Following this indie-pop referencing thread describing visits to a few UK collections, a few thoughts on a recent two day visit to the north of England... Up Here In The North Of England Yorkshire and Cheshire are far enough away from the south coast of England to make a trip there a bit of a mission - it's 4-5 hours each way, if the traffic is kind (which it never is), meaning that, realistically, it's an overnighter. And by the time the cost, and the time, has been factored in to that, I usually conclude that I'd prefer to pop over to Germany or the Netherlands instead of visiting zoos in England. Nonetheless, my daughter likes polar bears, and wanted to see them at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, and having not been to Chester for a few years, it was time to have a look at islands. These two zoos have been discussed extensively here, so there follow a few thoughts, rather than anything equating to a 'report' as such. Yorkshire Wildlife Park I'd previously been here in 2013, and was a little underwhelmed. A recent photo, posted here by @zoogiraffe, and replicated below, summed up my thoughts about the place: Camel House by sooty mangabey posted 4 Jun 2017 at 8:02 PM ...all functional architecture, pretty unattractive scenery, and unappealing landscapes. I think I was probably being a little unfair to the zoo: although it is a long way from perfect, and has much about it that is wrong, there is also a great that is right - and the progress that has been seen in the decade or so since it opened is nothing short of remarkable. I thought the various Polar Bear exhibits were tremendous, and the new African paddock very nicely done (although the presence of an Emu in amongst the Lechwe, Eland and Giraffe is somewhat baffling). Polar Bears by sooty mangabey posted 4 Jun 2017 at 8:02 PM Most of the other exhibits are good, even excellent (Giant Otters, lemurs, Cape Hunting Dogs) - if pretty basic. However, there are things that, for me, keep this from being a top, top zoo: The lack of pretty much anything non-mammalian The need for much better planting around enclosures (where it is done well, such as around the Polar Bears, it stands out, but some areas still seem a little stark) The number of errors on the zoo's big pedagogical signs is too high (someone needs an intensive course in apostrophe use, for a start) The lack of a clear visual identity for the zoo - while I would always rather money was spent on animal exhibits rather than branding, in this case I think some thought does need to be given to the way in which the zoo presents itself. It doesn't really have a look, as such, and thus its visual image is a mixture of the confused (see also Colchester) and the bland. Bland visual identity by sooty mangabey posted 4 Jun 2017 at 8:02 PM For an organisation with a conservation message to sell, I find it puzzling that food is served in the most environmentally-unfriendly way imaginable: disposable cutlery, plates, cups.... Pathways - dusty, gritty, gravelly. Some paved paths would give a much greater sense of professionalism to the zoo! The shop - full of all the usual nonsense of course, but 99 pence for a postcard! Overall, though, a very likeable place - and the Polar Bear thing really is very good. Chester Zoo I first visited Chester in 1984, and have returned about 10 times in the intervening decades. Clearly there is a great deal that is hugely impressive about the place - and its success points to the fact that something is being done very right. However, and at risk of sounding like something of a grumbler, I can't help but despairing of the direction in which the zoo is moving, with developments such as those for Cape Hunting Dogs and, most notably, Islands - displays where the animals are almost secondary to the surrounding window-dressing, to the staging. Islands is particularly striking in this regard: strip away all of the props, all of the ersatz evocation of southeast Asia, and we're left with some nicely-done enclosures for Anoa, Babirusa, Cassowary, and Banteng, a pretty standard Sumatran Tiger exhibit, a small walk-through aviary, and the Monsoon Forest building, which provides okay viewing of orangs, macaques and gibbons (although I would argue that the viewing windows are far too small), some really annoying vivaria and invertebrate displays (which are either a part of the theming of the exhibit - why isn't a Tentacled Snake interesting enough without it becoming part of some baffling story about "researchers" which nobody seems to be concerned about? - or have been cunningly designed so as to encourage people to sit in front of them, thus making viewing impossible), the much-discussed Gavial pool (great when nobody else is around, less so when more than three other visitors are in near-proximity), and the small walk-through bit with a few birds - which is fine, but wholly eclipsed by other such buildings in other much less-lauded zoos. Monsoon Forest displays by sooty mangabey posted 4 Jun 2017 at 8:15 PM My loathing of Islands was compounded by the fact that the boat ride was closed ("mechanical difficulties" apparently), while the food in the cafe (decent-enough, if pricey) was, again, served in cardboard packaging with plastic cutlery. I appreciate I am in the minority - but I do think people come to zoos to see animals. I saw people spending far, far longer watching the Weaver Birds in one of my favourite parts of Chester - the Tsavo Aviary - than I saw anyone looking at all of the ethnographic stuff on Islands. Village Weaver by sooty mangabey posted 4 Jun 2017 at 8:15 PM Other thoughts: I seem to remember the monorail being fairly inexpensive - at £7.00 for a return trip, it seems a tad expensive now. It's not new to say that the corporate identity is simply awful: crushingly, embarrassingly, horrendously, awful. Why are the small mammal units in the Okapi House now (half) closed? And there are areas of the zoo that, to my mind, have never quite worked: the Jaguars, and the "Realm of the Red Ape", in particular. Against this: so much that is brilliant, that makes me wish Chester was closer to East Sussex. Even Islands provides some lovely animal-viewing, such as the Orangs, when they venture out.... Sumatran Orang Utan by sooty mangabey posted 4 Jun 2017 at 8:15 PM Just so long as I am never again invited to imagine that I am a researcher, studying animals in their natural habitat....
Other thoughts: I seem to remember the monorail being fairly inexpensive - at £7.00 for a return trip, it seems a tad expensive now The last time I went on the Monorail it was £2. It was only around 3-4 years ago. £7 is way overpriced for a system with next to no running costs. The really annoying thing is that Dr. Pilgrim announced at a Members' meeting that when Islands was open the Monorail would be free.
Thanks for the link, I'd always avoided the band* but that's a solid performance (love how the audience are almost completely inert). Nice review too, it's good to see a perspective from a very well-traveled zoo fan as, sometimes, the fact that a zoo is very good (and amongst the best in the UK) can blind us to areas where they "could do better". Anyone would think you're a schoolteacher. *because I'd bought one of their records with the same title as something I'd half-caught on a radio show hoping it was the same song and it wasn't -ah, the petulance of youth.
@sooty mangabey Is Chester still your favourite British zoo? Where would YWP rank amongst the zoological greats of the U.K.?
£4.00 one-way, £7.00 for the return journey (and subsequent journeys too). Whether prices rise on busy days, I don't know. Possibly they should. The day of my visit was pretty busy, but the queue for the monorail was about 5 minutes long. Had it been free, that queue might have been unbearable. Rationing through price.... I'm glad you liked it! They were a great band (and their singer, Ian McNabb, has just released a marvellous new album which I heartily recommend!) You're not going to trick me into playing the "league table" game that easily! I think it would be rather whimsical to suggest anything other than that Chester is the best zoo in the U.K. (whatever "best" might mean) - although I don't think I would count it as my favourite (London would normally get that accolade, but sometimes Cotswolds, sometimes Whipsnade, sometimes - looking back - the RSCC, sometimes, possibly, it would be Chester). If Chester is the Chelsea of U.K. zoos, then Yorkshire would be Stoke City: surprisingly good, with areas of real excellence (the Polar Bear exhibit would be Jack Butland, the Giant Otters Ryan Shawcross...) but - for the moment - not of Champions League quality.
As someone who loves both zoos and football, your analogy is perfect. Great stuff! I'd love it if Everton, whom I watch play every week, would sign Jack Butland...the "polar bear exhibit" of Stoke City.
Explains it all if you support the toffees, which begs the question why don't you like cow sheds as they play in one?
