Well I managed to get in as an under 16 (I'm 24) which I know was a lie BUT I'm not paying £12 when I knew I'd be depressed seeing the orangs and the leopard because a friend had told me how bad it was!
Well, so long as you went into it with an open mind...
In terms of the 2 attractions, I see your point but castles don't interest me and it's a bit of a hike so I didn't see it other than to go to the loo and get a drink!
Fair enough if you're not interested but the Castle
is part of what you pay for at the gate, in the same way as the theme park at Flamingoland or the house at Longleat - so it's factored into the entrance fee. And you clearly went up to it anywya if you got a drink there!
I know this is a tywcross thread, but dudley's enclosures etc was discussed, so I added to the discussion. In my opinion, the orang outside house is crap, it's dark and dingy. I know it's new, I only saw it a couple of months ago. I certainly do not think that the outdoor area is acceptable. The climbing structure looks very dated. When i was there I saw bog all for the poor things to do. I sat there for 80% of my visit and they did nothing. I know captive orangs are meant to be "lazy" but all the orangs I have observed are a hell of a lot more active. Another thing that got to me was a chimp keeper. I asked her to help me ID the individuals in teh gruop and she said she couldn't, so I asked her if she was new and she said "no, i've worked here 3 years but they all look the same" so i made it a bit of a personal mission to ID the chimps. It took me 40 mins of close observations to confidently ID all of them!!!
Bear in mind that a keeper near, or even working with, the chimps may not work with them full time. They could easily be covering from another section (unless they told you otherwise, in which case fair enough). If you spent 40min at the chimp exhibit and about 80% of your visit at the orangs that's
at least 2.5 hrs watching the orangs (not factoring in any time spent at other animals or facilities). I'm surprised you'd spend so long making yourself miserable at an exhibit you don't like, but each to their own!
I know there are ppl on here who like, even love dudley, but I am one who does not. I accept that they are improving and I accept the fact that everyone is going to have a different opinion on such matters. There are ppl on here who are not fans of my local, and favourite zoo!
I may continue the discussion in the dudley forum. I will be returning to the zoo in a few months to see if there have been any developments since my last visit.
As noted, probably best if this is saved for a Dudley thread. But it seems to me you'd written Dudley off before you got there. What did you make of the lemur walkthrough? Or the otter exhibit (I understand they're back near the Barbary Sheep now?)? Dudley can do good, given the opportunity.
As to Twycross vs. Dudley - it's like choosing between two old, trustworthy friends who both drive you mad with frustration the whole time! I'd probably go with Twycross, but it'd only be because of the more rarity-filled stocklist. It certainly has fewer excuses for it's problems than Dudley.
