Chester, Whipsnade, Cotswold, Paignton and Colchester seem like a good top 5 from what I have read and from visits yo the first 3.
I am extremely impressed by Chester and Colchester especially. Also Belfast has some very nice species.
Chester is an easy choice. But as for four more, that is going to depend entirely on personal preferences. But why would you only visit 5?
My biggest wants are 1. Good collections. 2. Good exhibits and space. 3.Rare Species I always am interested in seeing and experiencing things I cannot here in the USA. I have been to most of our best zoos here if anyone wants help as to which I recommend! Good day Mates!
Is this your first time in the UK? Or even first time in Europe? If so, consider reducing the list to three and give yourself some time to explore some other stuff too. Go to a castle. Find a ye olde English pub. That sort of thing. Whether it's three zoos or five, Chester is a must. It is comfortably among the best ten zoos in the world, and in my view well inside the best five.
I have been all over Europe from Spain to Russia. I did all the tourist things like London Bridge, Red Square, Transylvania and the Eiffel tower to name a few. The only zoo I attended was Madrid. Mostly because I was younger and was with a group who were not animal people. So this is a solo trip for my interest ZOOS. I'm also doing a week in Germany to do their top zoos, which was easier to pick than the UK.
Chester, London and Whipsnade are for sures. I'm curious about Edinburgh,Howletts,Dudley,Paignton,Twycross,and Port Lympne.
The 2 top species on my bucketlist are the Duck billed platypus(Australia) and Proboscis monkey(Singapore) which are only kept in those zoos. That's next years trip. Lol
Excellent. Out of curiosity which zoos did you pick for Germany? It’s pretty hard to narrow them down to five. I haven’t been to either (they fell off the list for my own trip due to general fatigue) but what about Bristol and, if you have your own transport, Cotswold?
From my experience I would recommend Bristol, Paignton, London, Whipsnade and Howletts. Also Living Coasts and Shaldon are very close to Paignton and are definitely worth a visit if you have time
Being from the USA, you might not have heard of ZootierlisteHomepage where you can look through the species lists of European zoos. Seeing the best 5 in the UK, within 7 days is a tough call. If you are arriving and departing from London, then visiting the Highland Wildlife Park would take up too much time, whereas the slightly closer Edinburgh in my opinion would not be worth the effort. Chester is obviously worth the effort and maybe as far north as you'll need to go, but you might also like the spacious Yorkshire Wildlife Park, although it is not as species rich. If you are set on London and Whipsnade, as well as Chester, then the South West would be a chore to visit, but it depends on how you are travelling.
Four years ago I would have said Edinburgh for sure, but I think it borders on risking a bit of disappointment now if looking for the ‘best’ zoos.
Just based on which five I would suggest for a combination of species, enclosures and 'significance' (historical or otherwise) - I would go for Chester, London, Bristol for certainties, and probably Whipsnade and Colchester to round off. Cotswold would be a wild card - not a massive zoo but surprisingly species-rich and probably the most 'English' of all..!
I would only recommend Edinburgh to someone pushed for time if they had a particular reason (a favourite or target species or suchlike) - or if they were going to Edinburgh anyway! Highland is much more interesting but is so far from all the other realistic candidates that it's probably just not going to make sense on a week's trip.
Yes. I would definitely recommend Edinburgh for pandas or for sun bears! But that’s probably about it.
Newquay, the third Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust collection (with Paignton and Living Coasts), is relatively close to those two, and well worth a visit. A little gem of a zoo, it holds Black Tree Monitor, Vine Snake, Kaiser Newt, Owston's Civet, Black Wildebeest, Carpathian Lynx, Sumatran Laughingthrush, Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot and African Black Duck, all breeding. Javan Green Magpies are new. Many other exciting species as well as a few ABCs. Compact but beautiful Tropical House and new Gems of the Jungle walk through aviary for South-east Asian birds.
In addition to Chester, I'd suggest Hamerton Zoo (interesting species, generally decent enclosures and plenty of space). It's not a huge zoo, but it is delightful, plus you can easily combine it with side trips to Linton and Shepreth which are also lovely (but very small). I'd have Cotswold Wildlife Park very high and that can also be combined with a side trip to Crocodiles of the World (small but very interesting). Bristol is excellent and can again be combined with a trip to the Wild Place Project.
