What are the "must see" zoos in the UK?

Is there any zoo in the UK that doesn't deserve a mention, as a whole, there is no definatly bad UK zoo, and i'd agree with what previous posters have said. Cotswold wildlife park (my home zoo), whipsnade, marwell, howletts + port lympne, longlete, west midlands, edinburgh (my favorite zoo that i've visited in the UK, and definatly going again next year when giant panda arrive, good collection of ungluates, of course the famous penguin, sun bear, drills, chimps, and the UK's only Koala's - From my experiance, Zochatters think its the 2nd best zoo in the UK after chester, which i've never visited)

hope this helps:)
 
There are a few collections that I wouldn't recommend anyone to ever visit,but I think most people know which places I would,not recommend a visit to.

As for the must see collections if you could only visit 15 in the UK these would be mine,
1) Chester Zoo
2) Edinburgh Zoo
3) London Zoo
4) Bristol Zoo
5) Howletts
6) Port Lympne
7) Marwell Zoo
8) Paignton Zoo
9) Belfast Zoo
10) Cotswold Wildlife Park
11) Whipsnade Zoo
12) Colchester Zoo
13) Woburn Safari Park
14) Yorkshire Wildlife Park
15) Twycross Zoo

This is also pretty close to what I personnaly think are the Top 10 collections in the UK,although though I only think the top 4 are in the right places,also a few of the places listed wouldn't get into my top 20,but because of the collection of animals deserve to be visited,by anybody that has never visited a UK collection.
 
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Yes, it doesn't need to be names. I'd be intrested to ask why you rate whipsnade is rated below cotswold on your list, it has larger animals and a bigger collection (I believe) and a biggeer acreage, as much as I love cotswold from the pit of my heart, it just seems unusual.
 
Cat-Man said:
Yes, it doesn't need to be names. I'd be intrested to ask why you rate whipsnade is rated below cotswold on your list, it has larger animals and a bigger collection (I believe) and a biggeer acreage, as much as I love cotswold from the pit of my heart, it just seems unusual.
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Re-read my post and you will see that only the Top 4 are in the right places,and bear in mind some of the ones listed don't get into my top 10.
 
Ahh, thankyou, its a very comprehensive list tho, and I'd agree with you that if I could visit 15 collections, I'd visit them:-),
 
This may seem a strange thing to say for a person who has written a guide to British zoos but i dont think we are in the same league as Germany for instance.I couldnt disagree with Pootle more when he says we are a " small country"-we are in area but not in terms of population,yes we have some good zoos of course but last week i went around some lesser-known zoos in east Germany and was astounded at the size and quality of some of them such as Bernburg and Dessau.Britain scores more on conservational relevance and overall influence but as a visitor experience i think that many in the UK zoo community are deluding themselves.Also i do not agree with Pootle on his thoughts that zoo exhibits should reflect the african safari experience...where are the predators,the vegetation,the correct zoogoegraphic blend of species? This exists in no zoo and im not too sure that too much effort is not being extended in trying to provide an ersatz-wild circumstance that is in essence too diluted as to be worthwhile,or,perhaps worse, giving the wrong impression that it represents true nature.As to the original question i wouldnt even consider safari parks David,even though Britain almost invented them[Jimmy Chipperfield pinched the idea from South Africa], if you have seen Fossil Rim for instance you have seen them all basically...
 
Okay then:
My personal must sees:

- Chester (duh!)
- Bristol (a very high quality of exhibits and a concentrated ollection)
- Newquay (its small size ..very small size, makees it feel something different to other UK zoos, + Cornwall's a wonderful part of the country)
- Cotswolds (a very 'English Countryside' feel to it)
- Highland Wildlife Park (quite out of the weigh but built on a quite unique premise and a large number of rarities)

I WOULDN'T reccomend based on time restrictions:
- West Midlands Safari park (overly commercial)
- Dudley (compared to the rest of UK zoos its quite poor)
- Colchester (just not my thing depsite an extensiee collection)
- Twycross (despite some good exhibits - the elephant eenclosure springs to mind, its generally not that great compared to the 5 'must sees')
 
I've always wondered this, what are the UK zoos named after? Here in the US, prettymuch all zoos are named after the city they are in. Not being very familiar with UK cities, I don't know if this is true there.
 
Apart from the obvious stuff i rather like Africa Alive and Thrigby[both near to each other],Living Coasts were it just one exhibit[which it is really]would be one of my favourites in all Europe[and of course is near to Paigntons excellent zoo].The Deep is our best aquarium[Hull] ,but an american might be somewhat underwhelmed by our aquariums, and Belfast,Dublin and Jersey would be well worth the effort of leaving the mainland.As a semi-safari park experience The Highland Wildlife Park is very different and rather stunning in a number of ways not least the location.
 
I for one am not aware of your zoo's not to visit. If it's likely to cause an outcry could you PM them to me please?


zoogiraffe said:
There are a few collections that I wouldn't recommend anyone to ever visit,but I think most people know which places I would,not recommend a visit to.

As for the must see collections if you could only visit 15 in the UK these would be mine,
1) Chester Zoo
2) Edinburgh Zoo
3) London Zoo
4) Bristol Zoo
5) Howletts
6) Port Lympne
7) Marwell Zoo
8) Paignton Zoo
9) Belfast Zoo
10) Cotswold Wildlife Park
11) Whipsnade Zoo
12) Colchester Zoo
13) Woburn Safari Park
14) Yorkshire Wildlife Park
15) Twycross Zoo

This is also pretty close to what I personnaly think are the Top 10 collections in the UK,although though I only think the top 4 are in the right places,also a few of the places listed wouldn't get into my top 20,but because of the collection of animals deserve to be visited,by anybody that has never visited a UK collection.
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Foz, I'm not looking for an arguement here, but on what grounds do you consider Dudley to be quite poor in relation to other UK zoo's?
What zoo's are you comparing it with, and when was the last time you went.

