Wildheart Animal Sanctuary anyone been there?

[volvox]

I'm going to the Isle of Wight for a few days next spring – if the zoo there is worth a visit I might stay on an extra day. Any thoughts?

 

[Nanook]

I'm going to the Isle of Wight for a few days next spring – if the zoo there is worth a visit I might stay on an extra day. Any thoughts?

If you mean Sandown Zoo then yes it is worth a look, it has improved since the old days when it was under the late Jack Corney`s direction, his daughter is doing a much better job of it!

 

[zooman64]

I've never been to the Isle of Wight - though I do hope to some day. But for such a small area, it boasts an incredible number of animal collections, including a zoo specialising in big cats, a zoo specialising in South American fauna, a bird park, an owl & monkey sanctuary, a rare breeds park, a falconry centre, and an aquarium.

 

[Shorts]

I'm going to the Isle of Wight for a few days next spring – if the zoo there is worth a visit I might stay on an extra day. Any thoughts?

The Isle of Wight Zoo is a zoo in transition, the last time I visited (about two years ago) it was a mixture of old and new enclosures. The new enclosures were good sizes and all landscaped/themed very nicely. The older cat enclosures were vaguely akin to the older Howletts cat enclosures, though smaller, whilst primate enclosures were similar in style to some of the Twycross enclosures but larger and well furnished (basically a little ugly but effective for the inhabitants) The signage was very good, telling you about individual animals as well as the species. Nothing unusual species-wise but very friendly staff and a pleasant place to whittle away an hour or two.

I'd seriously recommend checking out Amazon World which has a good (but dwindling) collection of obscure species though not always well exhibited/displayed or labelled.

The Owl and Monkey Haven is, as far as I know, the newest wildlife attraction on the island and is a nicely built and very good looking place (or was when I visited). Signage is good and they have an interesting mix of generally rare (in all or UK zoos) species). The catering was also very good. A great little place, I really liked it and I'd personally choose it above the Isle of Wight Zoo if I had limited time to spare (in reality never a problem because I always stay a week when I visit the island).

Finally, Seaview Wildlife Encounter (if it's not changed it's name again recently) can be safely ignored unless you're very desperately craving a bird fix. All fairly commonly seen species reasonably (but not stunningly) displayed, ID bands on penguins is a nice, fun touch though.

 

[volvox]

Thank you so much, that's really useful, I hadn't realised there is more than one animal collection there... I haven't been to the Isle of Wight since 1969... something to do with Bob Dylan (can't remember a thing about it!) so I'm looking forward to another visit!

 

[Shorts]

I haven't been to the Isle of Wight since 1969... something to do with Bob Dylan (can't remember a thing about it!)

You lucky, lucky, person (for being there in 1969, not for not having visited since, the IOW is great).

 

[JamesB]

Same as the others have posted above I would recommend either visiting the zoo or Amazon World. Both are quite easy to get to by public transport. The zoo is good if you are interested in big cats and primates however Amazon World offers a bigger range of species, both are relatively small collections and probably wouldn't take all day to go round. Hope you have a great trip, I love the island.

 

[Panthera Puss]

In another life ('The past is a foreign country ...') I was involved at the IOW Zoo. It can be a truly magical place on a balmy evening near closing time if the tigers are playing in the water and the lions are roaring, etc, etc. Most visitors miss this as the zoo is almost empty by this time of day. Happy days ... Yes, you have to go there - though you may run into celebrity TV nature presenters.

 

[volvox]

Well, we won't be driving so I've downloaded a map and it looks as if both collections are easy to get to on the no 8 bus route... I'm really looking forward to it, thank you!

 

[TeaLovingDave]

As I visited both Amazonworld and Owl & Monkey Haven via public transport in June, you may find the following information I posted in my public transport thread useful:

Amazon World Zoo Park

From Newport Bus Station, catch the Route 8 Southern Vectis bus to Ryde. This service runs on an hourly basis all day, and stops at the gates of Amazon World en-route.
To reach Newport Bus Station on your arrival onto the Isle of Wight, catch the following services depending on where you have arrived:

Yarmouth - catch the half hourly Route 7 from the ferry terminal to Newport Bus Station. This is the route, and thus service, I took.

Cowes - catch the Route 1 from the ferry terminal to Newport Bus Station.

East Cowes - catch the Route 5 from the ferry terminal to Newport Bus Station.

Ryde - the Route 8 from the ferry terminal stops at Amazon World en-route to Newport Bus Station, as noted above.

Owl And Monkey Haven

From Newport Bus Station, catch the Route 9 Southern Vectis bus to Ryde, ensuring you get the bus travelling via Staplers. This service runs every 20 minutes all day, and stops opposite the gates of OMH en-route.

To reach Newport Bus Station on your arrival onto the Isle of Wight, catch the following services depending on where you have arrived:

Yarmouth - catch the half hourly Route 7 from the ferry terminal to Newport Bus Station. This is the route, and thus service, I took.

Cowes - catch the Route 1 from the ferry terminal to Newport Bus Station.

East Cowes - catch the Route 5 from the ferry terminal to Newport Bus Station.

Ryde - the Route 9 from the ferry terminal, when going via Staplers, stops at OMH en-route to Newport Bus Station, as noted above.

One way of doing both Amazon World and OMH in one trip is to disembark the Route 8 bus as you return from Amazon World when it passes through Staplers, and then catch the next Route 9 to the Owl and Monkey Haven. As the Wightlink ferries to the island have an option for foot passengers to purchase slightly more expensive ferry tickets which give unlimited use of Southern Vectis buses for the day, this is a strategy which does not cost any more in transport costs than only doing one collection.

Note the final paragraph of the second quote.

 

[Devi]

I haven't been in a long while but as it was the zoo was fairly small but the best talks we'd ever seen, you could have a really informative guided tour of the zoo just by following the presenter round.