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Hamerton Zoo Park Hamerton via public transport - anyone done that before?

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by gallenwolf, 4 Nov 2009.

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  1. gallenwolf

    gallenwolf Well-Known Member

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    Hey all!
    I want to visit hamerton this sunday to shoot the corsac foxes :) Has anyone taken public transport from london to the zoo before? Would like any advice :)

    Current plan is to take the train from Kings Cross to Huntingdon, then trransfer to a taxi.

    Cheers!

    Alvin
     
    gallenwolf, 4 Nov 2009
    #1
  2. James27

    James27 Well-Known Member

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    Please don't, they're pretty rare in the UK :D
     
    James27, 4 Nov 2009
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  3. Reevesie

    Reevesie Well-Known Member

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    Thats probably the easiest way, but becareful of the trains on a sunday. I live 2 stops before huntingdon and alot of the time they stop the trains at somewhere like stevenage and use bus replacement services. This can be a nightmare and take twice as long
     
    Reevesie, 4 Nov 2009
    #3
  4. bongorob

    bongorob Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    There are no engineering works on this line on 8th November
     
    bongorob, 4 Nov 2009
    #4
  5. karenZOO

    karenZOO Well-Known Member

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    Hammerton feels like it is in the middle of nowhere! We followed the signs, went through a housing estate right till the end, then you go up a single lane road surrounded by fields and then there this zoo! I gather they don't get much passing trade lol
     
    karenZOO, 4 Nov 2009
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  6. ZooLeopard

    ZooLeopard Well-Known Member

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    Agree KarenZOO!

    Don't get confused Alvin when you find yourself driving through the middle of nowhere!
    Continue following the road and it is just behind a large hedge. Also be careful as there are hardly any passing places on the road! Other than by road, I find any other transport a nightmare! lol
     
    ZooLeopard, 4 Nov 2009
    #6
  7. gallenwolf

    gallenwolf Well-Known Member

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    lol @ Ash. Sorry to dissapoint but I will shoot 'em with my 300 mil :p

    Thanks mates! I also dropped the zoo themselves an email, they responded that tt's about 8 miles from the train station (!!!) - I wonder how much that will cost. if it's too much I may shelf my plans....

    Cheers all!

    Alvin
     
    gallenwolf, 4 Nov 2009
    #7
  8. TeaLovingDave

    TeaLovingDave Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    An update to the thread, for anyone curious about doing Hamerton who is reliant on public transport, considering that I did this very thing yesterday (Tuesday 27th March)

    It is perfectly possible, on one condition - you have a general level of personal fitness! We did the following:

    1) Got a train to Peterborough
    2) Caught a bus from the main depot over the road from Peterborough train station
    3) This was the 46 bus, which runs between Peterborough and Huntingdon.
    4) We got off the bus at Alconbury Weston, outside the Silver Hart pub.
    5) This pub is on a junction with Hamerton Road, which after passing through Alconbury Weston continues for about 4 miles before reaching the village of Hamerton.
    6) The road then turns sharply right and continues for about 200 yards, at which point you should see the entrance to the zoo.

    The walk to the zoo is quiet and along a little country lane which - when we walked there - saw very little traffic whatsoever, to the level of perhaps one car per mile. There is also plenty of space beside the road for pedestrians if need be. We managed the walk in a shade under an hour.

    Thus, as long as you are reasonably fit and healthy, don't let the walk put you off :) it's well worth the effort, I reckon.
     
    TeaLovingDave, 28 Mar 2012
    #8
  9. IanRRobinson

    IanRRobinson Well-Known Member

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    One other comment: don't go to Hamerton needing much food, and not equipped for poor weather. The site is very open and the tea shop is just that. A few sarnies and maybe a hot pasty - that's the most you'll get.
     
    IanRRobinson, 28 Mar 2012
    #9
  10. Shorts

    Shorts Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Phew.

    TeaLovingDave I salute you!!!
     