I'm at least pleased that London doesn't appear in your top 5, very over rated in my opinion and quite a small collection now compared to past years.



foz said:
Okay then:
My personal must sees:

- Chester (duh!)
- Bristol (a very high quality of exhibits and a concentrated ollection)
- Newquay (its small size ..very small size, makees it feel something different to other UK zoos, + Cornwall's a wonderful part of the country)
- Cotswolds (a very 'English Countryside' feel to it)
- Highland Wildlife Park (quite out of the weigh but built on a quite unique premise and a large number of rarities)

I WOULDN'T reccomend based on time restrictions:
- West Midlands Safari park (overly commercial)
- Dudley (compared to the rest of UK zoos its quite poor)
- Colchester (just not my thing depsite an extensiee collection)
- Twycross (despite some good exhibits - the elephant eenclosure springs to mind, its generally not that great compared to the 5 'must sees')
Click to expand...
 
KCZooFan said:
I've always wondered this, what are the UK zoos named after? Here in the US, prettymuch all zoos are named after the city they are in. Not being very familiar with UK cities, I don't know if this is true there.
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An interesting question: there are some city zoos - Bristol, Chester (on the edge of the city suburbs), Edinburgh and London. Dudley is also a city zoo, but it's named after the area of Birmingham where it is situated. Zoos named after the smaller towns where they are located include Blackpool and Paignton.
Most other British zoos are found in the countryside, if they are close to a town or village they may use its name for example Banham, Colchester, Twycross and Whipsnade; a class which you won't find in the USA are zoos in the grounds of large country houses which use the name of the historic house - such as Howletts, Longleat, Port Lympne and Woburn.
A few zoos are named after the area of the country they are found, Cotswold, Highland, West Midlands and Yorkshire spring to mind. Finally there are a few eccentrics, such as Africa Alive, Birdworld, Birdland and the Chestnut Centre (I wonder if it was named because Chapel en le Frith Zoo would be rather a mouthful).

Alan
 
chizlit said:
I for one am not aware of your zoo's not to visit. If it's likely to cause an outcry could you PM them to me please?
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I'm surprised by that as I have got into an arguement with,a member of staff from atleast 1 of the collections on here!
 
chizlit said:
Foz, I'm not looking for an arguement here, but on what grounds do you consider Dudley to be quite poor in relation to other UK zoo's?
What zoo's are you comparing it with, and when was the last time you went.

I'm at least pleased that London doesn't appear in your top 5, very over rated in my opinion and quite a small collection now compared to past years.
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Well its not as good as London both in quality of exhibits and extensiveness of collection. Im sure the staff are friendly and the zoo is doing the best it can on a very tight budget, but I dont think Its a Must See out of all the other colelctions around the place Dudley would be one which would have quite low priority, particularly if you can only fit a limited amount in there.
 
Maybe before i joined?

If I had to guess, it begins with a T, but you put that place in your top 15 so it cant be that one.


zoogiraffe said:
I'm surprised by that as I have got into an arguement with,a member of staff from atleast 1 of the collections on here!
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I'm sure Dudley will love being called a part of Birmingham:D:eek:


gentle lemur said:
An interesting question: there are some city zoos - Bristol, Chester (on the edge of the city suburbs), Edinburgh and London. Dudley is also a city zoo, but it's named after the area of Birmingham where it is situated. Zoos named after the smaller towns where they are located include Blackpool and Paignton.
Most other British zoos are found in the countryside, if they are close to a town or village they may use its name for example Banham, Colchester, Twycross and Whipsnade; a class which you won't find in the USA are zoos in the grounds of large country houses which use the name of the historic house - such as Howletts, Longleat, Port Lympne and Woburn.
A few zoos are named after the area of the country they are found, Cotswold, Highland, West Midlands and Yorkshire spring to mind. Finally there are a few eccentrics, such as Africa Alive, Birdworld, Birdland and the Chestnut Centre (I wonder if it was named because Chapel en le Frith Zoo would be rather a mouthful).

Alan
Click to expand...
 
foz said:
Well its not as good as London both in quality of exhibits and extensiveness of collection. Im sure the staff are friendly and the zoo is doing the best it can on a very tight budget, but I dont think Its a Must See out of all the other colelctions around the place Dudley would be one which would have quite low priority, particularly if you can only fit a limited amount in there.
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I dont see how Dudley can be compared with London in this case, but I respect and understand your other points.
 
I knew this thread would get a few responses, we all love debating the best/most important zoos in the UK. Having mulled it a while here's my penneth worth. If I had to recommend only five zoos to visit in the UK it'd be the following (note alphabetical order, I really don't want the mental excercise of rating them):

1. Chester Zoo
2. Edinburgh Zoo
3. Howletts
4. London
5. Whipsnade

I think each entry on the list has either historical importance, a great species collection (overall or in certain areas), aspects or a feel that is uniquely UKish, is a great zoo or (and often) some combination of those qualities.

Similar to Zoo Giraffe these are not necessarily what I consider the top five zoos in the UK or my personal favourites, just what I consider a zoo tourist with restricted time (but with means and desire to travel a bit) would be best to visit to get a feel of the important characteristics of some of the best UK zoos.
 
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