| Product: |
Chester Zoo |
| Date: |
26/03/08 (458 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Loads to see and do
Disadvantages: hardly any but read review
My Experience With Chester Zoo
I have been visiting Chester Zoo ever since I can remember, in Primary School it was a location for one of our school trips every single year and my mum would take me every couple of years for a day out in the holidays. When I was around 13 , i decided that animals mattered more to me than people, became vegetarian and decided that zoo's were cruel. The vegetarian phase only lasted about 6 months but I didn't visit the zoo again until I was 18. One of my friends was studying Zooology at uni and needed to complete an assignment on Lemurs, she needed some photos an so a trip to the Zoo was in order. My opinion was changed again when I saw all the changes that had been made and since then I have been quite a few times again, since having my first child nearly six years ago me and the family go every year without fail.
About Chester Zoo
Chester Zoo is the Britain's number 1 zoo. The zoo houses 7000 animals and 400 different species. The zoo estate is actually 500 acres of which 100 acres is the zoo estate at the moment. The remainding 400 acres is greenbelt and is leased out or agricultural purposes. The zoo attracts more than a million visitors every year. Zoo Days which is filmed at Chester Zoo is currently being shown on Channel Five.
History
(taken from the website)
The Zoo was founded by George Mottershead. As a child, he visited a now closed zoo in Manchester, and is reported to have been so upset seeing large animals in small cages, that he said to his father 'when I have a zoo, it won't have any bars'. His dream was finally realised in 1930, when he brought his family to live in the Oakfield house and formed the original collection of animals from an earlier zoo at Shavington, near Crewe.
His venture became the North of England Zoological Society in 1934, and with considerable skill and enthusiasm, he kept the Zoo going through the Second World War. Rapid expansion followed after the war. 'Always Building' was a slogan of the time. He received the OBE, an honorary degree of MSc, and served a term as President of the International Union of Zoo Directors. He died in 1978 aged 84 having realised his dream of a 'zoo without bars'.
Getting There
By Car
Chester Zoo is accessible from all major motorway networks. From the M56 take junction 14 or from the M53 take Junction 12 and then just follow the signs for Chester Zoo. The zoo is very clearly signposted on the A41.
Alternatively enter the zoo's postcode, CH2 1EU, into your sat nav.
By Coach
National express coaches offer some routes that include Chester Zoo. For info visit www.nationalexpress.com.
Parking
The Zoo has very ample parking with plenty of disabled spaces. All parking is free.
Opening Times
The zoo is open everyday of the year except for chirstmas day and boxing day.
Peak season is from the middle of Easter school holidays to the beginning of November (this year Saturday 15th March 2008 - November 2nd 2008)
Off peak season from beginning of November to Easter school holidays (this year 3rd November 2008 - April 3rd 2009)
The zoo opens at 10am daily, closing times vary depending on whether it's peak season, if it's the school holidays and when it gets dark. In winter the last admission is generally between 3pm and 3.30pm, while in summer it's 5pm.
Prices
Off Peak
Adults £10.86 (£11.95)
Child £8.13 (£8.95)
Consessions £9.04 (£9.95)
Family Ticket £34.54 (£38.00)
Under 3's Free
Peak
Adults £13.59 (£14.95)
Child £9.95 (£10.95)
Consessions £12.97 (£13.50)
Family £45.00 (£49.50)
Under 3's Free
Children under 3 are always free
A child is classed between ages 3 and 15
Consessions are senior citizens, students and visitors with disabilities
A family ticket is based on two adults and two children.
The price in brackets is the gift aid prices, which I will now explain. As Chester Zoo is a registered charity visitors can choose to pay the donation price (the price I have shown in brackets) this works out at about 10% more than the normal admission price but as it's classed as a dontation it allows Chester Zoo to be able to claim some of the tax back on the admission.
You also recieve a free map on admission.
Group discounts are available for groups of 15 people or more.
Some companies get corporate discounts, I myself work for ASDA and therefore get vouchers every year which allow a fee child with each full paying adult.
Facilities
Plenty of toilets, disabled toilets and baby changing.
A Cash Machine (there is a charge for this)
Face Painting (Charge of £4.00)
Pottery Painting (£4.00)
Airbrush Tattoo Studio (Prices vary)
First Aid
Information Points
Public Telephones
Refreshment kiosks
Restaurants (Cafe Tsavo, Ark Restaurant, Oak Field Manor Tea rooms and restaurant, The Acorn Bar)
Wheelchair hire (charge for this)
Shops
Monorail (£2 for adult and consessions £1.50 for children)
Water bus(£2 adults and consessions £1.50 children)
Attractions
With so many species of animal it would be easier to what the zoo hasn't got.
There are Rhinos, meerkats, waterfowl, African birds, horses, wallabies, emus, zebras, spectacled bears, bats (in the Twilight Zone), tapir, deer, Asian Elephants, Condors, camels, Lenurs, kangeroos, red pandas, otters, owls, Tigers, lions, marmots, frogs, european birds, Komodo Dragons, buffalo, giraffes, Okapi, Flamingos, Chimps, monkeys, minature monkeys, Orang-utans, aquaium, sealions, penguins gibbons, jaguar, tropical realm and more.
The main attractions are always the busiest these are:
Realm of the Red Ape- This is a new exhibit themed as a rainforest this houses the Orang Utans and Lar Gibbons.
Elephants Of The Asian Forrest- This measures 2900 squuare metres and is home to the zoo's herd of Asian Elephants as well as birds and small mammmals and plants from the same region.
