London area zoo trip

[chizlit]

I'm coming down to London to stay with a friend and would like ideas of where to go for a zoo trip for a day.

The most obvious and easy choice would be London Zoo, which i have been to but maybe not for 15 years.
The other 2 ideas I have are Colchester and Wildwood.

Now I have been in contact wih Colchester for directions and they were not that helpful or didn't really understand what I needed (using public transport), there is a rail / zoo admission ticket special but they didn't really help me to understand how it work, and how and where to get the connectiong free bus, plus which station to get off at in Colchester, so because it sounds to confusing for me it isn't a place I'd feel confident to visit on public transport.

I like to look of Wildwood on it's website and from photo's here, and it contains animals i Like, but how easy is it to reach? I'll be staying in Forest Hill if that helps anyone with directions.

Thanks for any help or any other places I could consider.

 

[devilfish]

Hi chizlit,
I was actually just about to start a similar thread - I'm after fairly cheap day trips with public transport from London within the next week. I get free entry at Colchester so it looks like that's a likely option: I too need a bit of directional info, but I think I can work it out from the website's details - send me a PM if you're interested. Howletts, PL or the RSCC would be great but look a little too expensive for me.

Also, if you're staying in Forest Hill, be sure to visit the Horniman museum and its aquarium.

 

[chizlit]

Hi chizlit,
I was actually just about to start a similar thread - I'm after fairly cheap day trips with public transport from London within the next week. I get free entry at Colchester so it looks like that's a likely option: I too need a bit of directional info, but I think I can work it out from the website's details - send me a PM if you're interested. Howletts, PL or the RSCC would be great but look a little too expensive for me.

Also, if you're staying in Forest Hill, be sure to visit the Horniman museum and its aquarium.

Ben to Horniman many times, and I love the gardens there too.
If you ever work out how to get to Colchester please explain it to me!
There is a deal where you can get train/ zoo entrance linked from the website, it tells you that you can catch a special sight seeing bus to get to the zoo, but only at a certain time and doesn't tell you where to catch it . When I emailed the zoo they were no help at all, so I assume they dont need my money.

 

[Pertinax]

If you ever work out how to get to Colchester please explain it to me!
There is a deal where you can get train/ zoo entrance linked from the website, it tells you that you can catch a special sight seeing bus to get to the zoo, but only at a certain time and doesn't tell you where to catch it .

Colchester Zoo is quite some way out from the town, at a place called Stanway (the middle of nowhere). I once visited by train, catching a bus from the mainline Colchester train station but remember it took quite a while to get there. I don't think its very well served by public transport.

Have always travelled by car since.

 

[Tim May]

When I visit Colchester Zoo by public transport, I catch the train from London Liverpool Street to the main Colchester railway station (i.e. not Colchester Town); the journey takes about an hour on a fast train.

I don’t know of a bus from outside the railway station that goes to the zoo; I normally either get a taxi or walk from the train station to the bus station (but that is quite a long walk). I have walked all the way from the station to the zoo, but it is a very long walk and not advised as it wastes too much valuable zoo-visiting time.

To visit Wildwood by public transport, catch a train from London Victoria to Herne Bay (the journey takes about 1hour 30 minutes). It is possible to catch a bus from Herne Bay station to Wildwood.

 

[chizlit]

When I visit Colchester Zoo by public transport, I catch the train from London Liverpool Street to the main Colchester railway station (i.e. not Colchester Town); the journey takes about an hour on a fast train.

I don’t know of a bus from outside the railway station that goes to the zoo; I normally either get a taxi or walk from the train station to the bus station (but that is quite a long walk). I have walked all the way from the station to the zoo, but it is a very long walk and not advised as it wastes too much valuable zoo-visiting time.

To visit Wildwood by public transport, catch a train from London Victoria to Herne Bay (the journey takes about 1hour 30 minutes). It is possible to catch a bus from Herne Bay station to Wildwood.

Hmm, it says on Colchester's website, the travel by train offer includes reduced train travel, City Sightseeing bus transfer and entry to the zoo, bus is timed to meet the train at 10.20 (doesn't say which train or where to get off!}, then get back on this bus at either 4 or 5 pm, which seems like a long day at the zoo to me. As it all seems so complicated and not easy to follow or buy the tickets I'd better stay away, which is a shame as the zoo does look good.

