Adorable zoo about an hour to hour and a half from Central London. If you have the time and a car I…read moredefinitely recommend this zoo over the ZSL zoo. Every exhibit has multiple viewpoints here. There were plenty of opportunities to easily see all the animals here. The enclosures were extremely well kept and I think all had an indoor and outdoor area for the animals. There are multiple play areas throughout for kids here too. My kids also enjoyed the animatronic dinosaurs here (very cute). Food here was reasonably priced but we ate outside the park. Parking was free. They offer a lot of different animal interactions here. The prices for all were pretty high but for a special gift I'm sure they are totally worth it. You can also buy carrots to feed the animals in the petting zoo.

Overall great day out for the family ! I would say 50% animals 50% outdoor play for the kids (with…read moresome indoor) I did find some of the cages quite small for the animals but one of my only criticisms! There were a few extras while you were there so take additional money but to be expected at these places! ( it's set up for packed lunches which is great for families ) There is a good choice of animals to see and you can buy food which a good selection of animals to feed! They also had a lots of showing through out the day and I got to stroke a snake :). The park had a good layout where you can easily walk around and find where you are going plus you get a handy map! There have an indoor soft play at the entrance which is good and bad! Means the kids want to go these straight away instead of seeing the animals and you don't pass on the way out! The soft play was great for all ages and served your average drinks and food - one thing I will say which was disappointing was they charged me for a bit of milk for my baby! I always pay my way but this is the first place that have ever charged me for milk! Worth a visit and tickets are not expensive - look out for groupon deals!

Lion Cubs experience…read more This my third experience now with Heythrop Zoological Gardens and yet again was a magical one. Me and my husband firstly meets Hannah who is such a lovely lady that explains all about the lion cubs and she then takes us around the forest whilst we walk the cubs along with another trainer. So we walked their new bundle of joy Nero and Lydia the lion cubs. It was a once in a life time opportunity and so unique. We walked the cubs in Heythrops private woods. The little cubs just loved to play with each other all the time whilst walking along and when they came across their favourite tree stumps they just loved leaping and playing on them as well as trying to climb up a tree or two. We could also stroke them when they were more relaxed in places and they felt so soft like rabbit fur. The markings on there fur was also so amazing Lydia the female cub had spot type markings and Nero you could see his mane coming about with his punk rocker type hair style going on. Its a tad expensive doing this experience but I highly recommend as it is so worth it and you won't be able to do this experience at any other zoo in the UK. Only reason this experience is allowed at Heythrop Zoological Gardens is because its a private zoo (not open to public however does have special open days to public 2 days in September only) and train animals are bred for TV and film. This experience only has two Saturdays left in June 2016 with a few places left so if you are interested then book asap. They do other animal experiences throughout the year that you can do from penguins to a sloth so check out there website. If you however want to do the more unique one off experiences like the lion cubs that is not available all year round then I advice you email them and ask them to keep you informed of any new additions like lion cubs, tiger cubs, other baby animals etc. The other animal experiences that I have done at Heythrop is the tiger cubs and a monkey (who starred in My Zoo a TV series). I highly recommend to anyone that loves animals.

I went to Linton Zoo a couple of weekends ago and I felt like I had to make a review on here…read more Firstly, it was amazing that the attendant recognised and enjoyed the jurassic park stickers on my car, obviously a cool person. Secondly, this zoo was quaint and fun with a wonderful feeling of being in someone's back garden. I felt like I had found something really special that had not been commercialised and was not insanely busy. The weather could have been better but we saw our fair share of animals and the baby Tapir was a huge (tiny) treat. The cafe was small but perfect for the zoo and had a really nice selection of food available and I very much enjoyed my lunch. Before we walked round the zoo twice :) There were talks from very enthusiastic men who worked at the zoo who are a credit to the organisation and obviously respect and admire the animals greatly. The only thing I would suggest would be to have some updated information boards to have a read through here and there, such as I wanted to know the name of the baby Tapir. But not a massive problem and it did not affect my enjoyment of the zoo and its lovely residents. Will definitely be planning to go back again this summer to make use of the picnic benches

We moved to Linton a year ago and bought season ticlets for the zoo in spring. We have now made…read moremany visits and every time we have been it has been fantastic. The staff are friendly and knowledgable. The animals appear happy and content. For a small zoo there are some great animals there -a lot of big cats - Tigers, Lions, Panther, Leopard, Snow Leopards. The zoo is a breeding zoo, so there are often baby animals appearing - the Tapir is due to drop any day now. It is a great place for children - the talks are informative and aimed at children and adults. The bug talk was particularly entertaining - they bought the animals out and you were able to touch some of them (obvioulsly not the tarantula!). The entrance price is really good - £7.50 for a standard ticket, and the season tickets are more than reasonable. Defiantely worth a visit - takes a couple of hours to go round - a bit longer if the children are distracted by the play equipment. Take a picnic if you want the experience to last a little longer. There is also a little cafe at the zoo which does nice food at a reasonable price.

