Missed Collections

[adrian1963]

Over the years many good collections have closed in the UK I was just wondering which one’s you miss now that they have gone?

I must admit I didn’t travel to far as a youngster so the one’s I can remember the most was Southport for all the wrong reason’s but won’t go into that and Manchester as a very young lad we used to visit the zoo when the local speedway team were riding at Belle Vue Stadium just down the road.

I can remember there being some Penguins, Tigers, a pool or pond with a few ducks or something on it I was only about 7 or 8 when I visited the zoo last it’s just that I visited Belle Vue Speedway this year and it brought all the memories back.

Now how about telling your stories from the past and which collections you miss now there gone

 

[Tim May]

Quite a few of the small UK animal collections that I've visited have since closed and, to be honest, most of them I don’t really miss very much.

However, the closed zoo that I miss most is unquestionably Kilverstone; I visited it several times annually for a great many years and I regret it closing enormously.

Kilverstone had a lovely collection of rarely seen South American species. To take just two species as examples; it is still the only zoo where I’ve ever seen tassel-eared marmosets Callithrix humeralifera and one of the very few places where I seen black-handed tamarins Saguinus niger (or as they were called in those days Saguinus midas niger as they were then considered to be a sub-species of red-handed tamarin).

I’ll also miss the Rare Species Conservation Centre at Sandwich very much too, which always had interesting and unusual species; I visited it a number of times in recent years. On my last visit, earlier this year, I was very excited to see the fanaloka. Sadly it was only two or three days after this visit when I learned it had closed.

I never visited there, but I really regret Belle Vue (Manchester) closing; I wish I had the opportunity to visit it in its heyday.

 

[Shirokuma]

As I posted in another thread:

I went to Southport Zoo a few times when I was a kid, for a small zoo it was packed with animals, not all in bad enclosures although I remember writing a letter of complaint (I was about 10 years old) about the bear cage.

Another closed zoo in the North West of England is Haigh Hall Zoo. It was situated in a country park near Wigan and had a large number of animals including many birds, primates and small cats. Larger animals included zebras, bactrian camels, llamas and Brazilian tapir. There were some bad enclosures but I remember a nice wooded tapir paddock and an attractive flamingo pond in the same area.
It closed in the early 1990s I think.

I just got Anthony Smith's 'Animals on View'; it lists zoos in the UK in 1976 and it's full of collections which are no longer open.

 

[Tim Brown]

Please go to "Whats Next?" for my thoughts on missed collections as it seems as if i scuppered the original idea and i cant be bothered re-typing it all.But i suppose i might add Cricket St Thomas for its superb location with a reasonable collection and i wish i had seen Norfolk Wildlife Park in its heyday under Phillip Wayre.Incidentally my first ever job interview was at Belle Vue with dear old Clive Bennett[the first man to breed the Royal Python in the UK] in the Reptile House...they had Marine Iguanas in there once but they only lasted a week and i missed them[no zoochat then of course]

 

[Tim Brown]

Sorry, that should be "Whos Next?"

 

[Pertinax]

I never visited there, but I really regret Belle Vue (Manchester) closing; I wish I had the opportunity to visit it in its heyday.

IMO definately the biggest loss of a Zoological Collection in the UK in the last fifty years(maybe ever?) I was fortunate enough to visit there several times in the late 60's-70's, the last time being in 1974- it closed three years later.

But I was never to go to Kilverstone- though I have several postcards from there.

Norfolk Wildlife Park under Philip Wayre was an interesting collection- I managed just one visit- though quite small, it was probably unique in those days for the number of European species held.

 

[Parrotsandrew]

Southport was just my sort of collection - a good selection of animals in a small area and at the seaside too. Wonderful (I realise a FEW people may disagree!). The collection I miss most is the Tropical Bird Gardens at Rode. Truly an earthly paradise, especially the free-flying Macaws. Looking up to see them above the treetops, bliss. I made only one visit to Gatwick, but I think it was excellent and a big loss. Two places I don't miss are Scarborough and Knaresborough, and I think Cricket St. Thomas was a major disappointment especially as it was in such a beautiful setting.

