Recommendations?

TMWildlife

Member
Hi all!

This is my first proper post - I’m really looking forward to hearing from you all and learning more.

I have a quick question to ask, if that’s okay. In mid June, I’ll have two days to fit in a zoo trip for my birthday. I want to ideally visit two large zoos that are relatively close by, so I can stay somewhere in between and do one on the first day, then the other on the second.

Location does not matter (though I’m based in Yorkshire, if that helps) as I’m willing to travel pretty much anywhere in the UK.

My question is - would anybody please be able to recommend two big zoos that are feasible to visit in this way? I have looked at doing Twycross and then Dudley, which I’m currently contemplating.

I figured asking this here would get me some more insightful results and opinions than a Google search would, haha.

Thanks so much in advance!
 
twycross zoo and dudley are good options, be prepared with Dudley old fashioned style of zoo much like bristol if you ever been, twycross at the moment is a good zoo to see but quite a lot of empty enclosures, brilliant selection of apes though, all big cats were out and about when i went yesterday. chester zoo is one of the big zoo's that is a must see a swell, VERY BIG, get in early a sit will take a whole day to get round ^^; if you want a unique zoo, Hamerton is very Australian animals based zoo, planning to go there in late summer, after summer holidays no kids around then

if you do i would suggest hanging around Birmingham as they are a few zoo's you can do

Dudley zoo
twycross zoo
Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park
National Sea Life Centre
Hoo Zoo
 
twycross zoo and dudley are good options, be prepared with Dudley old fashioned style of zoo much like bristol if you ever been, twycross at the moment is a good zoo to see but quite a lot of empty enclosures, brilliant selection of apes though, all big cats were out and about when i went yesterday. chester zoo is one of the big zoo's that is a must see a swell, VERY BIG, get in early a sit will take a whole day to get round ^^; if you want a unique zoo, Hamerton is very Australian animals based zoo, planning to go there in late summer, after summer holidays no kids around then

if you do i would suggest hanging around Birmingham as they are a few zoo's you can do

Dudley zoo
twycross zoo
Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park
National Sea Life Centre
Hoo Zoo
Thanks for this! Birmingham sounds like it could be the way to go. Dudley seems to have a really good collection of species I haven’t seen before and I’ve heard from numerous sources that Twycross is really good.

Chester is my all-time favourite! I think I’ll have to plan a trip there before the end of June too.

I also really like the sound of Hamerton, plenty of species I’ve never seen there too!
 
all depends in what you want to see or havent seen if thats the case :D, Hamerton and Hoo Zoo, they are on my list this year to go and see this year
 
If you haven't been to Chester Zoo, then I would suggest, Chester Zoo. If travelling isn't a problem and you have a car, you could go to nearby Knowsley Safari for a different experience to simply walking around all day, or maybe nip up to Blackpool.

Disregard, I'm a lazy reader and now see you have been to Chester :D

What about Knowsley and Blackpool then?
 
I think from memory Shepreth Wildlife Park and Linton Zoo aren't too far away from each other.

Or Knowsley, Chester and Welsh Mountain Zoo
Five Sisters and Edinburgh :)
 
Can I suggest two full days at Chester Zoo. It’s worth the effort. There’s really more than a day's worth there.
 
If you haven't been to Chester Zoo, then I would suggest, Chester Zoo. If travelling isn't a problem and you have a car, you could go to nearby Knowsley Safari for a different experience to simply walking around all day, or maybe nip up to Blackpool.

Disregard, I'm a lazy reader and now see you have been to Chester :D

What about Knowsley and Blackpool then?
I unfortunately don't drive:( But Blackpool Zoo looks pretty great, I had no idea they housed elephants!
 
