I imagine if I lived over eastwards, Colchester and Banham might figure more highly for me. I've only been to each once, but I preferred Howletts over Port Lympne (possibly my view of the latter was coloured by falling over on the uneven paths and gashing open my hand and elbow, whilst trying to go back and see the Pallas' cats and margay!)
I did have Port Lympne in my original list (for the main zoo, not the safari), but sacrificed it for Banham as that is my home zoo, and have a lot of connections with the zoo (getting married there for one!). Plus the animals shows are better than any I've seen elsewhere in the UK (note there are many I haven't seen).
Getting married somewhere would definitely be a good reason for it to feature highly in your rankings! :-D I hope to be back over that way next year as I have been inspired by someone on here who visited all the Orang-utans in the UK, and that means going back to Colchester and having the chance to do more over in Norfolk / Suffolk.
My current top 10, which could change on my next visit somewhere (particularly the lower ones) : 1 Chester 2 Whipsnade 3 Hamerton 4 Colchester 5 Yorkshire Wildlife Park 6 Port Lympne 7 Cotswold Wildlife Park 8 Bristol 9 Paignton 10 Howletts Since I last did this Edinburgh has fallen out of the list completely, whilst Hamerton and YWP are improving all the time. Along with Edinburgh, I would have Wingham, London, Blackpool just below the cut, though Dudley, Twycross and Welsh mountain wouldn't be far off those. 2 zoos I am fond of but couldn't realistically put in the top 10 are Linton and Thrigby.
When I replied to the previously mentioned thread fours ago, I struggled to name a definite top 5 and I would still struggle today. I can however say that Chester is far and away my favourite, for several reasons (variety, size, quality of enclosures and care and even the other visitors), but the task of getting there and back for me is unbearable now with the amount of roadworks on the highways. So, I'll just imagine living close to my favourite UK zoos to provide a list, but not necessarily in order Chester, YWP, HWP, Whipsnade, Paignton, Banham, Colchester, Edinburgh (when it's sunny)
My list is based on the conservation work of the zoo as well as the setting. I'm not a massive fan of areas like Islands in Chester as I find it false and tacky in places. Other important this I consider are enclosure quality, keeper knowledge and collections : 1 - Jersey 2 - Bristol 3 - London 4 - Washington wetland centre 5 - Bird Gardens Scotland (not yet a zoo but I volunteer there and I love it) Interestingly my local zoo Edinburgh isn't on this list as I found an old inventory list from 2013 and the species on it are making me wish they hadn't got rid of so much. Runners-up include Chester and Scottish owl centre.
Chester Thrigby Hamerton Dudley Exmoor Cotswold Wildlife Birmingham Twycross Bristol London Order by no means definitive. 2, 3 & 4 have keepers that seem to really enjoy talking to the visitor.
True indeed, we visited Edinburgh last in October 2011. The previous trip up north before that was December 2006. I certainly recall noticing a reduced number of species within that period. Based on that and reading on ZC that there appears to be less again over time to see than our last visit we haven't bothered going to the zoo despite visiting the wonderful city itself a few times. Its a shame really as its what I class as a 'Proper British Zoo'. My personal number 1 spot would be Cotswold Wildlife Park. For me it ticks the boxes I want ticked within a collection. Least fav would be South Lakes. Its over 4 years since we last visited, but it had 'problems' then, I understand its improving and hope it continues to.
