable backgrounds on a lot of exhibits.



Cotswold Wildlife Park:

Pros - outstanding reptile / discovery centre. Medium sized so easy to get round twice - means you have a good chance of seeing everything. Nice little walled garden section (which is great for kids if you have them in tow) and great lemur walkthrough with Sifaka as the standout species for me. It is a very relaxing park to visit.

Cons - some very dodgy glass for lions and leopards and very dark enclosures for the wolves and wolverines. Only have bird shows on bank holiday / special weekends.



Dartmoor:

Pros - several moated enclosures (notably the jag / cheetah although there is no resident cheetah right now) and the bear enclosure offers very natural backgrounds. Nothing to do with photography but they have a great 'hands on' discovery bit in a room adjacent to the canteen bit.

Cons - Relatively small and what I would call a work in progress. Old-school wooden and wire exhibits are common.



Blackpool:

Pros - Another medium sized zoo with a good variety. Fantastic sealion pool. Not too big so revisits to animals you've missed are possible. Lovely gorilla island with natural backgrounds. We've only been once but I really enjoyed Blackpool.

Cons - I don't recall a reptile house... Elephant house is not great although I believe it is due to renovated.



Wingham:

Pros - smaller (nearly made it into the 'small' category) but a lot of variety. Excellent reptile section.

Cons - some smaller enclosures and backgrounds are mixed. I enjoy visiting Wingham but it would not be top of my lift photography wise... unless I am in a reptilian mood.



Banham:

Pros - excellent bird show where they fly lot of the birds directly towards you with a nice background behind them. This is rare in a non-falconry centre establishment!

Cons - I'm struggling to think of any beyond the usual mixed quality (in terms of photography) of backgrounds / glass / wire that most of these medium sized zoos have. It is not the worst in this respect by any means though.



Dudley:

Pros - It has a castle which adds a bit of interest - especially as they do the bird show in this area!

Cons - Glass... Wire... Buildings... Backgrounds almost everywhere are a challenge.



Twycross:

Pros - Massive selection of primates with Bonobos as the standout species for me.

Cons - Heavy on the primates means lack of variety elsewhere. Some enclosures are not good - most notably the chimps which is a lot of red brickwork. They are battling against history in this respect and recent developments are much better.



Monkey World:

Pros - Some enclosures are really natural - most notably some of the gibbon ones. You'll be supporting their work...

Cons - Other enclosures (orang nursery for instance) are very challenging. Obviously limited to primates.



Exmoor:

I'm not sure I should comment really as the one time we've been the weather was AWFUL. Other than that I just recall a standard mix of glass, wire and somewhat dodgy backgrounds.



The 'small' category:



I'm not doing pros and cons for these as I'd be saying the same for all of them - they are small and the enclosures are as you'd expect. Paradise and Hammerton have a good selection of cats and thrigby is a bit of a hidden gem. Linton is possibly the only place on this list I would avoid going to again. Beale Park is small but quite good for birds.



Paradise

Linton

Hammerton

Thrigby

Beale Park




The 'British Wildlife' category:



British Wildlife Centre:

Pros - Beautifully naturalistic and lots of light in the enclosures (big contrast to wildwood which is... well, in a wood). Red squirrel walkthrough offers opportunities you don't get elsewhere. Lovely indoor barn bit for the inevitable rain situation...

Cons - obviously limited to British wildlife but what they do, they do very well.



Wildwood:

Pros - although dark, the wooded background is very natural. New enclosure for their rescue bears does have wire but it is easy to shoot through. They have beavers! Good to team with Wingham.

Cons - just how dark it can be, but this is not something that would stop me visiting. I actually love Wildwood even with its photography challenges.



New Forest Wildlife Centre:

Pros - large selection of otter species and a lovely big wolf wood area. If the wolves are in the right section it offers some great photo opportunities. This is good to team with Marwell.

Cons - like Wildwood, bits of it are very dark. BWC's indoor barn is much better.



Living Coasts:

This is between a zoo and a sealife centre and is nice to go to for something a bit different.





I'll comment on safari parks / falconry centres on another day!


Thank you very much for taking the time to write this. It's very helpful and muchly appreciated! (y)

BWC isn't far from me, I really should get there for a visit :)
 
The thing with BWC is it gets you close to all the stuff that you really want to see.

