Old photo I know but I have a question anyway. Were the beavers visible at all, either inside or out? It's been a very long time since I saw a beaver in a UK zoo. Have seen quite a few beaver enclosures though! Another point, this park looks great and I've wanted to visit for a while. It seems to be very comprehensive regarding native fauna, even more so than the British Wildlife Centre, would that be a fair comparison?
In my opinion, the BWC is a far better place than Wildwood. It has a better display of smaller animals - moles, weasels, stoats, water-shrew - which, although some can be seen at Wildwood, are displayed much more thoughtfully at BWC. Wildwood has a greater number of larger species - wolves, bison etc - but nothing massively exciting. BWC is smaller, but has been been put together with more thought and care; Wildwood is entered through a industrial estate, which just doesn't seem right! Both places are good, and worth a visit - but Surrey wins over Kent, for me. Incidentally, it would be nice for either to have a better display of native birds (not just barn owls and buzzards). A proper attempt to do so - as see in one or two places on the continent - would be fantastic.
It's odd, but I was scrolling through sooty's (as ever) well-written and informative comparison and thinking the same. I've never visited either collection, but I have seen their websites and the absence of birds, other than rescued raptors and waterfowl is very striking. There is a very PC reluctance to exhibit European birds in contemporary UK zoos; compare the Norfolk Wildlife Park in its heyday, 40 years ago, which kept and bred animals such as Hooded Crow and Northern Wheatear. It is a pity, because the likes of (say) Black Grouse, Grey Partridge, Corn Crake, Stone-curlew, Red-backed Shrike, Whinchat and Cirl Bunting could do with captive ambassadors for their respective species.
As is so often the case, sooty has saved me from typing out my own thoughts! Both good places but I prefer the ethos and small-mammaliness of the BWC. The difference in scope of the two collections is due to a crucial difference in how they define their specialties - the BWC is specifically for current UK wild species, whereas Wildwood includes historical residents like Bison, and increasingly might best be seen as a European animal collection rather than a British one.
Thanks for the replies folks, the collection at both is very intriguing but I think Wildwood may be the one I visit first as there are a few collections in the area that I could double it up with. May wait to see if RSCC is likely to open its doors before I make the long trip to Kent though! BWC seems to have a fair few unusual small mammals (water shrew, mole etc) but I guess the visibility for the smaller species isn't great and may require patience!