 

[Pertinax]

then get back on this bus at either 4 or 5 pm, which seems like a long day at the zoo to me. As it all seems so complicated and not easy to follow or buy the tickets I'd better stay away, which is a shame as the zoo does look good.

If you do make it to Colchester you can easily spend that length of time there as there's plenty to see. Last visit I had four hours there but could easily have spent six or even more. Its certainly worth a visit if you can sort out the transport problems.

 

[TARZAN]

I'm coming down to London to stay with a friend and would like ideas of where to go for a zoo trip for a day.

The most obvious and easy choice would be London Zoo, which i have been to but maybe not for 15 years.
The other 2 ideas I have are Colchester and Wildwood.

Now I have been in contact wih Colchester for directions and they were not that helpful or didn't really understand what I needed (using public transport), there is a rail / zoo admission ticket special but they didn't really help me to understand how it work, and how and where to get the connectiong free bus, plus which station to get off at in Colchester, so because it sounds to confusing for me it isn't a place I'd feel confident to visit on public transport.

I like to look of Wildwood on it's website and from photo's here, and it contains animals i Like, but how easy is it to reach? I'll be staying in Forest Hill if that helps anyone with directions.

Thanks for any help or any other places I could consider.

When I have visited Colchester while stopping in London I have caught a bus from the railway station to the town center bus station, then get a bus from the bus station to the zoo, you may find it cheaper to buy a day pass to travel on the bus as both services are operated by First Bus, on your return make sure of the times of the last bus from the zoo back into Colchester town center, you mention you have not been to Regent's Park for a few years, Make a return visit if possible as the old girl is taking shape in a twenty first century way, Gorilla Kingdom, Penguin Beach,B.U.G.S.,the Blackburn Pavilion, revamped children's zoo etc. etc.

 

[Shirokuma]

Howletts or Port Lympne might be easier to get to by public transport. I went to both by myself. Howletts had a mini bus that collected me at the local train station and to get to Port Lympne I got a train to Ashford, if I remember correctly, then took a local bus to the zoo. I often find it tough going to unfamiliar places but I found both trips to be ok.

I also agree that London Zoo is well worth a visit if you haven't been in a while, it's changed so much.

 

[Chlidonias]

just looking briefly at the Colchester Zoo website and the FirstGroup bus website for timetables, it does look quite straightforward getting from the train station to the zoo (as TARZAN says above)

Conversely, like chizlit I couldn't really make out how the City Sightseeing Bus link-up worked as it didn't say where the connection was (which may just be because you need local knowledge). An email to the Colchester info centre, if there is one, should sort that out pretty easily though.

 

[chizlit]

Conversely, like chizlit I couldn't really make out how the City Sightseeing Bus link-up worked as it didn't say where the connection was (which may just be because you need local knowledge). An email to the Colchester info centre, if there is one, should sort that out pretty easily though.[/QUOTE]

Yes they do have one, and no it didn't help at all! They said to refer to the trains website which doesn't help at all with the bus link up.
I agree it may be ok for locals who know the area but people coming from outside who must make up a large % of visitors would have no clue, so when help is needed you'd think you'd get it, but sadly that's not the case.

 

[chizlit]

Howletts or Port Lympne might be easier to get to by public transport. I went to both by myself. Howletts had a mini bus that collected me at the local train station and to get to Port Lympne I got a train to Ashford, if I remember correctly, then took a local bus to the zoo. I often find it tough going to unfamiliar places but I found both trips to be ok.

I also agree that London Zoo is well worth a visit if you haven't been in a while, it's changed so much.

I looked at Port Lympne's web site and liked what I saw, then the horror of the cost hit me! Train travel, Oyster travel, bus travel and admission to the zoo means a simple day out on public transport will come to £60, there is no way I could pay this, so it looks like London Zoo for me.

Now a little rant, anyone who has done German zoo trips will know how easy it is to get to the various zoo's there, and what good value public travel is. For example if in the NRW area (Cologne, Dusseldorf, Dortmond etc), then you can buy a happy day saver ticket for 26 euro's, this allows you to use all transport all day, and usually this transport drops you right at the zoo's front door!
Also the D Bahn website makes it so easy to know how to get from A to B, you know which platform to wait on, and on buses which direction to catch the bus.

Now if Germany can do this, why is it so expensive here, and so difficult to get to places or even find out a simple straight forward way to do it?
Rant over.

