Best and Worst Closed Zoos/Bird Gardens

[Pertinax]

I'm amazed you have never visited HWP - get yourself there! you'll very much enjoy it.



Though it doesn't count in the slightest, I was rather amused - when looking at some old maps on a hunch - to find that the Travel Lodge myself and Hel stayed in last Friday is located on the site of Belle Vue Zoo!

Sorry I doubted you on the Norfolk/Suffolk boundary issue.

Re HWP- I did have an opportunity some years back but it was still quite ordinary then as it was before it was transformed into what it is nowadays- I would certainly visit if I was in Scotland again now.

Belle Vue- that was a historic night's rest then, I wonder which section of the Zoo its sited on? At Belle Vue I also remember a big asphalt-type carpark and the Zoo entrance booths, with the speedway or funfair or whatever it was right next door- the Zoo entrance area had rather the atmosphere of a Football Ground perhaps.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

By the by, the Manchester Museum recently revamped their natural history gallery and have put a fair few new mounted specimens from Belle Vue onshow, including a few species which Zootierliste did not have listed until I added them after my visit last week that said I suspect ZTL is severely inaccurate for the collection, as it lists relatively few species as having been held by a collection open as long as Belle Vue was.

 

[Pootle]

Just been on YouTube. There are a fair few films of Belle Vue taken by visitors from the 1960's and 70's.

elephant rides, bear pits, etc, the usual stuff that I personally am glad to see the back of, more films posted on the site than I imagined.

 

[Tim Brown]

I went for my first job interview in the Reptile House at Belle Vue!...and was successful(tho I didn't take the post).Next time im driving up Hyde Rd ill make a note of where exactly the Travel Lodge is, but I suspect its on the site of the old Belle Vue hotel(which was a pub in effect.Re. Pertinax..there were two entrances to the zoo,the one you are thinking of was on Hyde Rd,and yes you had to go through the funfair to get to the zoo portion.As a young teenager I would go frequently in winter when no-one was there and the funfair was closed...to this day closed down amusement rides remind me of those days.Pootle makes a too hasty judgement because this was a major urban zoo...if you like Bristol,Dudley,Regents Park,then this place was for you.By the way the Easter Monday 1946 attendance of 190,000 is probably a record for any zoo.

 

[Tim Brown]

Also re.Pootle...the zoo on the jetty at Morecambe would have closed not long after Marineland opened(circa 65)-I don't remember anything about it save for double-banked cages and an incarcerated bear of some sort.

 

[pipaluk]

I went for my first job interview in the Reptile House at Belle Vue!...and was successful(tho I didn't take the post).Next time im driving up Hyde Rd ill make a note of where exactly the Travel Lodge is, but I suspect its on the site of the old Belle Vue hotel(which was a pub in effect.Re. Pertinax..there were two entrances to the zoo,the one you are thinking of was on Hyde Rd,and yes you had to go through the funfair to get to the zoo portion.As a young teenager I would go frequently in winter when no-one was there and the funfair was closed...to this day closed down amusement rides remind me of those days.Pootle makes a too hasty judgement because this was a major urban zoo...if you like Bristol,Dudley,Regents Park,then this place was for you.By the way the Easter Monday 1946 attendance of 190,000 is probably a record for any zoo.

I think you have a point since Belle Vue closed in 1977, it didn't really have the chance to change with the times. London & Bristol had been largely unchanged for years until the 70s & beyond. Plenty of zoos still had what could only be described as bear 'pits' even into the 90s!

 

[TeaLovingDave]

It's certainly an interesting, if futile, mental exercise to ponder what a modern Belle Vue Zoo would have looked like - and how it's continued existence would have affected the growth and development of places like Blackpool Zoo and Chester Zoo.

 

[Parrotsandrew]

Also re.Pootle...the zoo on the jetty at Morecambe would have closed not long after Marineland opened(circa 65)-I don't remember anything about it save for double-banked cages and an incarcerated bear of some sort.

I'm sure it was the mid to late 1970s when we visited as I was not a small child.

 

[Parrotsandrew]

I remember visiting an attractive bird collection which I think was called Midland Bird Gardens a long time ago . I think it was part of a stately home where there was also a Motor Museum . Seem to remember there were aviaries around a lake .

Does anyone else remember it ?

I did not visit it, but there is a chapter on it in Clinton Keeling's "Where the Camel Strode". It was at Stanmore Hall, Bridgnorth, the home of Mr Tom Roberts OBE. It opened in June 1979 and closed in 1984, with the sale of its stock being held on 24th November of that year.

 

[Bele]

I did not visit it, but there is a chapter on it in Clinton Keeling's "Where the Camel Strode". It was at Stanmore Hall, Bridgnorth, the home of Mr Tom Roberts OBE. It opened in June 1979 and closed in 1984, with the sale of its stock being held on 24th November of that year.

Thanks for that Parrotsandrew . I have had a check through my files and found a 1980 Guidebook for the collection . Apart from the front and back pages , it is basically a general introduction to bird families with some drawings and photos , plus a basic map in the centre . The curator was Roy Girdler .

A leaflet I have is more informative as there is a map with key to the 16 enclosures , some single , others blocks of several aviaries .

North American Aviaries with cedar waxwings , cardinals and nonpareil buntings would now be very interesting . Chilean flamingos were on the lake with waterfowl enclosures . Honey creepers and rufous hornbills are listed plus a weaver aviary .

