Howletts Wild Animal Park Is Howletts the best Zoo in the UK?

I actually understood what you meant by 'City folk' in this context. Maybe 'upmarket leisure sector' might be a more accurate term for what you were trying to say. Port Lympne certainly has a strong 'country club' atmosphere these days- its all come about as a direct result of their need to recoup financial loss- it would never prosper as a simple Zoopark, they don't get the visitors. Remember, when it was first created by John Aspinall, he had little interest in its potential as a paying concern. The prices they charge for those lodges are certainly eye-watering.

 

Ultimately it's personal opinion...

Things certainly changed at both sites after John Aspinall died, and in some respects they probably had to. Personally, both zoos were always good if you wanted to see something that you'd never see anywhere else (Ratel, Douc, Chousingha, Sumatran rhino, large varieties of small cat species) and who else could boast that they could hold BOTH species of elephant? But I'm talking about a period maybe 25 years ago when one could argue the Aspinalls were somewhat of a law unto themselves.

Since then, both sites have had to pay their own way as they are no longer subsidised by Aspinall Senior's gambling winnings; who now have a patriarch who would quite happily close one site (Port Lympne) and have to appeal to a wider public. The variety has now died out or been replaced with ABC (giraffe, meerkat) and the commercial (the many, MANY glamping sites at Lympne).

Again, this my opinion, but there was a time when I could say that Howletts could hit Top 5 and Lympne Top 10. Today, maybe Howletts could still sit within Top 10 but Lympne has certainly sold it's sole.

 

There was a time when he wanted to sell Port Lympne though. Maybe now its making money(?) as a 'Country Club' then Howletts becomes the poor relation?

 

This would be a shame imo. Howletts has a nice number of species that you don't see in many places.
According to the ranger we were with on Sunday. The 6 young Rhino's which have been bred are all planned to be released to the wild (5 of these are at Port Lympne).

 

We visited Howletts yesterday and we did indeed have a great day. I do think a lack of familiarity (we only get there every couple of years if that) helps though tbh - I am not sure how well it would stand up to more frequent visits. I can't really agree that the food is good though - £5 for a small bowl of soup is too much imo and I'm not sure how a hot sausage roll can be £3 when the same thing cold was £1. The hot 'mains' in the Pavilion Cafe seemed ok value but did not look at all appetising or good quality. Menu below for reference. I would much rather eat at Whipsnade...

 

This isn’t really a menu to lift the soul, is it?

 

Nope... when I saw people buying pots of chips with curry sauce for £4 I knew what the deal was...