    Shorts, 29 Mar 2012
    #10
  11. IanRRobinson

    IanRRobinson Well-Known Member

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    For a visitor attraction in lowland England, Hamerton is extraordinarily remote from a sizeable centre of population. The Highland Wildlife Park may well be nearer to shops...
     
    IanRRobinson, 29 Mar 2012
    #11
  12. Pygathrix

    Pygathrix Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Remonds me of walking from Atherstone station to Twycross and back when I made my first trip there aged 15, although that was a mere 6 miles each way. If you are allowed to take a bike on the train that would help with the last bit
     
    Pygathrix, 30 Mar 2012
    #12
  13. SHAVINGTONZOO

    SHAVINGTONZOO Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    My first trip to Twycross was train Crewe - Atherstone (changing at Stafford), then cycle to Twycross, round the collection, cycle to Polesworth, and train home (changing again at Stafford).

    I was tired that night!
     
    SHAVINGTONZOO, 1 Apr 2012
    #13
  14. Tim May

    Tim May Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    Thanks for this information, Dave.

    Although I’ve been to Hamerton a number of times, it was a long while since my last visit and a return visit was overdue; I decided, therefore, to follow your route.

    I caught the 46 bus from opposite Peterborough railway station; unfortunately, the bus driver promised he would let me know when we reached Alconbury Weston but forgot until we’d gone about two miles further down the road; consequently the four mile walk to Hamerton turned into a six mile one!

    I was a very pleasant country walk, though, during which I got my closest ever view of a wild roe deer; one suddenly ran across the road literally a couple of feet away from me.
     
    Tim May, 27 May 2012
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  15. TeaLovingDave

    TeaLovingDave Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    Glad the weather was on your side, then! Anything worth reporting from the zoo itself?

    It is indeed a lovely country walk - saw lots of hares and red kites when I did it. Shall have to do it again sometime this summer if the weather permits :p
     
    TeaLovingDave, 27 May 2012
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  16. Tim May

    Tim May Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    A visit to Hamerton is always enjoyable but I don't think that there is any major news.

    Frustratingly the species I was most interested in seeing: black-backed jackal, aardwolf, jaguarondi and oncilla were not very obliging – but then we know that small carnivores are often bad exhibits. (I did get superb views of the Corsac foxes though.)

    I saw lots of red kites too but, sadly, no hares.
     
    Tim May, 27 May 2012
    #16
  17. TeaLovingDave

    TeaLovingDave Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    The black-backed jackals are almost impossible to see at the best of times - really not a good exhibit. I was lucky enough to visit on a day where it was sunny but cool, which meant all the other small carnivores were sunbathing, but even then I only managed to see the top of a jackal's head from a distance.
     
    TeaLovingDave, 27 May 2012
    #17
  18. bongorob

    bongorob Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    It would be nice if the jackals were moved to an enclosure with public access. It's difficult to photograph them in their current exhibit.
     
    bongorob, 30 May 2012
    #18
  19. TeaLovingDave

    TeaLovingDave Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    As a general update to my previous post on this topic....


    Sadly, since I posted this, the 46 service has been severely cut back - it now terminates at Stilton, which is much too far from Hamerton to walk, and although it does travel further - to Sawtry - twice a day the times are not feasible for adequately visiting the zoo.

    However, there *is* still a means of getting to Hamerton by public transport, and which entails a similar length of walk to the originally suggested route: the Busway Route B covers more or less the same route as the 46 once did, and at the same times, although I am given to understand it does not stop at Alconbury Weston. As a result it would be prudent to get off the bus at Sawtry Green, which is about a 4 mile walk from the zoo but - unlike the previous route - is not one straight road the whole way, so a printed map might be wise.

    Lord knows how long this route will continue to be provided, so use it whilst you can!
     
    TeaLovingDave, 11 Dec 2013
    #19
  20. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    you should make a thread on how to get to all the UK collections by public transport.
     
    Chlidonias, 11 Dec 2013
    #20
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