Fabulous day, with a private Giraffe experience with our booking for my daughters 5th birthday…read more Absolutely fantastic, best experience whilst learning all about the conservation importance etc . Great informative keeper, very knowledgeable who had been there 26 years !! That shows a great place to work. Had afternoon tea overlooking the leopard enclosure. So much good fabulous spread and THE best tasting scones we've ever tried! Had to have boxes to take all the food home that we just couldn't finish. Amazing day with lovely people looking after and caring for the animals there. Thought the apes looked very sad and made us a little sad seeming them in the enclosures

A fun afternoon spent at the zoo is always a fun afternoon! Especially when you see giraffes trying…read moreto mate and all the little kids look horrified! We spent a few hours walking around the entire zoo and there were plenty of animals to keep my little guy entertained. The best part was the playground across from the gorilla sanctuary where all the little kids seemed to congregate. The highlight of the day was the Gruffalo section. It was just a series of animatronic animals and rooms with snippets of the cartoon playing but it was fun and passed the time well. Got hot dogs from the hot dog stand; although there was a restaurant on site... we just needed a quick snack and the service for it was quick and efficient.

Took my 15 yo nephew here today and we both enjoyed it very much. Lots to see and lots of space for…read morethe animals. We were both concerned for some of the animals that are not in their natural habitat just wondering if they were too hot. The train ride was a plus because we got to see animals on the other side of the park that would have been otherwise difficult to reach on foot. My favorite were the penguins, the the brown bear ( it was chasing a bird) the butterflies and the kangaroos.

Whipsnade Zoo has been a tradition in our family since I was a child. My own children now love it…read moretoo. It makes a brilliant day out in the Fresh Air on top of the Chilterns, with views for miles. We are members of the ZSL so can return as often as we like which makes the membership fee much better value. You can pay to enter and if you like the1 vibe, you can offset the cost of the visit against your first year's membership fee which also includes entry to London Zoo. There are elephants, lions, tigers, giraffes, and a large herd of White Rhino. The Chimpanzees have a very large enclosure. You can take the car in, which makes a picnic much easier. Go!

We absolutely loved the drive thru safari. The animals look calm and happy as they stroll around,…read moreextremely close to your car. Excellent experience. The after you park your car exhibits were mostly enjoyable, sweet animals but please someone needs to clean the animals sleep areas, inside boxes and such. The Otter sleep area was disgraceful and there were babies. Looks like it hadn't been cleaned out in a month. No way AZA has been there in a while. Otherwise a very nice day.

It is great. You need to book the ticket online before your trip, it is very smooth to get in the…read morepark. Not very big but a lot to see. we stayed about 2 hour. It is a special experience to see the wildlife.

If you are looking for a fab day out in Lincolnshire then give The Butterfly & Wildlife Park at…read moreLong Sutton a go. This little park started out as just a butterfly park but over the years has extended its collection and now houses birds of prey, ponies, pigs, llamas and racoons (to name but a few). The tropical house is home to the butterflies (plus some reptiles and other insects). The volume and variety of butterflies is breathtaking and the tropical house is well set out so you get plenty of opportunity to see the butterflies without feeling you have walked round in circles. Outside in the park you can explore all the other animal exhibits and catch one of the daily falconry displays. There is a new children's adventure play area and if all of this tires you out and you need to recharge your batteries then there is a lovely restaurant/cafe which serves delicious homemade cakes and lunches. The Gift shop is well stocked and the staff are all very friendly. All in all a fantastic day out.

HAve been to the park a few times over the years , and although the children really enjoyed it,…read moreeven my daughter who was 6 at the time holding some kind of tarantula spider. They do do a lovely falconry display which is llovely sitting outside during the summer. The play par kis quite extensive and even my hubby had fun playing on the zip wire. The terrapins are also interesting to watch and they have such an array of butterflys. They have a huge picnic area which caters for large parties as well as having a coffee shop and a gift store

The variety of animals at Banham Zoo and the staff's care of them is exemplary. I was primarily…read morethere to see their Pallas's cats, but was impressed by all the animals on show, especially the snow leopards and red pandas. The enclosures are well-planned, catering to both the animals' wellbeing and the visitors' experience - I've never seen giraffes or tigers so close in other zoos! That Banham have done so well with what must be tight margins speaks to their thoughtfulness and dedication. I spent some time talking to the staff, and they were all friendly, excited to answer questions, and their love for the animals shone through. There seem to be lots of activities for kids, along with lots of food options, and the gift shop had some fun merchandise. Of course I'd have loved some Pallas cat-themed merchandise, but I'm still very happy with my snow leopard keychain! Banham is a fantastic zoo, and I can't recommend it highly enough for solo animal lovers and families alike!

Banham is a small village in Norfolk that is now home to one of the UK's top 3 zoos as rated for by…read moreWhich Magazine. Set in 35 acres of parkland, the zoo is home to over 1000 species of animal. About 25 minutes from Norwich and 40 minutes from Ipswich, the zoo is well signposted off the A11 and A140 so despite being in the middle of nowhere you should have no problem finding it. The zoo itself opened in 1968 and is well established, with modern well kept pens, large range of animals and a play area for all. Its a great day out especially if you have kids.