Plans were to specialise with cracids .

 

[Tim Brown]

And back to Belle Vue-the bear pit[and Polar Bear cage] had gone by 1960,they were replaced by the Bear Terraces,something akin to the Mappins backing on to the boating lake.Re.Parrotsandrew,i can state with some certainty that the indoor zoo on Morecambes jetty was gone by 1966[thank goodness].As was mentioned before, Winged World had a childrens zoo next door but I cant think that it would have ever had a bear.

 

[Parrotsandrew]

Thanks for that Parrotsandrew . I have had a check through my files and found a 1980 Guidebook for the collection . Apart from the front and back pages , it is basically a general introduction to bird families with some drawings and photos , plus a basic map in the centre . The curator was Roy Girdler .

A leaflet I have is more informative as there is a map with key to the 16 enclosures , some single , others blocks of several aviaries .

North American Aviaries with cedar waxwings , cardinals and nonpareil buntings would now be very interesting . Chilean flamingos were on the lake with waterfowl enclosures . Honey creepers and rufous hornbills are listed plus a weaver aviary .

Plans were to specialise with cracids .

The evidence suggests that Clin Keeling was correct to say it was a good place, sadly not appreciated by the visiting public - at least the "general" visitors that just about everywhere has to rely upon.

 

[Parrotsandrew]

Re.Parrotsandrew,i can state with some certainty that the indoor zoo on Morecambes jetty was gone by 1966[thank goodness].As was mentioned before, Winged World had a childrens zoo next door but I cant think that it would have ever had a bear.

The place we visited was definitely wherever it was in the 1970s! Where could it have been? Suggestions welcome.

 

[Parrotsandrew]

Just had a look at the Bartlett Society's website. It lists Morecambe Children's Zoo as being "circa 1970s".

 

[Waddi]

Was just wondering if morecambe's children's zoo that was next to marineland had anything to do with the Welsh Mountain Zoo, marineland being the brainchild of Robert Jackson, wmz founder. Like a sort of satellite zoo.

 

[Slynch]

Thanks for that Parrotsandrew . I have had a check through my files and found a 1980 Guidebook for the collection . ... The curator was Roy Girdler .

A leaflet I have is more informative as there is a map with key to the 16 enclosures , some single , others blocks of several aviaries .

North American Aviaries with cedar waxwings , cardinals and nonpareil buntings would now be very interesting . Chilean flamingos were on the lake with waterfowl enclosures . Honey creepers and rufous hornbills are listed plus a weaver aviary .

Plans were to specialise with cracids .

Hi! I was a keeper there at weekends and school holidays. Luckily I was there from the start and assisted Roy Girdler with the construction of some of the aviaries. I remember being proud that, where possible, they were planted with vegetation from the countries where the birds originated. We had Crested Curassow (Crax alector) & Guans, Roy having travelled extensively in Guyana. As well as the species you’ve already mentioned, we had several species of pheasant, pelicans, many parrots (mainly South American), trumpeters, toucans and hornbills. I was also pleased that the intention was always to breed and conserve. It was a shame that it didn’t turn out to be a commercial success. After it closed I believe it became a touring caravan site

 

[Dassie rat]

Brescia Zoo was based in a castle. It was very old fashioned and, in some ways, probably resembled the menagerie in the Tower of London

 

[Pootle]

Nice to see a return to an old post.

This is nearly 130 years old.

The Dark Past of Groudle Glen

 

[Andrew Swales]

Thanks for that Parrotsandrew . I have had a check through my files and found a 1980 Guidebook for the collection . Apart from the front and back pages , it is basically a general introduction to bird families with some drawings and photos , plus a basic map in the centre . The curator was Roy Girdler .

A leaflet I have is more informative as there is a map with key to the 16 enclosures , some single , others blocks of several aviaries .

North American Aviaries with cedar waxwings , cardinals and nonpareil buntings would now be very interesting . Chilean flamingos were on the lake with waterfowl enclosures . Honey creepers and rufous hornbills are listed plus a weaver aviary .

Plans were to specialise with cracids .

I visited Midland Bird Garden twice. The first time was a joint visit to it and Bridgemere Wildlife Park. Midland was nice, Bridgemere wasnt... Midland felt temporary (rustic, if you prefer that description) but no more so than Rode, and much better in construction and presentation than say Stagsden. The Midland Motor Museum was on the same site. My second visit to Midland was for its closing auction. I knew Roy and was booked to go on a collecting trip with him to Guyana, but had to pull out for family reasons.

 

[Westcoastperson]

So one of the best closed bird parks I know is the Catalina Island Bird Park. I never went while it was open but I have been to the ruins and I know quite a bit about it. The garden was started by William Wrigley Jr. who owned Santa Catalina Island off the coast of Los Angeles. It opened in 1929 and was 8 acres, the largest bird park at the time. It was downscaled during WWII when the American government took over the island. It managed to stay around until 1966 when all the birds were moved to Los Angeles Zoo. Its main attraction was a large flight cage that was 90 feet in diameter. The park at its height had over 8,000 bird species and 500 cages. Some of the species held were cassowary, Humboldt penguin, king vulture, Saurus crane, lorikeet, white-crowned hornbill, and African crowned crane. Now the bird park is a preschool and the large birdcage has playground equipment inside of it (if it worked for birds it would work for kids).
I took some photos on my last visit here Catalina Island Bird Park (Closed) - ZooChat