A pleasant Day Out for Children and Adults (Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens)

Member Name: rhubarb22

Product:	Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens
Date:	21/04/09 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good value - reasonable admssion fee

Disadvantages: Some enclosures a bit small

I visited Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens during the Easter Holidays with my five year old daughter. I have been previously but it was several years ago and it has changed a bit since then.
The Zoo is situated close to Great Yarmouth and can be reached by following the brown signs on the A47 or the A149.
There is ample free parking and the admission prices were £8.90 for myself and £6.90 for my daughter. Seniors are £7.90 and unders 3s are free. You can buy a year long season ticket for £24 for adults and £16 for children, this is well worth investing in if you are local.
There is a voucher on the website which gives 50p off the admission price for up to six people, and there is often discount vouchers in the local press.
We visited the swamp house first, and be warned the heat literally hits you as you walk in. If you wear glasses these will steam up instantly, as did the lens on my camera.
There are some absolutely huge crocodiles in here and some smaller ones too, but its an excellent habitat that has been provided for them.
Next, its on to the monkeys, and through the leopard walk and past the red panda.
There is a small childrens play area with some good climbing frames to keep them amused for a while.
Then it was up to the Lime Tree Lookout with overlooks the lake. It is quite high, so not for those who don't like heights!!
There is a little bridge across the lake which displays the chinese signs of the zodiac, what they mean, and celebrities born under that sign. I found this very interesting.
The main attraction for me is the tigers, there is a walkway which goes above their cage and you get a really good view of them if they are at the top on the ledge, which they were when we were there. But for the double fences they were near enough to reach out and touch!!
After this we visited another area which houses some other big cats, but I felt that some of the enclosures were a little small, so that was a bit disappointing.
There are several other species that I haven't mentioned, so you can easily spend a good few hours at this zoo, there is plenty to see and do.
There is a small gift shop with a good selection of gifts from less then a pound, so ok for pocket money toys.
We took a picnic, and there are plenty of benches around to sit on. There is a large cafe with hot and cold food available, but we didn't use it, so I can't comment on the price, but it did look very nice and clean.
The toilets are large and kept very clean.
One thing to look out for is the stork who nests on top of the Hall, apprantly its been there for years, and the nest is huge.
All in all, a good day out at a reasonable price for a Zoo, we will definately visit later again in the year.

Summary: A very enjoyable day out