Living Coasts (Closed) Living Coasts closed permanently

Crowthorne said:
I can't recall how much it cost on my visit (April 2016), although I had a combined ticket with Paignton. For a lot of general visitors though, I guess for what amounted to penguins, "sea lions", "some birds" and "some fish", it probably may have felt expensive for what it was. Very much a shame though, because it really did feel unique and special, doing something that nowhere else has done. Seal and Penguin Coast at Bristol is about the closest comparison I can think of, but Living Coasts had the fantastic sea views as the perfect backdrop
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When it comes to aquariums, though, I've always found people have no problem dishing out whatever the cost no matter how small the collection. I've been to places smaller than LC that were all indoors and whose collection could be summed up as seals, river otters, Meerkats, some sharks, and a lot of fish that charge over $40 for entry and they do excellently. In a lot less popular cities with zoos not too far away. I find it all a little surprising.

~Thylo
 
The Hedgehog said:
ThomasnotTom Californian Sea Lions are a different species to Fur Seals. I accept that Seals especially the Fur Seals look like Californian Sea Lions. Counting the two species as one is essentially saying that all of us Zoochatters are Gorilla's or Chimpanzee's because we look like them!I
I'm sorry if I sound rude but I have always thought of Californian Sea Lions and Fur Seals being two separate species

The reason I know that Fur Seals and Californian Sea Lions are two different species is because when I was on the Safari Boats at Longleat Safari Parkthe person doing the talk explained that Sea Lions have external ears whereas Seals just have holes as ears.
If I'm wrong please feel free to enlighten me to the correct information as I have always wondered what the differences are between Fur Seals and Californian Sea Lions.
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You’ve misunderstood what Tom was trying to point out. He knows the differences between seals and sea lions.
 
The Hedgehog said:
ThomasnotTom Californian Sea Lions are a different species to Fur Seals. I accept that Seals especially the Fur Seals look like Californian Sea Lions. Counting the two species as one is essentially saying that all of us Zoochatters are Gorilla's or Chimpanzee's because we look like them!I
I'm sorry if I sound rude but I have always thought of Californian Sea Lions and Fur Seals being two separate species

The reason I know that Fur Seals and Californian Sea Lions are two different species is because when I was on the Safari Boats at Longleat Safari Parkthe person doing the talk explained that Sea Lions have external ears whereas Seals just have holes as ears.
If I'm wrong please feel free to enlighten me to the correct information as I have always wondered what the differences are between Fur Seals and Californian Sea Lions.
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Fur seals are "eared seals" just like sea lions, and neither are true seals. I think Tomas' point was more that, to the general public, there is another collection in the Devon area with a pinniped, rather than suggesting the two animals are one and the same.

~Thylo
 
The Hedgehog said:
The reason I know that Fur Seals and Californian Sea Lions are two different species is because when I was on the Safari Boats at Longleat Safari Parkthe person doing the talk explained that Sea Lions have external ears whereas Seals just have holes as ears.
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They are different species, but Fur Seals *are* actually a kind of sealion, as your example illustrates ;)

full
 
The Hedgehog said:
ThomasnotTom Californian Sea Lions are a different species to Fur Seals. I accept that Seals especially the Fur Seals look like Californian Sea Lions. Counting the two species as one is essentially saying that all of us Zoochatters are Gorilla's or Chimpanzee's because we look like them!I
I'm sorry if I sound rude but I have always thought of Californian Sea Lions and Fur Seals being two separate species

The reason I know that Fur Seals and Californian Sea Lions are two different species is because when I was on the Safari Boats at Longleat Safari Parkthe person doing the talk explained that Sea Lions have external ears whereas Seals just have holes as ears.
If I'm wrong please feel free to enlighten me to the correct information as I have always wondered what the differences are between Fur Seals and Californian Sea Lions.
Click to expand...

TriUK said:
You’ve misunderstood what Tom was trying to point out. He knows the differences between seals and sea lions.
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ThylacineAlive said:
Fur seals are "eared seals" just like sea lions, and neither are true seals. I think Tomas' point was more that, to the general public, there is another collection in the Devon area with a pinniped, rather than suggesting the two animals are one and the same.

~Thylo
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@TriUK and @ThylacineAlive are correct. I know the difference @The Hedgehog. I was pointing out that to the general public, whether they are Fur Seals or Sea Lions, it will make very little difference.

Side note, you've both chosen an interesting way of calling me *Thomas* ;):p
 
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I took what was probably my last "trip" to Living Coasts today... by "trip", I mean peering over the walkway that looks over the site :( My camera was sadly pushed to it's limits, so I was unable to take any worthwhile photos (other than one of the Bank Cormorants)... It will be so sad to see a place like LC lost, it truly is a gem when it comes to UK zoos...
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The Hedgehog said:
ShonenJake13 I was thinking the exact same thing. Purchasing Living Coast's would benefit Merlin Entertainments finances immensely.
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If it's losing money (which it presumably is or why would it be closing?) how would it benefit anyone's finances to buy it?
 
