They are indeed, you can still climb to the top of the castle keep and get some stunning views of, erm, Dudley and Birmingham!
(if you've never visited Dudley then you may miss the sarcasm in my tone...)
Unfortunatly the Aquarium nolonger exsists as it was removed as part of a deal with English Heritage to make the castle courtyard look as original as possible and AGAIN the English Heritage once the aquarium was demolished suddenly realised they had NO cash to resite the Aquarium.
Unfortunatly the Aquarium nolonger exsists as it was removed as part of a deal with English Heritage to make the castle courtyard look as original as possible and AGAIN the English Heritage once the aquarium was demolished suddenly realised they had NO cash to resite the Aquarium.
Correct me if I'm wrong but the aquarium is on the site of the visitors centre/museum. I only have vague memories of seeing fish in the castle but I'm sure it's on the same site.
I thought that at one point we'd get a new aquarium along with the proposed reptile house, am I imagining that or was it part of the former masterplan?
The original area where the Aquarium was positioned is now the empty area just to the right as you enter the castle courtyard from the Old Elephant enclosure now the Wallaby Walk Thru.
The deal to resite the Aquarium was agreed many years ago but after the Aquarium was emptied and the fish allocated to other collections and the building removed the money was never forth coming from English Heritage as the Aquarium was to be rebuilt by the entrance at the foot of the chairlift were the burger bar is now.
On the Reptile House the last I heard was that English Heritage want to demolish the House as it is part of the old moat but until the English Heritage actually come up with the cash for the house to be rebuilt at a location close to the Fair then the zoo are unwilling to demolish the house (don't blame them after the way English Hertiage have behaved over past promises).
I think myself the only reason English Heritage are involved in the upgrade of the Tecton Buildings is because the zoo have been able to get a charity hand out without this the English Heritage would have been no where to be seen as usual.
