Waddi
Well-Known Member
Thanks. I remember parking in a field over the road and entering via football stadium style large turnstiles. Is this a real or false memory?
Chester Zoo Chester Zoo Discussion, Speculation & Questions 2018
- Thread starter JoeDK14
- Start date
Thanks. I remember parking in a field over the road and entering via football stadium style large turnstiles. Is this a real or false memory?
Not sure about turnstiles when you entered, (Maybe there were and I don't remember them) there were certainly some turnstile gates at the exits.
The zoo car park was where the staff car park and cedar house is now, going all the way up to the coffee house, the overflow car park was on the field you remember. A second overflow car park was the field north of Tropical Realm, on busy days there was a temporary pay kiosk just east of the bridge over the canal so that visitors did not have to walk all the way back to the North Entrance. In the 1980s I used that entrance and bought a guide book off Dr Michael Brambell, the only time I have been served by a zoo director whilst entering a zoo. He asked me if I really needed one as I was there all the time
I only did that entrance just so that I could say that I had.
The zoo car park was where the staff car park and cedar house is now, going all the way up to the coffee house, the overflow car park was on the field you remember. A second overflow car park was the field north of Tropical Realm, on busy days there was a temporary pay kiosk just east of the bridge over the canal so that visitors did not have to walk all the way back to the North Entrance. In the 1980s I used that entrance and bought a guide book off Dr Michael Brambell, the only time I have been served by a zoo director whilst entering a zoo. He asked me if I really needed one as I was there all the time
I only did that entrance just so that I could say that I had.
It was 'Bellington Zoo'.... AKA South Entrance.
South Entrance shown above as Bellington Zoo as part of a 1980s BBC TV drama Series ‘One-by-one’.
It’s possible to guess the year of visit from what animal you first saw on entering Chester Zoo. A bit like who you remember presented Blue Peter, who was Doctor Who and which actor means James Bond to you.........
For me it’s Leslie Judd, Tom Baker and Roger Moore. And then the Parrot House closely followed by the Sacred Ibis and of course the Orangutans.
1st Entrance- a wooden pay booth by ‘the lodge’, the redbrick cottage in adjacent to the current staff car park. (Malayan Bears / Elephant rides)
2nd Entrance- Main Entrance, later renamed South Entrance, very close to Caughall Road (Wapiti / Crowned Cranes). Shown above as Bellington Zoo as part of a 1980s BBC TV drama Series ‘One-by-one’.
3rd Entrance- North Entrance, directly opposite the Aquarium…. [This one had the turnstiles]
4th Entrance- Re-sited North Entrance (the one pictured by Waddi above) Opposite the pushchair kiosk (Aquarium to left / Parrots to right)
5th Entrance- Summer Sundays and Bank Holidays only, on the canal walk, adjacent to Birds of Prey aviaries close to Tropical House / Realm canal Bridge. This was a blue and cream coloured fibreglass ice cream kiosk trailer with the old zoo logo sticker of the Arabian Gazelle on the front (Birds of Prey – Andean Condor)
6th Entrance ‘New Zoo Entrance’- Just forward of the zoos perimeter fence where the giant metallic animal cut outs are now (Tapirs, Small Mammal / Nocturnal House and the Oasis / Mpila cafeteria) THIS IS WHEN THE ZOO TURNED UPSIDE DOWN! And cartoon maps started AAAaarghhh!!!
7th Entrance – ‘Diamond Jubilee Quarter’ lunged forwards into the zoo allowing free access to the Elephants and shop and in doing so swept away the Tapir enclosure, Capybara enclosure, Small Mammal House, Oasis cafeteria and half a Rhino paddock.
If I might be so bold…. The best way for a complete tour of the zoo would be to follow numbers 16 to 116++ finally returning to numbers 1 – 14!