Water voles, Polecats, Adders, Foxes, Badgers and of course, those cheeky Red Squirrels. We go at least once a year.

Bristol has a couple of nice walk through areas, such as the fruit bats and lemurs. We love Whipsnade, again we tend to visit at least once a year.
 
Thank you very much for taking the time to write this. It's very helpful and muchly appreciated! (y)

BWC isn't far from me, I really should get there for a visit :)

You're welcome - and I've added a few more to the medium / small categories!
 
The Wildlife Heritage Foundation in Kent is awesome.
It's not a zoo, per se, but they do have open days 3-4 times a year.
But they run photography days / evenings, and they are apparently legendary (though pricey).

Oh I wish you hadn't mentioned this place, I had not heard of it before and having looked at it on tinternet it looks like it's going to cost me a small fortune as all the family want to go now!!!
 
Oh I wish you hadn't mentioned this place, I had not heard of it before and having looked at it on tinternet it looks like it's going to cost me a small fortune as all the family want to go now!!!

Believe me, it's the best place to shoot cats in the UK. We used to organise trips on here but I haven't done one for a few years now.
 
Oh I wish you hadn't mentioned this place, I had not heard of it before and having looked at it on tinternet it looks like it's going to cost me a small fortune as all the family want to go now!!!

It's a great place to see the big cats.
If you want to take the family to a regular visit day, it's not expensive, but it doesn't have the facilities and provisions of a "regular zoo".

If you want to take them all on a photography day, I can recommend a mortgage provider. :D
 
Port Lympne Wildlife Park in Kent is good.


003-200713port lympne-30
by bobmatt1, on Flickr

Avoid this like this place like the plague
My Wife and i went there last year and 80% of the animal closures were empty . ones that had large animals in you needed a telescope to see and the conditions so bad I can't understand how the RSPCA allow it to operate.


Just an example of one of the compounds and this was one of the better ones



My wife and I were so disgusted we only stayed for about 2 hours and could not bear to think of how the animals were looked after. I have been to quite a few zoos across the country and this one is far the worst.

be prepared to cry your eyes out in sympathy of the plight of the animal there


To me the outstanding zoo to visit is Chester Zoo , huge place aniamal look contented with plenty of room for them and in to my minds eye great condition. Oh I did email the RSPCA about it but all they are interested in is money and did nothing about it.
If i had run my kennels and cattery the same way i would have been closed down and had up for goodness knows what
 
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So... Falconry and Safari Parks.


We have been to a limited number of falconry places but the two I would recommend are:


Hawk Conservancy Trust Andover - favourite flying displays I have seen. They fly a good variety of birds with different themes to the different displays and on particular days they'll do falconry on horseback. Various photography days, workshops and courses on offer - but I have not been to any of them so cannot comment. I have however been on a falconry day and it was great!


Liberties Owl and Raptor Centre - I have been on a photography day here (in 2010) and had a great time. In addition to the birds they brought out some of the reptile house residents and placed them in pleasing backgrounds. Keep in mind this was some years ago when I was just starting out with my D60 and little 50-200mm lens - but these will give you an idea of what you would have a chance to shoot: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjsdqhL3 . I have been back more recently and my mum did a falconry day - it was of an equally high standard as in 2010. They sometimes fly a golden eagle - separately to any displays.



Safari Parks - all of these obviously come with the caveat of animals standing in a helpful place... and these are in order of (my) preference:


Woburn - excellent bear and wolf section. One of the better walking safaris imo - very good lemur and squirrel monkey walkthroughs. If you go to the elephant meadow demonstration thing you may get to touch an elephant. Two bird shows - 'Birds in Action' hopeless for photography, 'Birds of prey' better. Outdoor sea lion pool not bad but they do the show indoors.


West Midland Safari Park - able to feed a lot of the animals including giraffes. Great for close encounters - not so much if you want to photograph them away from cars! Elephant Valley is one of the better elephant options you'll see as the valley / foliage makes for ok backgrounds. Lion backgrounds not great - think metal fences and fake rock. Impressively large number of hippos on the walking safari - and some good reptile sections. Penguins / sea lions not good (can only see sea lions if you go to the show) - although I think they might have a new penguin enclosure that I have not seen. Big wooded area lemur walkthrough but I've only ever seen the ringtails.


