Closed UK Zoos -what became of their sites?

crested seriema said:
I remember going there in the late1960s, it was on the side of a hill from what I can remember, theenclosures were quite cramped, it had Large Cats, a few Primates,Wallabies and Birds. in about 4 acres of grounds,itfell below the average standard for a zoo in my opinion !
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The hill was called Howard Hill I believe.
 
pipaluk said:
The enclosures that were at Mole Hall were the same ones when i returned with my daughter a few times post 2000, that had been there when i visited regularly as a child in the 70s. The owner (son of original owners) had been ill for some time and the place was pretty run down by the end. He died a few months after the closure.
By 2000, many of the species from my youth such as dingo, arctic fox , smooth otters & serval were long gone & the wildcats weren't there much after that.
Near to the end there were N american & asc otters, wallaby, muntjac, red & fallow deer, guanaco, chimps, capuchin, squirrel monkey, mongoose lemur, golden lion tamarins, red squirrel, flamingo, quite a few waterfowl, owls and a few domestic animals. Not much else i can recall.
The campsite in the car park has now closed & i dont think any animals are left now. It reopened for a few months a year or so after the closure with mainly domestics, & despite rumours of re-opening, it never happened.
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The main driving force of the zoo was Pamela Johnstone who has since died of course, and I have a feeling the house itself was put up for sale.
 
Nanook said:
The main driving force of the zoo was Pamela Johnstone who has since died of course, and I have a feeling the house itself was put up for sale.
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I believe it was her that opened the park in the 60s & she was long retired when she died and her son had taken over until illness prevented him carrying on. The house had farmland too & buildings converted to industrial use, a contact number for renting those is still on the website.
 
pipaluk said:
I believe it was her that opened the park in the 60s & she was long retired when she died and her son had taken over until illness prevented him carrying on. The house had farmland too & buildings converted to industrial use, a contact number for renting those is still on the website.
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I am sure the moated house is a listed building, it is very old, I think 16th century (a guess, without checking).
 
The zoo at Belle Vue in Manchester has, of course, gone as has most of the Belle Vue complex. A few parts remain, such as the greyhound racing. I can't remember if the speedway is still going. It might be but I have a niggling feeling it changed to another venue. Most of what was the Belle Vue complex is now housing.

The older Manchester Zoo, which was actually in the neighbouring city of Salford, is now I think a sports ground??? If not it's another housing estate.
 
The old Glasgow Zoo site has finally been cleared ready for house-building.
The old entrance, which was one of the last derelict features that remained, has now gone.
 
Cleethorpes zoo is now pleasure island theme park still complete with parrots and sea lions.
 
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