Zoo's in the southeast

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EYE_ON_ME

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Brendan
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Hi,
does any body know of a good zoo to go to? as i have been to port lymph, london, longleat and howletts. i hear the weather is going to nice this weekend any info would be great :D
 
i live in kent, dont mind driving , i heard bad things about whipsnade, have u been fabs??
 
I just googled your thread title and this came up :thumbs: Might be handy for future reference.
 
fabs said:
What bad things have you heard? I've been twice this year, I only live 15 minutes away.
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I heard its run down, cost alot to get in and hardly see any animal as the enclosures are to big (not a bad thing though)
 
I live 20 minutes from Whipsnade, went there 2 months ago, if you want to take photos of chimpanzees, lemurs, otters or elephants, the enclosures are good for backgrounds because there isn't a fence in the background, the enclosures are good sizes :)
 
I think Whipsnade is excellent. Can't wait to go back again!
 
Woburn Safari Park's worth a look.

You can get some good shots of larger animals without the worry of fences and stuff cluttering your backgrounds.

Just make sure the rangers don't catch you with your windows down or they moan.
 
Another vote for Whipsnade, been several times in the last year, Good for wolf shots, Cheeters, Tigers and most other things, most enclosures have areas that are not obstructed with fence ect, which helps with photography,

Also bit futher a feild but Cotswold Wildlife Park is a great place to visit.

http://www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk/
 
a qoute from a review i was reading:
Visited Whipsnade early August 2008 and really wish we hadn't bothered! Having travelled down from the North East & stayed overnight in a hotel i feel so let down by the Zoo. It can really only be described as shambolic, firstly there doesnt seem to be any really defined pathways around the park, with a pushchair you're expected to offroad across grass, over muddy clay paths, through gravel & onto fairly busy roads. The signage around the park is also poor & in parts confusing.
The new Cheetah Rock which only opened a few months ago was totally devoid of any Cheetahs, this was echo'd at pretty much every other exibit in the park - miles & miles of open fields with nothing in them (or if there was something there it was so far away you couldn't see it), other exhibits were completely empty & a lot had so much fencing in the way you couldn't see through even if there were animals there (Chimps were a prime example). All we managed to see were 2 Elephants, 2 Giraffes, 3 Rhinos & a couple of Chimps. The only other animals were the swarms of wasps that kept chasing us around the park.
The food is extremely expensive & there's also an extra charge of £3.50 pp for the Train which runs through the areas of the park that you "cant" walk around - cars only.
Very disappointed, wont be recommending it & wont be going back.

i might go as you guys have been and give it a thumbs up :D
 
Banham Zoo off the A11 on the way to Norwich.
 
EYE_ON_ME said:
a qoute from a review i was reading:
Visited Whipsnade early August 2008 and really wish we hadn't bothered! Having travelled down from the North East & stayed overnight in a hotel i feel so let down by the Zoo. It can really only be described as shambolic, firstly there doesnt seem to be any really defined pathways around the park, with a pushchair you're expected to offroad across grass, over muddy clay paths, through gravel & onto fairly busy roads. The signage around the park is also poor & in parts confusing.
The new Cheetah Rock which only opened a few months ago was totally devoid of any Cheetahs, this was echo'd at pretty much every other exibit in the park - miles & miles of open fields with nothing in them (or if there was something there it was so far away you couldn't see it), other exhibits were completely empty & a lot had so much fencing in the way you couldn't see through even if there were animals there (Chimps were a prime example). All we managed to see were 2 Elephants, 2 Giraffes, 3 Rhinos & a couple of Chimps. The only other animals were the swarms of wasps that kept chasing us around the park.
The food is extremely expensive & there's also an extra charge of £3.50 pp for the Train which runs through the areas of the park that you "cant" walk around - cars only.
Very disappointed, wont be recommending it & wont be going back.

i might go as you guys have been and give it a thumbs up :D
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Does seem a very strange review, especially the bit about defined paths as there are plenty. :shrug:
 
Do not forget you have Port Lympne at Hythe in kent, Howlets in Canterbury, Wildwood near herne bay.