1) Chester Zoo (2016, 2018) 2) Highland Wildlife Park (2016) 3) Newquay Zoo (2016) 4) Living Coasts (2016) 5) Hamerton Zoo (2016, 2018) Those are my top 5, though I have visited a total of 35 UK collections. London used to be on there, and possibly still deserves it, but the overall decline of the collection in general with little signs of positive change on the horizon have forced it lower on my list. ~Thylo
Indeed; even in 2011 they had a vast number of treasures at Edinburgh! Got to say I am somewhat surprised Cotswold didn't end up on your list whilst Newquay did! Mind you, your rankings very much resemble mine
There are several good collections that didn't- Paignton, Colchester, Slimbridge, Wingham. The Cotswold day was a busy one and was pretty rainy one. It's a great place, just didn't stick with me the same way others did. The fact that I somehow lost all of my Whipsnade and Cotswold photos and have nothing other than the species list to jog my memory of my visit will no doubt be a part of that... ~Thylo
After a quick tally it seems I’ve only been to 17 UK zoos in the past 5 years which surprised me but there’s a few on the list that I’ve been to a LOT recently. 1. Chester - fairly predictable. Good exhibits, comprehensive collection, vigorous and exciting expansion. I struggle with the crowds and could do with a better map but other then that no complaints. 2. Whipsnade - perhaps a little sentimental given ZSL’s general decline, and it’s not the same without it’s wolves, but the elephant herd, hippos, gaur and bongos keep it in the top running for me beyond my personal attachements, and I look forward to seeing the new aquarium built. 3. Cotswold’s - went on a whim not expecting much and was blown away. Beautiful park with a great sense of character. I was already won over by the time I’d finished the walled garden so the rest of the collection was really just a victory lap for it - in particular the reptile house and the wooded section of the zoo. 4. Hamerton - my local is going from strength to strength this year! It seems as soon as I finish up one visit they announce themselves as the sole European holders of yet another marsupial and I have to start making an opening in my calendar all over again. If I wasn’t such a sucker for aesthetics it would undoubtably rank higher, but as it stands every visit I find myself wishing it would have a good tidy up and find a better situated/more attractive paddock for the zebras. 5. Yorkshire Wildlife Park - I put off visiting for ages because despite the polar bears it always seemed limited in it’s collection - which is true. I found you can do the whole park in the space of an hour or so but the magic of the place is surely in how pleasant it is to keep going round even if it isn’t overflowing with animals, but considering how fast and how well it’s growing it’s probably the collection I’m most excited about on this list. Aside from the polar bears highlights for me were the giant otters and baboons. 6. London - I’m surprised I’ve ended up placing London Zoo this far down, if I was making this list a few years ago it may have taken the top spot. However, since then I’ve been to Schonbrunn and Blijdorp, and London has lost a few of my favourite species and announced the closure of the aquarium which has knocked the rose-tinted goggles off a bit. Despite that I still stand by the quality of the individual enclosures at the zoo, in particular the tigers, and the Philippine crocodiles, Blackburn pavilion and bokyboky keep it fighting for me, even without the aardvarks. 7. Linton - a zoo from my childhood recently revisited, it feels quite timeless and from a purely aesthetic standpoint it’s probably the most beautiful zoo on the list, a real secret garden kind of feeling. I’d be happier if they used some of the land given over to either pasture or tortoises a little better - some of the big cat enclosures seem are on the small side, in particular the snow leopards made me a little uneasy. 8. Twycross - a remarkable collection with some excellent enclosures, but hampered by a lot of rather poor enclosures and nearly as many empty ones. However the new chimp enclosure is very impressive, the planned tiger exhibit seems exciting and if they can do something interesting with the former elephant enclosure and carry out some serious improvements on their other great ape exhibits I can see Twycross moving quickly up my list. 9. Colchester - purely for the collection. Most of the exhibits and presentation of animals left me cold, and I’ve never been to a zoo with so many dead ends. But mandrills, spotted hyena and sun bears are enough to leave me planning a return trip. That said I’d be much more interested in seeing how a zoo like Yorkshire or Whipsnade would approach exhibiting Colchester’s collection then I am at actually seeing it at Colchester if that makes sense? 10. Dudley - lovely if unusual zoo with a great sense of history. It certainly seems to be making better use of it’s Lubetkin’s than ZSL is. Stand outs were the penguins, lemurs and what is probably the best lorikeet walkthrough I’ve been through. However the sea lions in the moat left me a little uneasy, and the new orangutan exhibit can’t come soon enough, as the current exhibit is inexcusable. However assuming the necessary improvements are made and in the longer term they manage to return bears to the Ravine once again this collection will likely be bumped up a few places on the list.
Good point, a rainy busy day is rarely going to be as much fun as pleasant weather and few other visitors, its certainly going to give you a different outlook on a place. Sometimes multiple visits are required to assess a place properly - I know that was impossible in your case as it was in effect a 'zooing holiday'
My top 3 are exactly as they were 4 years ago: 1) Dudley - have been visiting for most of my life and holds so many happy memories. 2) Yorkshire Wildlife Park - love the enclosures (and the fact they hold bears) 3) Chester - impressive collection but I'm just not as fond of it as I am of the other two I seriously need to get out and visit more zoos!
Chester has spectacled and sun bears Dudley has the Asiatic black bear Yorkshire has Ussuri brown and polar bears.
Note to self - remember to engage brain before posting on Zoochat!! Yes, Dudley has Inca but she is the only bear they hold - I remember the days when they held European brown and polar bears, which are 2 of my favourite species. Whilst Chester also has bears, I can't remember any of them actually making an appearance on the occasions I've visited. I admit I could have phrased it better.
