Visits to zoos that don't exist anymore

IanRRobinson said:
Cricket St Thomas - a site that never was as good as it might have been. And Kilverstone and Mole Hall. The latter was no great loss in the state in which I saw it -however it remains the only place I ever saw Grey Partridge.

I still mourn Kilverstone. If its collection had had Banham's animals grafted onto its own and Banham's management placed in charge the Zoo that would have resulted might have given Colchester a stiff challenge for the tag of best collection in the Eastern Counties. I can dream...
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I forgot to add:

Windsor Safari Park. Even at the age of nine, I hated having animals joined at the hip with amusements. And big cats and baboons apart. most of the animals held seem to be in conventional, not very large, zoo enclosures. BUT the only place I ever saw a Killer Whale in the UK, a distinction that I don't imagine being emulated. I took my children to Legoland two years ago - to my amazement, I remembered the layout of the road entrance to be exactly as it had been thirty-nine years earlier.

The Otter Trust. Lutra lutra is doing well now in the UK, the justification for setting up the place. A pity that its brief wasn't extended into other wetland wildlife.

Norfolk Wildlife Park. Like the above, the creation of Philip Wayre, and the park declined as he aged. The failure to complete the planned Nocturnal House was the first sign of trouble, in retrospect. And the smell of the adjacent pig farm couldn't have helped either.

Flamingo Gardens, Weston Underwood. In its heyday it must have been a fine place. That heyday had long passed by the summer of 1996. The chemical toilets were not nice, and nor was the exhibit of a solitary European Shag kept in an old owl flight(?) with a large metal dish filled with water. Opposite was another, larger, flight that held a solitary Stanley's Crane. There was a hole in the wiring through which a small child could have easily got in. My normally polite and erudite companion took a look at this spectacle and said "What the !&@* is that".
 
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Another one I have thought of, went there in the seventies, Lowther Wildlife Park, near Penrith Cumbria.
 
....zoos that don't exist any more

I too went to Lowther Wildlife Park, in 1971. Memory of it is a bit hazy -- lots of domestics, a few parrots, pheasants, Wild Boar, flamingos (can't remember what sort), wildfowl (again, can't remember what), cranes (Sarus, Demoiselles & Crowned). I think most of what they had was fairly standard fare for those times(it was before Meerkats & Ring-tailed Lemurs were 'invented' -- not that there's anything wrong with either of those two species), in a pleasant parkland setting. Anybody else remember more about the place? I think there were Arctic Foxes, again fairly standard then, but not seen today.
I keep being reminded of places I had forgotten about.
There was. Little tiny roadside collection in Norfolk that I visited, probably late 1960s, because I was old enough to know what things were. I remember Laysan Teal, Shoveler and Golden Pheasants, but there must have been more. possibly tacked on to a plant nursery? I remember an old farm cart in the Golden Pheasant enclosure. This place probably didn't even have a name.
 
IanRRobinson said:
Flamingo Gardens, Weston Underwood. In its heyday it must have been a fine place. That heyday had long passed by the summer of 1996. The chemical toilets were not nice, and nor was the exhibit of a solitary European Shag kept in an old owl flight(?)
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This is Christopher Marler's place, correct? Was it ever open to the public on a regular basis? If so do you know for how long roughly, and also when it closed? I believe he still has the collection though-from the Gallery, several Zoochatters visited quite recently.
 
IanRRobinson said:
I forgot to add:

Windsor Safari Park. Even at the age of nine, I hated having animals joined at the hip with amusements. And big cats and baboons apart. most of the animals held seem to be in conventional, not very large, zoo enclosures. BUT the only place I ever saw a Killer Whale in the UK, a distinction that I don't imagine being emulated. I took my children to Legoland two years ago - to my amazement, I remembered the layout of the road entrance to be exactly as it had been thirty-nine years earlier.

The Otter Trust. Lutra lutra is doing well now in the UK, the justification for setting up the place. A pity that its brief wasn't extended into other wetland wildlife.

Norfolk Wildlife Park. Like the above, the creation of Philip Wayre, and the park declined as he aged. The failure to complete the planned Nocturnal House was the first sign of trouble, in retrospect. And the smell of the adjacent pig farm couldn't have helped either.