 

[Tim May]

I agree that the connection between the sightseeing bus and the train service is not explained properly on the website and it must be frustrating that nobody is being more helpful.

However, Colchester Zoo is well worth visiting and (so long as you don’t mind the walk between the railway station and the bus station) it really is an easy journey by public transport from London to Colchester Zoo; I have done it many times (and I’ve never used the sightseeing bus service).

As mentioned in my earlier post, a fast train from London’s Liverpool Street Station to the main Colchester Station only takes about an hour. From there, you can walk to the Bus Station and catch a bus to Colchester Zoo. (Alternatively, if you’re feeling extravagant, you can save time by getting a taxi from the train station directly to the zoo.)

I suspect that the most difficult part of the journey for you would probably be crossing London from Forest Hill to Liverpool Street, especially if, as often happens at weekends, the underground train service is disrupted by engineering works. (The train service from Liverpool Street to Colchester goes through Stratford, so an alternative would be to catch a London Overground train from Forest Hill to Canada Water, change there for a Jubilee Line train to Stratford, and then catch the mainline train to Colchester from Stratford instead of Liverpool Street.)

 

[chizlit]

The idea of going on the sightseeing bus isn't really so I can enjoy the delights that Colchester may or may not offer, but because it offer a good deal on transport / admission, form memory without looking at the zoo's site the price was less than £25, now that's a good deal, if I had to use the normal train, Oyster, bus option I think it will easily double the cost.

I agree that the connection between the sightseeing bus and the train service is not explained properly on the website and it must be frustrating that nobody is being more helpful.

However, Colchester Zoo is well worth visiting and (so long as you don’t mind the walk between the railway station and the bus station) it really is an easy journey by public transport from London to Colchester Zoo; I have done it many times (and I’ve never used the sightseeing bus service).

As mentioned in my earlier post, a fast train from London’s Liverpool Street Station to the main Colchester Station only takes about an hour. From there, you can walk to the Bus Station and catch a bus to Colchester Zoo. (Alternatively, if you’re feeling extravagant, you can save time by getting a taxi from the train station directly to the zoo.)

I suspect that the most difficult part of the journey for you would probably be crossing London from Forest Hill to Liverpool Street, especially if, as often happens at weekends, the underground train service is disrupted by engineering works. (The train service from Liverpool Street to Colchester goes through Stratford, so an alternative would be to catch a London Overground train from Forest Hill to Canada Water, change there for a Jubilee Line train to Stratford, and then catch the mainline train to Colchester from Stratford instead of Liverpool Street.)

 

[devilfish]

The idea of going on the sightseeing bus isn't really so I can enjoy the delights that Colchester may or may not offer, but because it offer a good deal on transport / admission, form memory without looking at the zoo's site the price was less than £25, now that's a good deal, if I had to use the normal train, Oyster, bus option I think it will easily double the cost.

I made my first visit to Colchester this week going from Liverpool St to Colchester North; from there you have two options which don't involve much walking:
1) Get a bus from the main road near the exit on platform 4 (directions to the bus stop and bus routes to the main bus station are on the zoo's website - but it's fairly easy to work out once you're at the bus stop)
or 2) If you buy your train ticket to "Colchester (all stations)", you can easily change at Colchester North and get another train for a short (and free) ride to Colchester Town (which is a few minutes walk from the main bus station).

Once there the 75 (which leaves roughly on the hour) and the seasonal 75A (on the half-hour) will get you to the zoo in under twenty minutes. Also near the bus station are the castle and a small but pleasant church converted into a Natural History Museum, so it's easy to kill time.

The National Express joint train ticket for the summer only starts today, details are here:
Colchester Zoo, On Route, Offers, Home - National Express East Anglia

It seems that there is only one sightseeing bus to the zoo, at 10.20, which takes you directly from the station, and return buses at both 4 and 5pm from the zoo.

It's well worth a visit, however you choose to get there.

Hope that helps.

 

[chizlit]

Back from my London trip, so I thought a review was in order, so here goes.
After all the confusion of where to go, how to get there, and could I afford it, I took the easy option and went to London Zoo, it was my first visit for over 15 years so I was excited to see how it had changed for the better with all the new area's to explore.....
well was I in for a major let down.

First the good points, Penguin Beach, can't fault it, lovely big open area, I almost wanted to jump in with them it looked so cool.

Aquarium, massive and well stocked, probably the best I've seen in a zoo.

