Bristol zoo (Bristol Zoo Gardens)

Member Name: adam171275

Product:	Bristol Zoo Gardens
Date:	15/04/09 (246 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fairly cheap if you want it to be, nice day out, informative, good facilities

Disadvantages: some animal enclosures too small

We live in a town near the Longleat safari park. As we have visited there several times, we were looking for somewhere different to visit during the Easter holidays. When we said we were going to go out for the day my little girl instantly said Bristol zoo, so we had a quick look online and that was decided Bristol zoo it was going to be!


The zoo is open everyday from 9am to 530pm closing at 5pm on off peak times. It states on their website that it's closed Christmas day so I presume that this is the only day a year that they are not open. The prices when we looked were in our opinion quite reasonable adults pay £12.50 and children aged 3 to 14 £7.75. These prices are including a voluntary donation so if you choose you don't want to pay this then the cost is slightly less although I can't see why anyone wouldn't want to? You can get special rates for disabled, students and OAP's to have a detailed look at the prices go to www.bristolzoo.org.uk. The great thing for us was that we didn't need to pay for our son who is 20 months as under 3's are free!

We decided to set off early and get there for 9am. We thought if we got there early, it wouldn't be so busy and would be able to move around the zoo a lot quicker. We got there just after 9am and the car park was quiet. When arriving, there were two car park attendants to direct us to the next car parking space and to take our car parking charge. The car park charge was only £2 which was a flat rate. It didn't matter how long you stayed there! Some car parks can cost a fortune which is a real put off! We noticed that there was also an overflow car park situated just a bit further along from outside the zoo for busier periods.


When we came to the entrance, which was literally seconds from the car park, it looked rather small from the outside. All I kept thinking was that it wasn't going to take us long to get around the zoo, but I stayed optimistic and kept thinking a nice DAY out! The queue to get in was small but it was only early. The lady behind the counter was friendly and explained that the price we were paying did include a voluntary donation, which was nice as we were given the choice to do this, which of course we did.

There were toilets situated just by the entrance which was very convenient as could make your toilet stop before entering the zoo, which of course we did. The toilets were very clean and well maintained which is always a plus, as I hate going into grotty toilets as you are always wandering about the germs which are infested in them. They had baby changing in these toilets too which were also more than adequate, as well as disabled toilets.


I did notice that they had wheelchairs and mobility chairs for hire available. I looked on their website before writing this review and they do. There is no cost for the manual ones which they have 20, but the mobility ones have a £5 charge and a £10 deposit. I was quite impressed by this, as at least they do this I've never been to a place like this that offers this service. On the website they do advise that you book beforehand if you require one of these though as they only have a limited number. I did notice after the day there that the zoo was very accessible for wheelchairs with ramps wherever possible and needed. The only reason I noticed this was that we had a pushchair with us and I wasn't cussing every 5 minutes that I had to carry the pushchair up the steps! When gong around the zoo the amount of people that had pushchairs were huge so this was a great plus.


The first place we came to was the lion enclosure; it contained two lions, a female and a male. All we could see at first was the male; he was just led down staring at us. In my opinion this was a bad start to the zoo as both my wife and I thought the lion looked very sad you could almost see it in his eyes. The enclosure was very small, there would be no way in which the lions could get proper exercise in the enclosure they were in. We did try and make it make it seem better by saying that at least they were not being hunted, but still they did look sad. We did visit the lions again at the end of the day and saw both lions, the female was asleep and the male was prominently at the front so all could see, it's like he knew he had to perform?


Next we came to the twilight world, my daughter was desperate to go in here, when entering it was very dark, which my wife hates but she had to go through anyway. In here was all habitats which liked to thrive in the dark. It had all different types of rats, sand cats (which looked like household cats) sloth's, a rattle snake and more. Although they need to be in a dark environment it was rather difficult to see some of the animals in here, but the kids loved the darkness all the same.

Next we went into the aquarium, this was something my little girl loves looking at. In here were all sorts of fish, jellyfish and even eels, in my opinion not the best part we visited but if you like fish and different sea creatures then its one for you.


