So long story short, I've got to travel to the West Midlands for the week from the 15th of April, so I've decided to attach a pair of zoo weekends onto each side. I'll be travelling from east Hampshire, so I was thinking about looking into a couple of places on the way, and a bit further, for the days. Rough thoughts: Saturday - somewhere on the way north, Cotswold Falconry Centre maybe? Sunday - Bolton Museum Aquarium and SeaLife Manchester (this day is pretty much in stone, the Bolton Aquarium looks awesome) Saturday - Hoo Farm and the Exotic Zoo? Sunday - no idea... I was at both Chester and Cotswold Wildlife Park in January, so somewhere new would be nice. Dudley would be a possibility as I've never been, but it looks like the collection is in a big state of flux at the moment, same with Twycross (last went 6 years ago). Any thoughts would be welcomed!
How about Crocodiles of the World on the way up? It's not huge and you could do that as well as the Falconry Centre. There's also Birdland at Bourton on the Water. All Things Wild is a possibility, but I think it is very overpriced for what they have there (though better value if you have kids who will use all the play stuff). There's Wild Zoological Park on the outskirts of Wolverhampton which is very small but quite sweet. Personally I like Dudley and Twycross - if the new Chimpanzee habitat is open, it would definitely be worth a visit to Twycross to see that. In Birmingham there is the Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Centre which just got a Komodo Dragon. It is a small place but worth a visit. Then there is the West Midland Safari Park, and the zoo at Drayton Manor Theme Park (but you have to pay the theme park price and the zoo itself is small). Now I am thinking I might take a day trip to hit Hoo Farm, Exotic Zoo and the Rodbaston Animal Zone at South Staffordshire College, not having been to the latter two!
Dudley Zoo & Castle is a must if you've never been there. Not sure how it could fit in with your travel arrangements [unless you shelved plans to visit some of the smaller sites on your list] BUT, the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster is well worth visiting, if only to see the Polar Bears!
I'd say the main three that the West Midlands has to offer are: Twycross Zoo Dudley Zoo Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Centre From personal experience I'm sad to say I've never enjoyed a visit to Twycross and dislike the zoo for a number of reasons. However, I'm hoping that a visit this summer to see the new gibbon and chimp exhibits will start to change that. It would be interesting to see what you make of the zoo now @Dormitator if, like me, you haven't visited for a while. Dudley. Yh yh, I know, I'm biased. But I honestly think it's an alright/good zoo. It's probably better now than it has ever been and is continually improving year after year. It still needs a fair amount of work in places, but they are doing something about it and have plans in place. I'd say it's definitely worth going if you're after something unique with character and even more so if you've never been before to see what you make of it. Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Centre is small and a tad basic in places, but some of it's exhibits are excellent. It also has lots of superb species. The nocturnal house and reptile house are highlights. Despite its size you could easily spend an hour or two there. Finally, at approximately £6 for an adult ticket it's incredible value for money. I'd never recommend West Midlands safari park (apart from the reptile house) or any Sea Life centre to anyone.
Cotswold Falconry Centre well worth a visit and while in the area Birdland Park & garden is a great place to not too far from CFC. Dudley zoo is a great place as you have a Animal collection that's getting better and a Historic Castle then you have the Tecton Exhibits well worth a visit.
....... If you're going to Dudley Zoo, make sure you don't miss 'Lorikeet lookout' an unusual new walkthrough exhibit, but very much tucked away!
I am not a fan of Lorikeet feeding walkthroughs in general but I do recommend Lorikeet Lookout as there is always a knowlegable keeper on duty, other birds free flying (mostly walking), reptiles and sometimes mammals in the side enclosures. I recommend an early visit before they have been stuffed with nectar. Definately feed them it is a hoot.
Rodbaston animal zone has a small but varied reptile room and a leaf cutter ant colony along with a large variety of owls and bird species.
As a local boy I second @Benosaurus but would also suggest popping in to WMSP. They have a few unusual species such as Persian fallow deer, and the walk round section has some nice displays as well. If you do visit then leave the safari section until later in the day, it can congested and sometimes grinds to a halt earlier on.
I've been there twice in recent years, mainly to see the Persian Fallow Deer. But, white Lions and Tigers notwithstanding, there's a lot of other interesting species there too( particularly if you like ungulates). I can second the traffic congestion- terrible on the first visit which was a summer Saturday. But the 2nd one was on a quiet weekday and there was no traffic problem at all- if you can choose the right(potentially quiet) day it should be fine.
Wow, thanks for the comments everyone, really appreciate the thoughts. It'll just be me travelling up, forgot to say it was for work, so fortunately I just need to think about myself. I went to CotW last year, January I think, and as far as I can see it's not changed enough to warrant a second visit so I might leave it another year. Birdland might be worth a look, they have some cool species according to ZTL. I happen to know the owner of Wild Zoological Park, I'd forgotten that they were in the area, so I might drop him a line and see if he's around for a catch up. Safari Park might work, but I'm not sure how much 'fun' it will be without a car full of people. I've never heard of the Animal Zone, looks pretty interesting, they have some nice critters there. YWP might be a bit far out off the route unfortunately. I'd love to see the bear enclosure, it looks incredible from the pics I've seen! I might move Dudley a notch further up the list then. Thanks, I had a very mixed day at Twycross when I was there, and I know that a few of the things that I didn't like have been changed since then, which is grand. Unfortunately I'm not that interested in primates, so I probably wouldn't end up doing a full day there. It might be combinable with another zoo mind you. BWCC looks pretty good, always a sucker for a good nocturnal house. Looking in a bit more detail at Hoo Farm and the Exotic Zoo, it may only take a couple of hours to do both of them, which would give me the time to add an extra one onto the day. Too much to think about... I'm very tempted to try and add Hamerton into the mix, but although their carnivore collection is frankly awesome, I'm not so sure about the rest of it. It it worth the extra travel?
Hamerton - if you've never been, I can't see what isn't right about a zoo with Cassowary , Greater Grison , black backed Jackal , Jaguarundi , Oncilla, Rusty-spotted Cat , Canadian Lynx, brush tailed possum ( if lucky), Swamp Wallaby , Tayra , the last Southern Aardwolf in Europe, Eastern Aardwolf. .... I'd say it's more of a must see than anywhere else mentioned !
Hamerton is one of my top three zoos. It is a fantastic place and I'd be there every day if I lived closer!
Rodbaston has part of the World Owl Trust collection, if you are lucky you may see Cugat, the only Ethiopian Eagle Owl known to have ever been in captivity. If you have time Gentleshaw is doable, as it is not far from Rodbaston, only a tiny place but there is a New Guinea singing dog there.
Now I really want to make the effort to go to Rodbaston, thank you for the information! I have been to Gentleshaw a few times, as I tend to do it en route up to Chester (I like to stay a couple of nights near Chester so I am not travelling and going round the zoo on the same day) and find it quite a charming little place given its limited funds.
Sorry for jumping onto your thread dormitator but just needed some advice. I’m around Liverpool and was looking for ang recommendations on a zoo to visit other than the obvious Knowsley and Chester both of which I’m a member at. Any help would be much appreciated.
I’ve been there a few times, I should of probably mentioned I meant more of a larger zoo or safari park like Knowsley