 

[Pertinax]

and I think Cricket St. Thomas was a major disappointment especially as it was in such a beautiful setting.

I forgot about Rode Bird Garden. It was a lovely place, one of the first(along with Bourton) to have free-flying Macaws. It was sad to see it gradually decline and then finally close.

I tend to agree about Cricket- the location was probably the most beautiful in the UK but the collection never matched-up to it- I think it never had a strong direction or sense of vision- just a fairly random collection. I always thought of it as the classic 'wildlife park' though -along with Cotswold, though in recent years Cotswold has come on in leaps and bounds, in contrast to Cricket's closure.

 

[pinkback]

Just out of my own interest I just tried to work out how many collections I had visited that no longer exist. Depressingly it came to 25.
A few were truly awful, but I to miss Kilverstone and particularly Winged World in Morcombe and Padstow Bird Garden in Cornwall.

 

[Javan Rhino]

The only collection that I've visited that has since closed is RSCC - yes I'll miss it for its collection. Since I'm particularly fond of bears, I was happy to see my first sun bears there. It was also decorated nicely, though some of the enclosures left a bit to be desired.

From what I've read on here, two collections I regret not having the chance to have visited are Belle Vue and Cricket St. Thomas.

 

[TARZAN]

I certainly agree that Scarborough and Knaresborough are no miss to the U.K. scene, neither is Seaburn Zoo on the North East coast.Lambton Lion Park in Co. Durham is, however a miss to me, it closed at the end of the 1980 season after only trading for eight years, I remember passing my driving test in early 1981 in my Mini, my first thoughts when the examiner gave me my pass certificate was that I would then be able to visit Lambton Lion Park in my own car, this was not to be as it did not open for the 19181 season, sad when you consider that the other Chipperfield safari parks, Longleat, Woburn, Knowsley, West Midlands and Blair Drummond are still going strong to this day. Regarding Belle Vue, Manchester, I never actually visited this site when the zoo was open, only to visit there in early 1982 to visit the last circus staged for the Christmas season in the King's Hall. I have heard various descriptions of this zoo, some good, some not so good, a good book on Belle Vue is At Home in the Zoo by Gerald Iles, he comes across in the book as someone who had the well being and welfare of the animals at heart, however, quite a few times in this book he states that he could have done better with certain animals if they had better facilities, of coarse though, this was years ago, a very interesting book. Cricket St. Thomas, yes sad to see that it closed, I used to go there every year as a kid when on holiday in the West Country, agree a marvellous setting, although certainly looking back the collection could have been better, going to the West Country will never be the same without a visit to Cricket St. Thomas, although it would be nice to stop there in one of the executive suites in Mrs. fForbs Hamilton's house at the Warner hotel, better start saving up!

 

[Potamogale]

Sounds like I`m just chiming in with the same places already mentioned but I grew up with Winged World ( my Granny lived in Heysham ) which was such an impressive place - when I finally made it to Frankfurt Zoo Bird House a few years back the walk-through area made the memories flood back ( I was always under the impression that the walk-through area in Winged World was directly modelled on Frankfurt) .
Can`t say I miss the little Children`s Zoo at the same place ( Heysham Head ) though ...

Rode Tropical Bird Gardens was also a childhood regular and am fairly sure we visited a number of times - my Gran was particularly impressed when I idintified a cassowary for her .
Also have fond memories of Southport ( and yes I also know the varying opinions on this place ) in particular of the Binturongs ( the first ones I got to see ) and Haigh Hall - seem to have a vague memory of this place having a big(ish) cat enclosure ( by which I mean an enclosure/cage for a big(ish) cat NOT a BIG enclosure )- possibly leopard but could be mistaken ... the small council run Zoo in Bolton`s Moss Bank Park was another regular visit - hardly exceptional but it was the nearest place to home .