Animal Adventure, lovely area for the kids. (more later!).

Pygmy Hippo enclosure, fantastic (more later!)

Snowdon Aviary, always loved it, still looks good.

Outback, looks good, but with only a few emu's and wallabies looks far too sparse.

Gorilla Kingdom, ok, but certainly not the best I've seen, it was a warm day, but the apes decided to stay indoors.

Now what I think will be a rather longer list of complaints / problems.

I arrived before 11am, and there was a big queue, only 4 booths open, so progress was slow, that was after you avoided the girl with the camera (which I did avoid, and why does it need someone at the start of a queue to welcome you to the zoo, she could have been taking your details for gift aid, which further holds you up when paying, just a thought, it works at Chester).
Speaking of paying, £20.50? OK so it's London and it's expensive, but once you have seen the zoo you think what have I paid all that money for? Where are the animals?
Let me expand, there seems to be a lack of animals, and a surplus of lawns, kids play area's etc, is it a zoo or a playground?

Now the pooer animal area's, I'll start with the biggest let down, Rainforest Life, I'd read good things about this and the zoo seemed to advertise it as something big and brilliant, well it isn't, maybe I missed something, but it's poor, hardly anything on show apart from 2 men up ladders fixing some wires, Nightlife wasn't much better.

Into Africa, very barren, only the hunting dogs have a good area, but lovely to be able to get close to the okapi.

Now the pygmy hippo are which I found lovely is going to be changed into something new for the tigers, I dont have a problem with a new area for them, but why destroy what is one of the best parts of the zoo? And where will the beautiful pygmy's move too?

Last year I went to Chester for the first time in ages and saw the rapid progress they made to become a world class zoo, sadly London seems to have gone backwards, 6 out of 10 only, sorry, and that's coming from someone who gives Dudley a 7 out of 10.

 

[johnstoni.]

Into Africa, very barren, only the hunting dogs have a good area, but lovely to be able to get close to the okapi.

Its a problem isn't it? This part of the zoo has enough indoor accommodation to house many herds of ungulates, yet barely has enough outside space for 2-3 species of hoofed mammal IMO, even less suitable for grazing species. I massively object to UK zoos keeping their zebra on sand these days.

I really think they need to find the funds to bulldoze the two upper houses and leave the giraffe house, then use the entire area for a single sand/scrub paddock, and replant the band of shrubs and trees round the zoo perimeter with edible browse species, allowing restricted access in a similar way that Belfast does. I think keeping a mixed exhibit of giraffe/browsing antelope with a living browse hedge would allow enough natural enrichment for the species kept there. Otherwise, the area is just too small for separate, smaller, ungulate yards.

As it is now, I see individuals of both species exhibiting stereotyped behaviour in what is a fairly recently reopened/refurbished exhibit. One of the three recently-arrived young female giraffes (now that Dawn and Crackers have sadly passed away) exhibits regular head-twisting (I imagine she acquired this prior to arriving at London). At least one of the okapis spends time branch and bar sucking. I do think, even without the funds to demolish some of the buildings here, ZSL could move out the zebras to another zoo, open up the zebra exhibit and the back offshow yard on the other side of the giraffe house, and use electric wire to provide controlled access for the giraffes to the trees in these enclosures (unless, of course, they are not suitable for browse, which makes a whole other set of problems). There is also no reason why they cannot create gated access across the front of the okapi house at relatively low cost, to allow some of the okapi access to the zebra enclosure, even if this was rotated with access for the giraffes.

I really don't see a future for both okapi and giraffe on the Cotton Terraces, I hope when funds allow they will relocate the okapi under the trees somewhere south of the gorillas.

Now the pygmy hippo are which I found lovely is going to be changed into something new for the tigers, I dont have a problem with a new area for them, but why destroy what is one of the best parts of the zoo? And where will the beautiful pygmy's move to?

The pygmy hippo pair has been at London for many years now, and they have never bred. While the summer exhibit looks good on hot days, when they make use of the pool, seeing the London hippos in winter is a different story. If the zoo didn't have plans for this area, I would hope they would have opted to build a raised walkway for the public and connected the summer paddock with the winter enclosure in the Casson which, together, would have made a better facility for the hippos. As it is now, I would bet money on them going into the tapir house one winter, and the tapir moved to the Casson when the Tiger exhibit is started. The 2007 masterplan shows a planned area for pygmy hippo where the current zoo entrance is (there is a fair amount of additional land around this area, large areas of dense bushes and trees, all the way up to the colobus cage) but, as I've said elsewhere, I think the initial plan for a new zoo entrance on the east side has been revised into just an exit, which was added this year.