Longleat - the sea lions in the lake are a highlight - recommend going on the boat ride as this also takes you to the gorilla islands and you may also see the hippos. Walking safari is my least favourite - smaller enclosures and generally just a tad uninspiring. Good lion opportunities based purely on the sheer volume of them with two prides in two different areas.
 
Avoid this like this place like the plague
My Wife and i went there last year and 80% of the animal closures were empty . ones that had large animals in you needed a telescope to see and the conditions so bad I can't understand how the RSPCA allow it to operate.


Just an example of one of the compounds and this was one of the better ones



My wife and I were so disgusted we only stayed for about 2 hours and could not bear to think of how the animals were looked after. I have been to quite a few zoos across the country and this one is far the worst.

be prepared to cry your eyes out in sympathy of the plight of the animal there


To me the outstanding zoo to visit is Chester Zoo , huge place aniamal look contented with plenty of room for them and in to my minds eye great condition. Oh I did email the RSPCA about it but all they are interested in is money and did nothing about it.
If i had run my kennels and cattery the same way i would have been closed down and had up for goodness knows what


While Port Lympne is not my favourite zoo (mainly based on not liking the safari ride for photography) I cannot agree with what you are saying at all. All that photo shows is that their rhino's can wallow... which is a good thing if you are a rhino. It is also a bit contrary to praise chester for having a lot of room for their animals while complaining that you'd need a telescope to see large animals at Port Lympne. 80% of the enclosures are not empty - it is just a matter of luck and / or patience when visiting zoos as to who you see when. Damien Aspinall is controversial - but not due to the care of animals in his parks.
 
i can only speak as I found. on the day we went I don't think I have ever seen such a badly kept zoo. We were so disappointed we walked out and never want to go there again. just because it has been on TV does n't make it any better
 
That's a shame Bazza.

We've been there and had a totally different experience from you. The enclosures were spacious, plenty of room to roam around, animals looked well looked after. If anything, it was too big, the kids complained half way round that it was too long a walk! :)
 
I have been to whipsnade -west midlands safari park- bristol zoo - Chester zoo- cotswold wildlife park- Twycross zoo to name but a few and howletts was by far the worst.
 
same company howlets port lumpne kent, the other is in canterbury
 
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Guys, I have a week off next week and want to plan some safaris!

If the weather holds, then I dlike to do a zoo trip.

Whipsnade is on our doorsetp so have done it loads, fancy somehting different - maybe Twycross (2 hours) or Marwell ?

Also hope to do BWC tog day Friday.

Open to ideas....
 
Guys, I have a week off next week and want to plan some safaris!

If the weather holds, then I dlike to do a zoo trip.

Whipsnade is on our doorsetp so have done it loads, fancy somehting different - maybe Twycross (2 hours) or Marwell ?

Also hope to do BWC tog day Friday.

Open to ideas....

Well Marwell do have three tiger cubs and two little leopards too - and if you wanted to you could team it with a visit to the New Forest Wildife Park. If you are doing a tog day at BWC though you probably won't want to do a non tog day visit to NFWP.

Had you considered Colchester?
 
Hi Fi
Not even thought of Colchester tbh.

Marwell and Colchester are both 1.5 hours, so which do you think would be better?
Cubs are always worth seeing, but from a togs POV...

ps - bearing in mind I did WHF about 4 weeks ago and nothing will compare !
 
Hi Fi
Not even thought of Colchester tbh.

Marwell and Colchester are both 1.5 hours, so which do you think would be better?
Cubs are always worth seeing, but from a togs POV...

ps - bearing in mind I did WHF about 4 weeks ago and nothing will compare !

Tbh I think Colchester is the better zoo but they both have their issues for togs. You are spoilt by having Whipsnade so close as imo it is one of the best for togs!

I guess you have to weigh it up:
Marwell - how much you want to see those cubs?
Colchester - lots of variety
Twycross - emphasis on apes / monkeys which would be a nice contrast to your WHF day
...and to throw anothor one into the mix - Woburn would give you a safari park experience
 
Did Woburn a year or so ago, and wasnt that impressed tbh.