Never made it to Cricket or Kilverstone ( being at the mercy of family holidays was a bit of a problem even if I did usually manage to drag either all the family or just my long-suffering Mother around whatever Zoo/Aquarium?Wildlife Park/Bird Park etc was in the locality ) .
Come to think of it one family holiday took in Knaresborough - and yes it was pretty terrible even if I do remember Nick bringing out a couple of snakes for people to touch ( needless to say I ended up holding one and loved every minute of it ) also supposedly the biggest ( longest ?) snake in captivity and the stuffed Lion that appeared with Elisabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the film Cloepatra ( ? think that was the film but sure someone will correct me if I`m wrong !! )

Made it to Belle Vue just the once a year or two before it closed - did have some photos but afraid they were a casualty of my divorce 10 years back ... grrrrrrr .
Do recall Tapirs (Asian - I am particularly fond of Tapirs) and an Elephant enclosure that looked pretty grim in comparison to Chester`s (old) Elephant house .
A place not mentioned yet was Penscynor - once again hardly the best of places but it did have it`s plus points - the parrot and lory collection was fairly impressive and in the last few years before closure the marmoset/tamarin collection was also fairly impressive ( Golden Lions I`m fairly sure ) but the most vivid memory is of a hugely well-stocked lovebird aviary ( they were always busy ...) strange what sticks in the mind !! The Chimps accomodation was pretty gulag-like , the big monkey enclosures on the side of the hill were impressively tall , there was a tiny flamingo pool with a handfull of birds , colobus in an adequate cage , Douroucouli in a tiny glass-fronted box which were mostly just curled up in the corner , some other impressive birds in various styles of cage/enclosure , meerkats arrived a few years before closure in the converted old sealion pool ( I might be mistaken there but certainly was something aquatic before they filled it in and got the meerkats ) .
Oh and before I forget also recall quite a few trips to Windsor Safari park back in the day ... my first ( and as of yet only ) Orca , quite a decent parrot show and some friendly wallabies in a walk-through all spring to mind ( middle-age is to blame for not remembering much else ...)

 

[Shirokuma]

Also have fond memories of Southport ( and yes I also know the varying opinions on this place ) in particular of the Binturongs ( the first ones I got to see ) and Haigh Hall - seem to have a vague memory of this place having a big(ish) cat enclosure ( by which I mean an enclosure/cage for a big(ish) cat NOT a BIG enclosure )- possibly leopard but could be mistaken ...

I also remember Southport's binturongs as my first and the very storng smell too.

It's a shame, i think Southport had the potential to be a nice little collection with some modification and scaling back.

Haigh had pumas and I think lynx too as well as some smaller cats but I don't remember leopards.

 

[IanRRobinson]

Quite a few of the small UK animal collections that I've visited have since closed and, to be honest, most of them I don’t really miss very much.

However, the closed zoo that I miss most is unquestionably Kilverstone; I visited it several times annually for a great many years and I regret it closing enormously.

Kilverstone had a lovely collection of rarely seen South American species. To take just two species as examples; it is still the only zoo where I’ve ever seen tassel-eared marmosets Callithrix humeralifera and one of the very few places where I seen black-handed tamarins Saguinus niger (or as they were called in those days Saguinus midas niger as they were then considered to be a sub-species of red-handed tamarin).

I’ll also miss the Rare Species Conservation Centre at Sandwich very much too, which always had interesting and unusual species; I visited it a number of times in recent years. On my last visit, earlier this year, I was very excited to see the fanaloka. Sadly it was only two or three days after this visit when I learned it had closed.

I never visited there, but I really regret Belle Vue (Manchester) closing; I wish I had the opportunity to visit it in its heyday.

