Port Lympne or Colchester?

JamesB

JamesB

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Ive been offered the choice to visit one of these over the half term but its a tricky decision as i would quite like to visit both. Im thinking maybe colchester because it has the best range of species and also has some very well designed exhibits but that also applys to Port Lympne and then again it has a great ape exhibit which i would quite like too check out. Ideas anyone?
 
Port Lymnpe, due to it's primate, cat and rhino collection, African Experience and rarities like Sifaka and Brown Hyeana. And funnilly enough, I'm visiting it for the first time on the Wednesday of half-term.
 
I haven’t visited either for some time but for what it’s worth, Colchester has a good collection of animals but everything seems to be made out plywood and I find it quite ugly. Also the humans are generally restricted to narrow pathways which on busy days can be packed.
Port Lympne also has a great collection (though almost exclusively mammals) which have better enclosures and the estate and gardens are far superior to the grounds at Colchester. I’d go for Port Lympne but despite my negativity, Colchester is a good zoo and either will be a good day out.
 
Port Lympne because you don`t have to put with glass nearly every where like you do at Colchester,that said Colchester has a more balanced collection.
 
Both zoos have species that are rarely seen in the UK.

Colchester
  • spotted & striped hyaenas
  • patas monkey
  • Cuban hutia
  • buffy-headed capuchin
  • two-toed sloth
  • slender-snouted crocodile
  • mandrill
  • Rocky mountain goat
  • South American sea lions

Port Lympne
  • broad-nosed gentle lemur
  • olive baboon
  • drill
  • moloch gibbon
  • sifaka
  • brown hyaena
  • dhole
  • golden-bellied mangabey
  • water buffalo
  • fishing cat (plus several other species I never see)

Colchester has more species, including birds and reptiles, and is easier to view. PL has the rarities, and larger herds, but it takes a lot of effort to see everything.
Personally I'd go to PL every time, because of their wonderful gorillas (and the gentle lemurs :D).

Alan
 
It's a tough one really, both are excellent collection in my opinion. Port Lymphe has a bigger collection of rare species i guess but is a collection of Primates, Carnivores, Hoofstock and Elephants and nothing else, whilst Colchester is more varied, has a larger collection of species and is much easier to view.
 
gentle lemur said:
[*]olive baboon

[*]fishing cat (plus several other species I never see)
Click to expand...

Port Lympne baboons are Guinea (from Paris Vincennes colony), not Olive.

I would have made the same comment about the small cats in the past, but for some reason on my last visit I saw practically every small cat species they have at Port Lympne- everything was active and moving about around 4 pm, was it close to feeding time? But Pallas Cats and a Clouded Leopard were visible at Howletts also.

Colchester is much easier to walk around, being a fraction of PL's size, but otherwise it would be a very difficult choice between these two collections.
 
kiang said:
That is a shame, are they still in the UK.

They are a phase out species from Europe now aren't they?
Click to expand...
Did try to find out but the staff we asked didn`t know where they had been sent to,not sure if they are been phased out in Europe as well as quite afew places still have them,got admit it a shame they have gone it was one of the few reasons i visited Colchester for so they now have one less for me to place.
 
I would say PL, but I am prejudiced (mega on enclosures+larger mammals, great landscaping, wide open spaces ...). Also, I have never ever had the chance to go to Colchester Zoo (allthough seems by reports, my frequent reading on their home website and photographs to be a neat zoo).
 
Thanks for all the information guys, i have eliminated Colchester of the list but now im considering would Howletts be any better than Port Lympne, I know they are pretty similar but is one better than the other? I'm off to look at the web sites to see if i can make my mind up.

Thanks again :)
 
Go to colchester, i've never been to clochester, but i hear u can feed elephants and giraffes. But port lympne is a great zoo, fab elephant enclosure!!!!, hope u enjoy ur day.
 
Port Lympne is special. Howletts should really be a second choice. Once you've been to both you'll understand what people mean about PL. As for comparing Colchester against PL, it would be like deciding whether to visit Kew Gardens or a (very well stocked) garden centre.
 
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