Speciality mammals of English zoos

Africa Alive!: African brush-tailed porcupine
Axe Valley: Hokkaido squirrel
Battersea Park: Pallas's squirrel
Birmingham Sea Life: Sea otter
Bristol Zoo: Kowari, Comoro flying fox, South American fur seal
Chester: Balabac chevotrain, onager, small Indian mongoose, Grandidier's vontsira
Colchester: Black saki, blue duiker
Cotswold Wildlife Park: Crowned sifaka, hammer-headed bat, Neumann's grass rat
Cromer: Geoffroy's spider monkey
Drusilla's: Campbell's desert hamster, lesser Egyptian gerbil
Dudley: White-lipped peccary
Exmoor: Eastern grey kangaroo, sand cat, spotted fanaloka
Flamingo Land: Yellow-footed rock wallaby
Hamerton: Spotted-tail quoll, eastern ring-tail possum, squirrel glider, common wombat, yellow spotted rock hyrax, fat sand rat, masked palm civet, aardwolf, black-backed jackal, greater grison
Heckmondwike: Finlayson's squirrel
Honeybourne: Cuban hutia, golden jackal
Horncastle: Sunda pig-tailed macaque
Howlett's: Heck's macaque
Knowsley: Olive baboon, kiang
London: Grey langur, Australian water rat
Longleat: Southern hairy-nosed wombat, koala
Maidenhead: Northern and Siberian flying squirrels
Marwell: Arabian oryx
Monkey World: Red-bellied guenon, grey gibbon
Newchapel: Bank vole, short-tailed field vole, yellow-necked field mouse, least weasel, American mink
Newchurch: Lowland paca
Newquay: Hoffmann's sloth
Port Lympne: Golden-bellied mangabey
Romsey: Steppe lemming
Sewerby Park: White-fronted capuchin
Shaldon: Green acouchy
Shorelands: Yellow-toothed cavy, greater guinea pig, common slender mongoose
Stickney: Hausa genet
Thrigby: Asian golden cat
Twycross: Bonobo
Waltham Cross: Palestinian spiny mouse
West Knoyle: Wapiti
West Midland: Persian fallow deer, Cape fur seal
Whipsnade: Gaur, gemsbok, sloth bear
Wildwood: Fat dormouse
Wingham Wildlife Park: Spix's night monkey, vervet, black crested mangabey, plantain squirrel, Asiatic black bear
Woburn Safari Park: American black bear
Yorkshire Wildlife Park: Red howler, roloway monkey, beisa oryx, polar bear
 
If I could visit any UK zoo without having any worries about travel, it would be Highland Wildlife park all day!
 
Can I suggest two full days at Chester Zoo. It’s worth the effort. There’s really more than a day's worth there.
With all the indoor currently closed it is definitely find to do it in one day.
 
Speciality mammals of English zoos

Africa Alive!: African brush-tailed porcupine
Axe Valley: Hokkaido squirrel
Battersea Park: Pallas's squirrel
Birmingham Sea Life: Sea otter
Bristol Zoo: Kowari, Comoro flying fox, South American fur seal
Chester: Balabac chevotrain, onager, small Indian mongoose, Grandidier's vontsira
Colchester: Black saki, blue duiker
Cotswold Wildlife Park: Crowned sifaka, hammer-headed bat, Neumann's grass rat
Cromer: Geoffroy's spider monkey
Drusilla's: Campbell's desert hamster, lesser Egyptian gerbil
Dudley: White-lipped peccary
Exmoor: Eastern grey kangaroo, sand cat, spotted fanaloka
Flamingo Land: Yellow-footed rock wallaby
Hamerton: Spotted-tail quoll, eastern ring-tail possum, squirrel glider, common wombat, yellow spotted rock hyrax, fat sand rat, masked palm civet, aardwolf, black-backed jackal, greater grison
Heckmondwike: Finlayson's squirrel
Honeybourne: Cuban hutia, golden jackal
Horncastle: Sunda pig-tailed macaque
Howlett's: Heck's macaque
Knowsley: Olive baboon, kiang
London: Grey langur, Australian water rat
Longleat: Southern hairy-nosed wombat, koala
Maidenhead: Northern and Siberian flying squirrels
Marwell: Arabian oryx
Monkey World: Red-bellied guenon, grey gibbon
Newchapel: Bank vole, short-tailed field vole, yellow-necked field mouse, least weasel, American mink
Newchurch: Lowland paca
Newquay: Hoffmann's sloth
Port Lympne: Golden-bellied mangabey
Romsey: Steppe lemming
Sewerby Park: White-fronted capuchin
Shaldon: Green acouchy
Shorelands: Yellow-toothed cavy, greater guinea pig, common slender mongoose
Stickney: Hausa genet
Thrigby: Asian golden cat
Twycross: Bonobo
Waltham Cross: Palestinian spiny mouse
West Knoyle: Wapiti
West Midland: Persian fallow deer, Cape fur seal
Whipsnade: Gaur, gemsbok, sloth bear
Wildwood: Fat dormouse
Wingham Wildlife Park: Spix's night monkey, vervet, black crested mangabey, plantain squirrel, Asiatic black bear
Woburn Safari Park: American black bear
Yorkshire Wildlife Park: Red howler, roloway monkey, beisa oryx, polar bear
An interesting list, but several of these species are offshow or in the case of Shorelands - closed for 3 years at least (unless it has re-opened).
 
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