Flamingo Gardens, Weston Underwood. In its heyday it must have been a fine place. That heyday had long passed by the summer of 1996. The chemical toilets were not nice, and nor was the exhibit of a solitary European Shag kept in an old owl flight(?) with a large metal dish filled with water. Opposite was another, larger, flight that held a solitary Stanley's Crane. There was a hole in the wiring through which a small child could have easily got in. My normally polite and erudite companion took a look at this spectacle and said "What the !&@* is that".
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Windsor Safari Park in the early seventies, They had baby Asian elephants, about five or six I think, the keeper used to allow kids to sit on their backs, zebra and ostrich were housed in a zoo style paddock, one thing is most memorable, the glamorous Yasmine Smart showing the dolphins:)
 
Pertinax said:
This is Christopher Marler's place, correct? Was it ever open to the public on a regular basis? If so do you know for how long roughly, and also when it closed? I believe he still has the collection though-from the Gallery, several Zoochatters visited quite recently.
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Yes - in the IZYB it was called Olney (which was the name I used in a previous post). I visited in the late 1970s I think, so it must have been open to the public - I probably read about it in the annual zoo and bird garden pull-out in Cage and Aviary Birds (I used to buy that one issue each year). I recall a Siberian white crane, kelp geese, white-tailed sea eagles (before the current reintroduction project) and great bustards (associated with an unsuccessful reintroduction project). I was interested that the eagles and vultures (several species of each) were fed on deer carcases.

Alan
 
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Guilsborough Wildlife Park

IanRRobinson said:
Guilsborough's owners decided to concentrate on the garden, which is still open. A few Caribbean Flamingoes and a Blue and Yellow Macaw survive from its earlier incarnation.
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It is Coton Gardens which are still open about two miles fromGuilsborough they have a Macaw called Rodney,Flamingoes,Cranes and Wildfowl,Guilsborough Wildlife Parkwas on the West Haddon Road ,whereas Coton is on the Ravensthorpe Road out of Guilsborough.Guilsborough Wildlife Park had some rarities such as Ne Ne ,Nile Lechwe and Clouded Leopard.The Lechwe Enclosure was quite good, but overall the housing was poor!
 
FBBird said:
I too went to Lowther Wildlife Park, in 1971. Memory of it is a bit hazy -- lots of domestics, a few parrots, pheasants, Wild Boar, flamingos (can't remember what sort), wildfowl (again, can't remember what), cranes (Sarus, Demoiselles & Crowned). I think most of what they had was fairly standard fare for those times(it was before Meerkats & Ring-tailed Lemurs were 'invented' -- not that there's anything wrong with either of those two species), in a pleasant parkland setting. Anybody else remember more about the place? I think there were Arctic Foxes, again fairly standard then, but not seen today.
Click to expand...

I never went, but they were the last place in the UK to hold Beech Marten.
 
FBBird said:
I too went to Lowther Wildlife Park, in 1971. Memory of it is a bit hazy -- lots of domestics, a few parrots, pheasants, Wild Boar, flamingos (can't remember what sort), wildfowl (again, can't remember what), cranes (Sarus, Demoiselles & Crowned). I think most of what they had was fairly standard fare for those times(it was before Meerkats & Ring-tailed Lemurs were 'invented' -- not that there's anything wrong with either of those two species), in a pleasant parkland setting. Anybody else remember more about the place? I think there were Arctic Foxes, again fairly standard then, but not seen today.
I keep being reminded of places I had forgotten about.
There was. Little tiny roadside collection in Norfolk that I visited, probably late 1960s, because I was old enough to know what things were. I remember Laysan Teal, Shoveler and Golden Pheasants, but there must have been more. possibly tacked on to a plant nursery? I remember an old farm cart in the Golden Pheasant enclosure. This place probably didn't even have a name.
Click to expand...
The one and only guide book I have from Lowther in the seventies lists the following species,Fallow deer,Formosan Sika deer, Chinese Water deer,Japanese Sika Deer, Highland and Old English Longhorn cattle, Manx Loghtan,Herbidean and Jacob sheep,Red fox, European wild boar,Beech martens, otters,badgers,polecats, European wolves,Scottish wild cats, donkeys, owls,Sarus,Common,Demoiselle and crowned cranes, white stork, flamingo Caribbean and Chilean, black swan,greylag geese,pink footed geese, European Eider, Common shellduck, Greenland white fronted geese,Barnacle geese, Bar headed geese,Canada geese,Lesser snow geese, Blue snow geese,Northern pintail,European wigeon,European Goldeneye, Gadwall,Common shoveller,European Pochard,Mallard,Teal,Tufted duck,Red crested pochard,Mandarin duck,Carolina duck,Falcated teal,Australian wood duck,Bahama pintail,Chiloe wigeon.
 
In the eighties Lowther developed more into an adventure park, the park was leased to Ernie Stevenson and family, Ernie and his eldest son Gary were well known clowns, Noe Noe and Gary. They presented a circus there as an attraction, Stevensons Crown Circus,several performances given each day, Ernie's daughter Inga was ringmistress and presented horses supplied by Mary Chipperfield. There were still deer at the park, which you passed when driving in, and a miniature railway which travelled around the lake. I think 2000 or 2001 was its last season, it has never reopened.
 
.......zoos that don't exist any more

I'm pretty sure I've got that Lowther guidebook -- currently Way from home, so can't lay hands on it.
 