Next we went into bug world (gross) this was full of all different types of bugs including beetles, cockroaches, and spiders. They had a few spiders which were rather disappointing as when looking for them we really couldn't see them. In fact the only spider we saw was a black widow, but then again you cannot always rely on them to perform can you? The great thing that I noticed up until now was the information that they have displayed about all the animals etc. These are great educational aids for children and really get them thinking. The good thing also about this was is if you found looking at the bugs a little too much (like some may) there were little exits in between where you could leave bug world and not go all the way through.


When walking around the zoo I noticed the amount of benches they had were brilliant, they were ones everywhere which was great for a little rest in between different parts of the zoo and ample amounts so most can get a little rest. There were also plenty of drinks, snacks, and ice cream vending machines so if you needed a bite there was one available to buy, although like everything at cost and maybe a little pricey.

Next we visited the reptile house, which my wife had to be dragged in as she hates snakes. Fortunately for here the snakes that were on display you couldn't see as they must have been in hiding. The only on in which we could see was two pythons, which I did feel a little sorry for as like the lions there enclosure in my opinion was rather small. The reptile house also included very large tortoises and some lizards which were all very interesting to see.


We decided after this we would have a rest so headed to the Pelican restaurant, we did think ahead and decided that we would take our own food as eating at any of these places can be rather expensive. The pelican restaurant had an undercover part for all weathers and a really nice open picnic area. We sat down in here and ate our lunch and when looking around we noticed the amount of people that had also brought there own food was massive, people are obviously counting the pennies like us! The good thing about this eating area is that you could eat your own food, some places you visit you are only allowed to eat food purchased from there own restaurant/café which I hate, it just makes you have to spend more money I think we should be given the choice. My wife and I did have a cappuccino here which cost us £1.95 each which wasn't too bad, but I didn't look at the rest of the prices.


After some energy food we mad our way to the monkey jungle. Here we were able to walk within the lemurs which were very tame and we were able to get a close look at them which was nice as they were very tame. Here there were two guides who were able to tell us about the lemurs which were interesting. The other monkey's you can see include howler monkeys and javan langurs. These were fun to see but once you have seen one monkey you have seen them all!

The bit that I wanted to see was Gorilla Island, when entering there was an outside playground type place for them and an enclosed part. When we entered the playground part we couldn't see them so entered the enclosure, where they were. Here again I felt there enclosure was too small and when looking at the largest member he looked very sad almost if to say I have to perform for these people again, I couldn't help but feel sorry for them. We were lucky enough to walk by when they were doing a talk about the gorilla's which was very informative. They told us all about each gorilla and the fact that they were becoming extinct and were hunted widely in the wild. This did make me feel slightly better about the gorillas in the fact that they were at least protected here.


My favourite bit about the zoo was the penguins and the seals, they really were very cute. It was like the seals were performing for all the visitors all he time. They were play fighting and, diving around and getting out so we could see them all. There was a part in the zoo where you could go underground and see them swimming around we managed to get some great pictures of this, definitely very entertaining.

We went on after this to see the pigmy hippo's which was a disappointment as we didn't see them, they must have been sleeping or something so we went away disappointed, but if they are tired then they are tired!


There was a part of the zoo called heap of trouble which we thought sounded really interesting, but on arrival we were very disappointed. I don't know what we expected but it was basically a place where they showed you about recycling. Although very interesting and important in my opinion didn't really fit in with the rest of the zoo and a bit pointless.


I would advise anyone visiting not to enter Zona Brazil as the smell in it was awful, my wife described it as smelling of warm and stale urine, not pleasant. When entering we had to quickly hold our breath and make a run for the exit.


After this we went to the adventure play area where the kids played for a while. This I feel was a really nice ending to the day and a great way for the children to burn some more energy off for the car ride home. On the way out we had to walk through the shop which was situated at the entrance. It was a nightmare, as the children wanted to buy all the novelty zoo gifts they had for sale. To me these are a total rip off so I refuse to buy them, making them settle for a travel home ice cream instead. When leaving the queue, we noticed was big to get into the zoo so if you don't want to queue and get round the zoo easily. I would advise getting there fairly early!


To sum it up Bristol zoo was a great day out which didn't cost us too much money, but you could spend more if you are not sensible with the purse strings. The animals were great to see, although I did think the zoo is better for smaller animals and the larger ones such as the lions and gorillas maybe didn't have as much space to roam a they should. It was a nice day out with plenty to do and I would definitely recommend it for a family day out which doesn't cost the earth.

Summary: great day out