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...... Thinking about entrances made me think about Chester Zoo entrance prices. A leaflet from 1982 shows the Adult Entrance price as £2. Using Mailonline’s UK inflation data calculator, I’ve checked what that £2 would be in today’s money = £7.30. (£1 = £3.65 for children) This versus the current peak gate prices of Adult £26.00 & Child £22.00.
Of course there were extra costs in 1982….. Tropical House Adults 30p, Children 15p; Aquarium Adults 10p, Children 5p; Waterbus (multi-stop) Adults 30p, Children 20p.
So an adult entry ticket plus Waterbus, Aquarium and Tropical House in 1982 would have been £2.70 = £9.86 in today’s money!
I remember buying a pasty in 1983 in the Mpila snack bar for 17p = 57p in today’s money.
Of course there were extra costs in 1982….. Tropical House Adults 30p, Children 15p; Aquarium Adults 10p, Children 5p; Waterbus (multi-stop) Adults 30p, Children 20p.
So an adult entry ticket plus Waterbus, Aquarium and Tropical House in 1982 would have been £2.70 = £9.86 in today’s money!
I remember buying a pasty in 1983 in the Mpila snack bar for 17p = 57p in today’s money.
Real. There were large turnstiles at both the north and south entrances, in some cases in the large hedges that surrounded them.
I think you've missed an entrance, possibly the first, which was the original main entrance to Oakfield House. It had a large stone gateway typical of a house of its standing, with an ironwork sign placed above that read "Zoological Gardens". The little wooden booth staffed by granny Mottershead was later placed partway along the driveway. Cars sometimes parked along the drive, until a small area of ground to the left of it was cleared to become the first car park, roughly (as far as I can deduce) where the old south entrance was eventually situated.
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Welsh Zootographer
Well-Known Member
And those prices are the second highest of this season, in most of August the prices are Adult £28 & Child £24 (on the purple days).
This does look vaguely familiar as the entrance I used. Although an (irregular) visitor since the 1960's I cannot remember using any other entrances into the zoo until the much more recent main one near the Elephant House, though I think I must have done on some occasions.
Yea I do fancy some nice pictures of the new pool, to see how it looks.
And in terms of news just be on the look out for any major changes or developments really
William Hartnell, Valerie Singlethought (
) & Sean Connery of course. I still remember the wonderful strangeness of the first episode of Dr Who - the kaleidoscopic title sequence, that radiophonic theme tune and the dimensional distortion of the Tardis.The list of entrances is very comprehensive, but there was also the supplementary entrance to number 6, entering behind the rhino house, which was used during work on the main entrance, for parties and perhaps sometimes as an overflow.
Welsh Zootographer
Well-Known Member
Forecast for Monday is a 90% chance of precipitation in Chester.
And those prices are the second highest of this season, in most of August the prices are Adult £28 & Child £24 (on the purple days).
That really makes the £90 cost for membership an absolute steal. I can’t believe I haven’t done it yet!
Isn’t that how most construction companies generally tend to work nowadays - they’ll pledge to be finished earlier than is actually feasibly possible in order to ensure that they get the contract, and then they work to a realistically achievable timescale once the ink has dried on the paper?
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AardvarkJosh
Active Member
I Know first year as members having been visiting semi-regularly for 10 years £140 ish for a joint membership already been 7 times since November plus a free visit to Edinburgh last week.
Welsh Zootographer
Well-Known Member
Will be renewing my membership, lapsed a few years ago, as soon as we have a moderately warm Tuesday or Thursday.
Also why it seems nearly everyone in all of chester and the surrounding areas have memberships
Yes - being able to use the membership at Edinburgh and Colchester is particularly attractive to me.
Even colleagues where I work have Chester Zoo memberships and I don't! Although, for them it’s probably the only zoo that they ever visit - for me, most of my zoo visits are elsewhere.
Even colleagues where I work have Chester Zoo memberships and I don't! Although, for them it’s probably the only zoo that they ever visit - for me, most of my zoo visits are elsewhere.
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