Twilight Zone- This is the largest free flight bat cave in Europe, it houses 2 species of bat which you actually get to share space with, some people may find this frightening as bats fly around you at high speeds just going about their business.
Tsavo-The Black Rhino Experience -This is a purpose built enclosure, named after a region of Kenya, to provide natural surroundings for Chester Zoo's group. Chester has seven Black Rhinos including Manyara, Kitani, Kata-Kata, Pangani, Rosie, Sammy and Baringo II.
Bears Of The Cloud Forest- Home to the Spectacled Bear, which walk like humans
Tropical Realm - As well as endangered tropical birds this is where you'll finde the snakes, lizzards, spiders, stick inscets and frogs.
Minature Monkeys - The Miniature Monkeys area houses our Black Lion Tamarins, Pied Tamarins and Geoffroy's Marmosets.This exhibit is heated and planted to mimic their natural habitiat.
Spirit Of The Jaguar - The largest jaguar enclosure in the world.
Islands In Danger - This is home to the Komodo Dragon which havebeen successfully bred at Chester.
Education
As well as loads of info plaques at the various exhibits there are often talks that go on around the zoo and there are also some question and answer sessions. On admission you'll be given a sheet of what talks are going on where and at what time.
Special Events
As well as having birthday parties there it is also now possible to get married as the Zoo, what a brilliant idea! I have no idea how much these cost you'd have to contact the zoo for more details. You can also now book Chester Zoo holidays.
Throught the year the zoo runs a special event programme you may have to pre-book these days though.
April 2008 - Sensory Awareness Weekend
St George's Day Celebrations
May 2008 - Bank Holiday
Plant Conservation Day
Bat And Dragons Evening
June 2008 - Father's Day
Midsummer Cycle
A Night With The Carnivores
July 2008 - Lazy Sunner Evening At The zoo
Tropical Realm & Giraffes
Storytelling In The Zoo
Aug 2008 - Zulu Dancers
Storytelling At The Zoo
Lazy Summer Evening At The Zoo
The Olympic Challenge
Sep 2008 - Elephant & Rhino Evening
Sensory Awareness Weekend
Oct 2008 -HallZooeen
Ghost Talks In Oakfield Manor
Pumpkin festival
Nov 2008 Bats By Torchlight
Dec 2008 Christmas Lunch In Oakfield Manor
New Stuff
Opening this year at Chester are a Cheetah exhibit (should be opening in summer), Butterflies (which will open at the end of the year) and Philipene Crocodiles (althought the zoo has had these crocs for a while they are getting a new bigger encliosure within the tropical Realm).
My Opinions
Whether your for zoos or against them I doubt that anybody would be able to find too much fault Chester Zoo. Not only has it successfully bred many endangered species withing the zoo it also supports many consevation abroad and helps attempts at reintroducing endangered species back into the wild.
Some people might think that they admissions fee is quite high but I think it's well worth the money, we get there at 10am and spend the whole day there, there is just so much to see do. However what is expensive is all the extras, as us family types know going anywhere with kids can be an expensive business but at the zoo it could easily cost you a fortune, the gift shops are tempting for little ones as well as face painting, fake tattoos, painting pots, a trip on the monorail and the water bus, there are also balloon sellers about charging a fiver for a helium balloon shaped like an animal so either take plenty of cash or be prepared to say "no", the tears will only last until they see they next animal.
Food and drink are also another way the trip can proove expensive, there are plenty of meals, drinks and snacks to choose from in the various cafes and restaurants around the zoo but in my experience it's overpriced and not very good, even my kids wouldn't eat the burgers and chips we got served up on one trip, my advice is to take food with you, we just take some sausage rolls, butties, fruit, crisps and carton drinks with us now, there are plenty of picinic areas scattered about the zoo and if you don't fancy carrying it around with you can always get a pass out.
The zoo itself is always neat and tidy, it's one of the first things you'll notice if you go, there's plenty of bins around the zoo and there are plenty of staff around picking up stray pieces of litter. Even the toilets are a beacon of cleanliness, they're checked regularly my employees to make sure they are up to sctrach. The animals enclosures are all clean too and the areas around are all neat.
The staff are really friendly and helpful and always happy to help.
Getting around the park on foot is the best way to see all of the exhibits, you can't see everything from the water bus and monorail but the waterbus is fun and the monorail will keep you out of the rain while getting around.
The best exhibit in my opinion is the Twilight zone, if you've never been in a free flight bat cave it's a great experience. My kids loved the chimps the best, they didn't want to leave the enclosure on our visit there yesterday.
The zoo is accessible for both wheelchairs and pushchairs but what I find is that it's really hard to get near to the exhibits with a pushchair, there seems to be no zoo ettiquette, people aren't prepared to make space for you and on partcularly busy days there will be loads ofpeople with prams and pushcairs trying to manovere in and out of gaps so be prepared tyo wait to see some of the more popular exhibits.
My gripes with the zoo are very small firstly the aquarium is ancient, it really does need some updating, secondly the tigers seem to have a smaller enclosure than the lions.
Overall Chester Zoo is an excellent day out, the whole family will enjoy it, it's well worth a visit.
Address
Chester Zoo
Upton By Chester
CH2 1LH
01244 380280
www.chesterzoo.org
Summary: Fantastic Day out
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Last comment:
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stellaandjoey - 08/05/08 Not been here for years and wondered if it had changed which it seems to have done - think a trip may be in order now! |
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