Being an only chilld and having a father who enjoyed driving into East Anglia I was indulged with visits to Great Witchingham in the 1970s, when it was at its peak, and to Kilverstone, which remains the only place I ever saw oropendolas. Kilverstone never quite fulfilled its potential, IMHO ; the deer park really ought to have had something a bit more exotic, and giant otters would surely have loved the opportunities that the stretch of the river would have presented.

The Norfolk Wildlife Park remains the best collection of pheasants I have seen in the UK, and the only collection of European birds that merited the term 'comprehensive'. It was where I first saw wolverine, stone-curlew, Iberian wolf, European suslik, Tengmalm's owl, white-tailed eagle, Cabot's tragopan, and (rather bizarrely, given its remit) sun bear.

Trips to Norfolk aren't quite the same now. At least Banham has survived, although I still mourn not having seen the red colobus that were on site in the mid 70s.

 

[Pootle]

Southport was just my sort of collection - a good selection of animals in a small area and at the seaside too. Wonderful (I realise a FEW people may disagree!).QUOTE]

I had many a happy afternoon in my childhood at Southport zoo, great little zoo and although the lion enclosure was concrete and cage (my memory) there was all sorts of animals their, I specifically remember a pair of otters (no idea what species) and a cow called 'Mini Moo'.

After visiting the zoo it was only a two minute walk to the funfair and five minute walk to the beach, perfect!

As mentioned above also Windsor, I recall watching the orca and then getting up close through the glass panel almost eye to eye with it, great experience.

 

[TARZAN]

An interesting discussion reminiscing of collections that are long gone, just wondering, I wonder what this discussion would be like in forty years time,would people be discussing the time when zoos had elephants, naming the last ones to reside in the U.K. and what year they left?, could animal collections disappear from the likes of Chessington, Drayton Manor and Flamingland as they decide to concentrate on the amusement park side of the business only.What concerns me is that two well known major collections in the U.K. have a chance of becoming history only in the future, that is if their current managements don't buck their ideas up!

 

[Pertinax]

Regarding Belle Vue, Manchester. I have heard various descriptions of this zoo, some good, some not so good, a good book on Belle Vue is At Home in the Zoo by Gerald Iles, he comes across in the book as someone who had the well being and welfare of the animals at heart, however, quite a few times in this book he states that he could have done better with certain animals if they had better facilities

I have this book nowadays, but I first read it (from a Library) long before I ever visited the Zoo. It made the place sound very exciting and interesting from many of the anecdotes in the Book. So I was totally unprepared for how antiquated and run down many of the exhibits were in this most 'urban' of urban zoos. But that didn't stop me making several more visits as it was such an interesting collection.

 

[Pertinax]

could animal collections disappear from the likes of Chessington, Drayton Manor and Flamingland as they decide to concentrate on the amusement park side of the business only.

Chessington have already been through one animal 'bottleneck' some years back when during one of their several changes of ownership it was mooted all the animals would leave. The Gorillas were rumoured to be heading to Chester, who would build an enclosure for them- but obviously nothing happened. But it only takes another change of ownership /policy for something like that to really happen. Same for Drayton Manor and Flamingoland I guess.

 

[Pertinax]

going to the West Country will never be the same without a visit to Cricket St. Thomas,

I used to visit there not infrequently for many years, then a long gap to a final couple of visits shortly before it(unbeknown to me) closed. I really didn't notice much difference in the animal collection over all that time, apart from the Elephants leaving and generally a slight reduction in species.

 

[Johnny Morris.]

I wish Whitson was still there. I only ever there once, when i was about 6 and can't really remember much about it, but it was only about 6 miles from where i live now. I go to Bristol about once a month, but i'd go a lot more if it wasn't for the Severn Bridge toll fees.

Penscynor was another i only ever visted once, when i was a child and would have visited more now if it were still open.

I never visited Crickets St Thomas, despite driving past it's gates many, many times. The leaflet they used to put out that i'd come across whilst on holiday wasn't very inspiring.