So today we headed out to go to the Living Rainforest in Berkshire, this was our first visit. In total we spent about 3/4 hours there including time in the cafe. Just so you get an idea of what perspective this is from, I went with my mother and father and my brother who is 13, I'm 18 by the way!
Do take some time to look at the photos in the gallery, I uploaded the best ones!
Anyway... my thoughts:
I wasn't sure what to expect today due to a number of negative reviews online but overall I really enjoyed the collection. The entrance building (which seems relatively new) is good, a good bit of room for queues to the ticket desk and a well stocked gift shop and small cafe. The Human Impact area seemed a bit of waste to me, it wasn't very inspiring and could be used to house more species or done up to be a bit more interactive.
The attraction itself it split into two different rooms, one called the Lowland House and the other being the Amazonica House. The Lowland House comes first and is the smaller of the two. Its home to a nice collection of plants and a few animals including a chameleon, turacos and various invertebrates. There we no free flying/walking/crawling... and on, animals in this section!
The Amazonica house is the real attraction and is home to an amazing range of plants and animals. There are two primate species housed here, one is the Pygmy Marmoset which has a medium sized enclosure, fronted by glass, the glass made it a little hard to see inside but the enclosure was well planted and had plenty of room for the marmosets. There seems to be plans to expand/refurbish the exhibit, I guess with better viewing facilities? The other primate present was the Goeldi's Monkey which was housed alongside one Azra's Agouti. The enclosure is half glass, half metal and is a good size. The monkeys seem to be a family group and were very active. Again the viewing could be improved.
The house also features various aquariums/water exhibits including the Amazon River aquarium which is home to stingrays, turtles, pacus and several other small fish species. Its a good size and has great underwater facilities which the kids love. Also in the house is a dwarf crocodile exhibit, a tortoise exhibit and a large pond for the water lilies where the ducks like to hang out too!
There are various free ranging birds and lizards, we saw several bird species but sadly didn't spot any lizards. Another free ranging animal is the sloth, which sadly didn't appear and I was told by a keeper that it was hiding behind another enclosure, typical!
This really pretty much sums up the collection, I really enjoyed visiting with my family and my brother really enjoyed it too. The entrance fee is probably a little steep but its a nice small collection, well exhibited and the kids seem to love it too. Personally, I'd love to see them add a outdoor area with some bigger species, maybe otters or more primates to fit in with the jungle theme. If people are ever in the area or travelling by, its worth a pop in for an hour or two!
Over and out.
Do take some time to look at the photos in the gallery, I uploaded the best ones!
Anyway... my thoughts:
I wasn't sure what to expect today due to a number of negative reviews online but overall I really enjoyed the collection. The entrance building (which seems relatively new) is good, a good bit of room for queues to the ticket desk and a well stocked gift shop and small cafe. The Human Impact area seemed a bit of waste to me, it wasn't very inspiring and could be used to house more species or done up to be a bit more interactive.
The attraction itself it split into two different rooms, one called the Lowland House and the other being the Amazonica House. The Lowland House comes first and is the smaller of the two. Its home to a nice collection of plants and a few animals including a chameleon, turacos and various invertebrates. There we no free flying/walking/crawling... and on, animals in this section!
The Amazonica house is the real attraction and is home to an amazing range of plants and animals. There are two primate species housed here, one is the Pygmy Marmoset which has a medium sized enclosure, fronted by glass, the glass made it a little hard to see inside but the enclosure was well planted and had plenty of room for the marmosets. There seems to be plans to expand/refurbish the exhibit, I guess with better viewing facilities? The other primate present was the Goeldi's Monkey which was housed alongside one Azra's Agouti. The enclosure is half glass, half metal and is a good size. The monkeys seem to be a family group and were very active. Again the viewing could be improved.
The house also features various aquariums/water exhibits including the Amazon River aquarium which is home to stingrays, turtles, pacus and several other small fish species. Its a good size and has great underwater facilities which the kids love. Also in the house is a dwarf crocodile exhibit, a tortoise exhibit and a large pond for the water lilies where the ducks like to hang out too!
There are various free ranging birds and lizards, we saw several bird species but sadly didn't spot any lizards. Another free ranging animal is the sloth, which sadly didn't appear and I was told by a keeper that it was hiding behind another enclosure, typical!
This really pretty much sums up the collection, I really enjoyed visiting with my family and my brother really enjoyed it too. The entrance fee is probably a little steep but its a nice small collection, well exhibited and the kids seem to love it too. Personally, I'd love to see them add a outdoor area with some bigger species, maybe otters or more primates to fit in with the jungle theme. If people are ever in the area or travelling by, its worth a pop in for an hour or two!
Over and out.
thank you the comment! I'm sure there will be more to come in the future.