In the United States:

Marineland of the Pacific (Palos Verdes, California)

California Alligator Farm (Buena Park, California)

Japanese Deer Garden (Buena Park, California)

Busch Gardens (Van Nuys, California)

Lion Country Safari (Irvine, California)

Wild Animal Orphanage (San Antonio, Texas)

Wildlife Ambassadors (Thermal, California)

Douglas Wildlife Zoo (Douglas, Arizona)

Payson Zoo (Payson, Arizona)

American Wilderness Experience (Ontario, California)

Horseshoe Creek Wildlife (Davenport, Florida)

Tiger Rescue (Colton, California)
 
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IanRRobinson said:
I forgot to add:

Windsor Safari Park. Even at the age of nine, I hated having animals joined at the hip with amusements. And big cats and baboons apart. most of the animals held seem to be in conventional, not very large, zoo enclosures. BUT the only place I ever saw a Killer Whale in the UK, a distinction that I don't imagine being emulated. I took my children to Legoland two years ago - to my amazement, I remembered the layout of the road entrance to be exactly as it had been thirty-nine years earlier.

The Otter Trust. Lutra lutra is doing well now in the UK, the justification for setting up the place. A pity that its brief wasn't extended into other wetland wildlife.

Norfolk Wildlife Park. Like the above, the creation of Philip Wayre, and the park declined as he aged. The failure to complete the planned Nocturnal House was the first sign of trouble, in retrospect. And the smell of the adjacent pig farm couldn't have helped either.

Flamingo Gardens, Weston Underwood. In its heyday it must have been a fine place. That heyday had long passed by the summer of 1996. The chemical toilets were not nice, and nor was the exhibit of a solitary European Shag kept in an old owl flight(?) with a large metal dish filled with water. Opposite was another, larger, flight that held a solitary Stanley's Crane. There was a hole in the wiring through which a small child could have easily got in. My normally polite and erudite companion took a look at this spectacle and said "What the !&@* is that".
Click to expand...


Flamingo Gardens, isn't that the place vet David Taylor mention in several of his books ?
 
I have visited many of the UK collections already listed . Some others I have some notes of are -
Stepaside Bird and Animal Park , rather poor
Robin Hill , Isle of Wight , now an adventure park I think
Bridgemere , Cheshire , poor but with an interesting collection of carnivores
Midland Bird Garden , very nice but did not last long , think Motor Museum is still there
Thorney , awful , but interesting collection
Whitson Zoo , near Newport , cannot remember much of this
Symmons Yat Bird Park , have some photos of this small collection
Haigh Hall , Wigan , think this was municipal
Sherwood Zoo , saw Nick Nyoka and his enormous lion Simba there

I also visited Wassenaar with Marwell Zoological Society . I remember a very long greenhouse type structure with bonobos and orangs ( making long calls ) amongst a lot of other species .
 
Pertinax said:
This is Christopher Marler's place, correct? Was it ever open to the public on a regular basis? If so do you know for how long roughly, and also when it closed? I believe he still has the collection though-from the Gallery, several Zoochatters visited quite recently.
Click to expand...

Yes, this was Christopher Marler's collection. I believe it was open to the public from the late 1960s until about 2001.

He still has an interesting animal collection, although not as extensive as it was in its heyday.

Yes, there was a Bartlett Society visit to Olney in May 2013 and quite a few of the attendees were 'ZooChatters'.
 
The closed collections that I have visited are the following,
Lübeck Tierpark
NiederRheinPark Plantaria
Alston Wildlife Park
Bank Mill Butterfly House
Blackpool Tower Aquarium
Bridgemere Wildlife Park
Churnet Valley Wildlife Park
Cotswold Reptile Centre
Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park
Eden Ostrich World
Furness Owls Centre
Grangewood Zoo
Harry Tuffins Country Wildlife Park
Jersey Butterfly House
Jersey Shire Horse Farm
Lakemore Country Park Animal Kingdom
Lakeside Bird of Prey,at Stapeley Water Gardens
Lenwade Zoological Gardens
The London Butterfly House
Long Sutton Butterfly House and Wildlife Park
Mike Liddel Talyors Parrot Park,Mereworth
Natural World Poole
Oceanworld,Rhyl
Riber Castle Wildlife Park
Rare Species Conservation Centre, Sandwich
Santago Rare Leopards Centre
Silent World Aquarium and Reptiles, Tenby
The Palms Tropical Oasis, Stapeley
The King Cobra Sanctuary
The Otter Trust, Bungay
The Tropical Zoo (The Aquatic Experience),London
Wellplace Zoo
Weymouth Butterfly House
Wildwalk@Bristol
 
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Tim May said:
Yes, this was Christopher Marler's collection. I believe it was open to the public from the late 1960s until about 2001.
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Thanks. I did go there once and he showed me round as a form of reciprocal visit but I couldn't remember if it was open to the public- I didn't see any other visitors but maybe it was just 'quiet'.
 
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