SHAVINGTONZOO said:
If it's losing money (which it presumably is or why would it be closing?) how would it benefit anyone's finances to buy it?
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Yes - if LC had falling attendances pre-Covid and an 'aging infrastructure', it would certainly be simpler for Merlin to start from scratch on a clean unencumbered site.
 
ThomasNotTom said:
I took what was probably my last "trip" to Living Coasts today... by "trip", I mean peering over the walkway that looks over the site :( My camera was sadly pushed to it's limits, so I was unable to take any worthwhile photos (other than one of the Bank Cormorants)... It will be so sad to see a place like LC lost, it truly is a gem when it comes to UK zoos...
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I think that latter photograph (showing the collection as a whole) is worth uploading properly to the gallery :)
 
ThylacineAlive said:
When it comes to aquariums, though, I've always found people have no problem dishing out whatever the cost no matter how small the collection. I've been to places smaller than LC that were all indoors and whose collection could be summed up as seals, river otters, Meerkats, some sharks, and a lot of fish that charge over $40 for entry and they do excellently. In a lot less popular cities with zoos not too far away. I find it all a little surprising.

~Thylo
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The British public's interest in birds has declined generally. Bird collections have largely gone and been replaced by 'Falconry Centres'. If you cant have it perched on your fist, it is boring to many.
However, these new places themselves, and so-called 'falconry' generally, are very dependent on animal presentations to crowds of people, so it will be interesting to see how they find their place in our new world living with Covid.
 
Gutted to hear about Living Coasts closing down, especially as they couldn't keep it open for one more season to let people visit for a final time. It really was something quite unique and a rather attractive feature of Torquay's seafront. Seems to have been a victim of both being too small, so it didn't attract many locals more than once (it's attendance starting dropping after 6/7 years open) and the COVID-19 crisis combined into a horrible mix. Think it might have survived a few more years if Paignton Zoo was making it's usual profits and could continue to subsidise it. Looks like Paignton made the tactical decision to ensure Paignton/Newquay's survival. Interesting that they mention the upkeep costs are particularly high and bordering on uneconomical - surely they should have looked at this when it was built, it's only 17 years old.

I hope the Council or some particularly rich individual comes out of the woodwork and tries to save it but I highly doubt that's going to happen. Makes me worried for the future of the animals and in particular for the future of Torquay, it's a prime tourist site that's going to sit empty at a time when the town really needs some attracting tourists and spending money, like Living Coasts would have.

There is an element of mismanagement though, the restaurant/bar on that site has potentially the best views on Torquay harbourside and yet it's barely used as more than a zoo restaurant. They should have opened it to the general public with a separate entrance and used it to subsidise Living Coasts. Can't say I ever heard of anyone going there despite living in Torquay for years, real missed opportunity.
 
This is a terrible shame - I will really miss this collection. Sounds as though the writing was already on the wall regardless of Covid-19 but that doesn't make it any less sad.
 
It’s awful news regardless of whether the writing was on the wall or not. I don’t think there’s anything similar to compare it to in the UK. Could it have been more successful in a different location/region?

I’d love to know a potted history of the place particularly how the LC concept came to fruition.
 
Gulls86 said:
There is an element of mismanagement though, the restaurant/bar on that site has potentially the best views on Torquay harbourside and yet it's barely used as more than a zoo restaurant. They should have opened it to the general public with a separate entrance and used it to subsidise Living Coasts. Can't say I ever heard of anyone going there despite living in Torquay for years, real missed opportunity.
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We definitely used the restaurant on our second day in Torquay without going through the zoo, so it must have had a separate entrance of some kind (it's been a few years so can't remember exactly). Not sure how much they advertised this though.
 
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Crowthorne said:
We definitely used the restaurant on our second day in Torquay without going through the zoo, so it must have had a separate entrance of some kind (it's been a few years so can't remember exactly). Not sure how much they advertised this though.
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Oh really? I lived there for like a decade and a half and never knew that. Shows how well it was advertised I guess.

Panthera1981 said:
It’s awful news regardless of whether the writing was on the wall or not. I don’t think there’s anything similar to compare it to in the UK. Could it have been more successful in a different location/region?
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Torquay is generally the 3rd or 4th most visited seaside resort in the country despite not having the large population centres next to it like Brighton/Blackpool and it was in a great location in the town. So it wasn't lacking the tourist base. I think it struggled because of it's size more than anything else, it only took about an hour to go around and while you could get a double ticket with Paignton Zoo, they're about a 20 min drive/45 min to an hour bus ride apart (depending on bus timings), so that would put people off doing it as the default. For locals it was often a single visit and that was it unlike Paignton Zoo where people could happily visit yearly.
 
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Crowthorne said:
We definitely used the restaurant on our second day in Torquay without going through the zoo, so it must have had a separate entrance of some kind
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I've been in there after LC had closed for the day at about 18.30, the entrance to the bar/restaurant was just past the main gate to Living Coasts, the very last thing on the quayside if memory serves me correctly. On my first visit it was what I had to settle for as the collection had already closed...
 
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