Regards

Nigel
 
fabs said:
Does seem a very strange review, especially the bit about defined paths as there are plenty. :shrug:
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I live 8mls from Whipsnade and the review is totally the opposite of the Zoo that i know ,when you drive in you are given a booklet that contains a map so there should be no problems getting around on paths that are a plenty there is no need to walk on the grass.
Most of the animals are in spacious enclosures so i would recommend taking your walk around and a lens of 300mm plus.
As i am a regular visitor i have an annual ticket and if you take your car in it is half price or free in the car park you also get 10% discount in the cafes/shop.



Ron.
 
ronj said:
I live 8mls from Whipsnade and the review is totally the opposite of the Zoo that i know ,when you drive in you are given a booklet that contains a map so there should be no problems getting around on paths that are a plenty there is no need to walk on the grass.
Most of the animals are in spacious enclosures so i would recommend taking your walk around and a lens of 300mm plus.
As i am a regular visitor i have an annual ticket and if you take your car in it is half price or free in the car park you also get 10% discount in the cafes/shop.



Ron.
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Pretty much spot on there Ron. Whereabouts in Beds are you, I also live about 8 miles from Whipsnade.
 
www.zoochat.com is a zoo enthusiasts site that has galleries that cover most of the uk zoos. The standard of photography isnt the same standard as here but it should give you an idea. Another vote for Whipsnade for me and the only run down bit is the old elephant house which is listed, cant be touched and doesn't house any animals.
 
If you search for "whipsnade" in the thread search bar
you will find pages of images taken there
I Have "arranged" 2 meets there so far
both very well attended and "everyone" seemed to have a great time
You really need a 200 plus mm lens though to get the best out of the day
 
EYE_ON_ME said:
a qoute from a review i was reading:
Visited Whipsnade early August 2008 and really wish we hadn't bothered! Having travelled down from the North East & stayed overnight in a hotel i feel so let down by the Zoo. It can really only be described as shambolic, firstly there doesnt seem to be any really defined pathways around the park, with a pushchair you're expected to offroad across grass, over muddy clay paths, through gravel & onto fairly busy roads. The signage around the park is also poor & in parts confusing.
The new Cheetah Rock which only opened a few months ago was totally devoid of any Cheetahs, this was echo'd at pretty much every other exibit in the park - miles & miles of open fields with nothing in them (or if there was something there it was so far away you couldn't see it), other exhibits were completely empty & a lot had so much fencing in the way you couldn't see through even if there were animals there (Chimps were a prime example). All we managed to see were 2 Elephants, 2 Giraffes, 3 Rhinos & a couple of Chimps. The only other animals were the swarms of wasps that kept chasing us around the park.
The food is extremely expensive & there's also an extra charge of £3.50 pp for the Train which runs through the areas of the park that you "cant" walk around - cars only.
Very disappointed, wont be recommending it & wont be going back.

i might go as you guys have been and give it a thumbs up :D
Click to expand...

I'm honestly not sure where they were looking if that really is all they saw as I always find whipsnade to be a great day out. I do wonder whether people expect the animals to be performing some sort of dance for them? Sometimes you just have to be a little bit patient. There are also animals that they don't mention that you would have to be wearing a blindfold not to see - walk through lemur exibit, sealions (with show), penguin pool, Discovery centre, bird show (I think they are flying a kookaburra these days). The lion and cheetah exibits are lovely and there have always been lots of elephants (including youngsters) on the paddock when I have been. I think it's one of the best zoos for photography and well worth the entry fee.

It is definately easier to get around with a car but they run free buses and there is lots to see just in the centre of the zoo which is very easily accessible on foot. I would go to Whipsnade over Woburn any day - Woburn is fun but having to contend with driving round obviously makes taking pics tricky and the non-safari area as not great imo.
 
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