 

[chizlit]

As someone who doesn't visit on a regular basis like you must do it's good that we can both see the same problems. I was even thinking the zebra paddock was pointless as the views of them are not good anyway, and I too hate to see animals in a totally sandy area, but that's a whole set of different problems,but bigger zoo's with more spaxe are able to solve it (I'm sure Dudley would love zebra's back, wishful thinking).

Naturally I hadn't thought thru the hippo winter problem I only saw and liked in my mind the big waterfilled outdoor area, but when I saw the indoor quarter it did strike me as very small although the zoo did make a play of the fact it was like a winter spa for the hippo's (made it sound like they were lounging around in towels sittling on sun chairs having their fat feet pampered!

Its a problem isn't it? This part of the zoo has enough indoor accommodation to house many herds of ungulates, yet barely has enough outside space for 2-3 species of hoofed mammal IMO, even less suitable for grazing species. I massively object to UK zoos keeping their zebra on sand these days.

I really think they need to find the funds to bulldoze the two upper houses and leave the giraffe house, then use the entire area for a single sand/scrub paddock, and replant the band of shrubs and trees round the zoo perimeter with edible browse species, allowing restricted access in a similar way that Belfast does. I think keeping a mixed exhibit of giraffe/browsing antelope with a living browse hedge would allow enough natural enrichment for the species kept there. Otherwise, the area is just too small for separate, smaller, ungulate yards.

As it is now, I see individuals of both species exhibiting stereotyped behaviour in what is a fairly recently reopened/refurbished exhibit. One of the three recently-arrived young female giraffes (now that Dawn and Crackers have sadly passed away) exhibits regular head-twisting (I imagine she acquired this prior to arriving at London). At least one of the okapis spends time branch and bar sucking. I do think, even without the funds to demolish some of the buildings here, ZSL could move out the zebras to another zoo, open up the zebra exhibit and the back offshow yard on the other side of the giraffe house, and use electric wire to provide controlled access for the giraffes to the trees in these enclosures (unless, of course, they are not suitable for browse, which makes a whole other set of problems). There is also no reason why they cannot create gated access across the front of the okapi house at relatively low cost, to allow some of the okapi access to the zebra enclosure, even if this was rotated with access for the giraffes.

I really don't see a future for both okapi and giraffe on the Cotton Terraces, I hope when funds allow they will relocate the okapi under the trees somewhere south of the gorillas.



The pygmy hippo pair has been at London for many years now, and they have never bred. While the summer exhibit looks good on hot days, when they make use of the pool, seeing the London hippos in winter is a different story. If the zoo didn't have plans for this area, I would hope they would have opted to build a raised walkway for the public and connected the summer paddock with the winter enclosure in the Casson which, together, would have made a better facility for the hippos. As it is now, I would bet money on them going into the tapir house one winter, and the tapir moved to the Casson when the Tiger exhibit is started. The 2007 masterplan shows a planned area for pygmy hippo where the current zoo entrance is (there is a fair amount of additional land around this area, large areas of dense bushes and trees, all the way up to the colobus cage) but, as I've said elsewhere, I think the initial plan for a new zoo entrance on the east side has been revised into just an exit, which was added this year.

 

[Shorts]

Chizlit, whilst you're entitled to your opinion I think you're being a little over-harsh (maybe you expected too much?). Whilst I agree that London has some (and some severe) weak spots, as have all zoos, I think it's a little unfair to rate it lower than Dudley.

Did you get to see the Reptile House, the Bird House or BUGS? These, in my opinion, are amongst the best exhibits of their type in the country and elevate the whole zoo considerably.

 

[volvox]

Chizlit, I'd go along with the broad discussion of Into Africa etc... but I'm surprised to hear you were disappointed with the Rainforest. It's incredibly popular and I rarely hear anything but praise and excitement from visitors. There are seven emperor tamarins and two golden-headed lion tamarins who are often almost within touching distance of visitors; there are also two titi monkeys, two sloths and four species of birds. They are all pretty easy to spot. The only animal you may not catch a glimpse of is the tamandua!