Have been to Marwell a few times, but not for at least 6/8 years now I think.

I quite liked Paradise Park, albeit a bit small.

Might just wait and see what the weathers doing,we've not managed our annual Whipsnade trip this year yet.....

My leave Twycross for next spring as its a fair trek.
 
I don't think Twycross is worth a 2 hour trek unless you really like Primates; from Herts, you could actually get to Yorkshire Wildlife Park in about the same time I reckon :thinking: maybe? EDIT: Or maybe not :D
Colchester is really good in my opinion as it has so much variety.
 
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I don't think Twycross is worth a 2 hour trek unless you really like Primates; from Herts, you could actually get to Yorkshire Wildlife Park in about the same time I reckon :thinking: maybe? EDIT: Or maybe not :D
Colchester is really good in my opinion as it has so much variety.

Lol - in your helicopter maybe!

I agree re Colchester - if is in my top five favourites :)
 
I've not been there in awhile, since the son took over running the place, but
Cotswold's falconry centre is not a bad little place either, its not huge, they do 4 displays per day, in the summer, 3 in the winter months.
reasonably priced at a tenner for adults I thought.

There is also an arboretum right next door, if this is also your thing.
You used to be able to by joint tickets for both and save a few quid, but it doesn't look like it any more
 
Cheers all.
Think as its late in the year, will end up at Whipsnade and BWC nect week.

Colchester for the spring I think,
 
Just a heads up for anyone considering visiting Paignton Zoo for the gastronomic experience - they're refitting the caff's kitchen so the menu is much reduced. Baked spuds, Paninis and sarnies is about it.
 
Because I had no other plans and I've been watching the programme recently, I decided to pop down to Monkey World (sans camera). The enclosures struck me as brilliant and enriching for the animals themselves, but a pain in the backside if you want to take photos that don't look like a zoo.
 
Just a heads up for anyone considering visiting Paignton Zoo for the gastronomic experience - they're refitting the caff's kitchen so the menu is much reduced. Baked spuds, Paninis and sarnies is about it.

We are back down there in June....
 
Longleat Safari park is one of my favourite ever places!

The Highland Wildlife Park one of my worst.
 
The Highland Wildlife Park one of my worst.
I was thinking of heading up there this year.
What's the problem with it?
 
We visited last year, the Safari Park was OK but being a "Blue Badge" holder the Zoo Part was hard work with steep uneven paths. We will not be going back.
 
We are back down there in June....



Not been down since that last post of mine - I would expect that their kitchen is now open again! Will report back after next visit (which should be soon.)
 
Because I had no other plans and I've been watching the programme recently, I decided to pop down to Monkey World (sans camera). The enclosures struck me as brilliant and enriching for the animals themselves, but a pain in the backside if you want to take photos that don't look like a zoo.
I'd already heard/read that it was difficult for such photos before visiting, but think if you lived locally there would be plenty of good opportunities with patience (and luck).
 
I was thinking of heading up there this year.
What's the problem with it?

The enclosures looked pretty small and there were a lot of single animals. They all just looked quite unhappy and although it was amazing to see polar bears it just didn't feel right seeing them there.

It's also not that great for Photography.

Maybe the whole place was having an off day, but I certainly didn't feel like it was worth the journey time.
 
The enclosures looked pretty small and there were a lot of single animals. They all just looked quite unhappy and although it was amazing to see polar bears it just didn't feel right seeing them there.

It's also not that great for Photography.

Maybe the whole place was having an off day, but I certainly didn't feel like it was worth the journey time.

Yep I have a couple of friends who went up last year and said much the same,I was thinking of flying up and staying a few days in the area, but never did after
they said that
 
We were in Scotland already and it sounded promising! Blair Drummond is much better in my opinion. That's in Stirling and you get to drive through the Lions too.
 
Two of my favourites are in Spain
The Biopark in Valencia, and its smaller sibling in Fuengirola.
Both have an amazing collection of animals in pretty awesome enclosures, Komodo dragons.Lemurs and Gibbons are probably my faves

Gibbon at Fuengirola

9726346574_baada54f20_k.jpg


Lemur at Valencia

19151313556_85df16dfac_k.jpg
 
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