I'm not sure how I feel about the Edinburgh Zoo; I don't think it's a destination spot if you're…read morevisiting for the first time. If you live locally or come to the city often, sure, make your way to the zoo eventually. They have some great events: social for new parents to meet other new parents, afternoon teas, photography workshops, and more. They are home to more than 2,500 animals including: camels, monkeys, pelicans, zebras, highland cows (...obviously), giraffes (a four back of bachelors named Arrow, Gerald, Fennessy, and Gilbert), a red panda, tigers, meerkats, a bear, a very large penguin pool with LOTS of gentoo, king, and rockhopper penguins (you can watch them live on the zoo's website!), flamingos (their oldest one was born in 1961!), and more. Unfortunately, you won't see all of them when you visit: I would say about 30% of them weren't there (for various reasons: rehoming, new structures being built, vet visits, it was the wrong time of day, etc.) when I came. There is, however - and this won't make sense unless you've seen it - an unexpectedly LARGE dinosaur presence here. IYKYK. Thankful for the conservation work they do here and in the protection of endangered species around the world, but I'm not sure this is a spot I need to have repeat visit at.

This is one of my favorite zoos. Was disappointed on how they have let it decline since our last…read morevisit Oct of 2023. The landscaping used to be perfect but now there are lots of weeds. Staff is always friendly here. Animals here are always great. Wish it was easier to find a drink here while walking around. Hoping they find a way to fix this zoo back up I miss the old zoo.

This place is lovely, set in the Perthshire hills the scenery alone is spectacular…read more The wildlife centre is roughly 10 miles west of Crieff so if you don't have transport it is difficult to get to. They have a varied range of animals consisting of lots of types of birds from around the world, Prairie dogs, deer, Llamas and many more, to many to mention. They have a large area where you can go in and pet the animals within as well as the usual pens holding the other animals. There is a Falconry Centre, which is paid for separately (only if you want to hold and have your picture taken with one) as well as a hatchery, woodland walks, barbeque area and a massive playing area for the kids, indoor and outdoor. There is also a gift shop and cafe a lot of the produce being home made. When your there it feels like your on a large farm with amazing animals that are always friendly and looking for a bit of attention, you can even buy bags of food so as your trotting around the centre you are able to feed them as well. Entrance fee is £6 per adult and £4 per child; family tickets available, so it is excellent value for money and you could spend the whole day there. Staff are very friendly and always at hand to help or answer ant questions you may have. If you do have transport this is a brilliant day out for kids and adults and with ample free parking you wont miss out on a wonderful day. Sturdy footwear is advisable

I have been here, can show you some photos of the many wonders of this place. It was particulary…read moregood for us as having a blind partner it was so accessable, and the animals making noises was good for my partner. We loved the Tartan sheep.it was unusual, and the cheeky parairie dogs, just made our day and we would highly reccomend this to anyone who loves animals

This farm was right next to our Airbnb and so we just had to visit! It's not too big so this is…read moregreat if you want to squeeze in a visit while you're exploring. There is a cafe but it was closed when we were there. Entry is free, and there are stations to wash your hands. I didn't see any employees while I was there though, just a couple of other tourists. It was pretty empty so I felt like I had everything to myself. I saw some cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, lambs, and they were all adorable! You can't feed them but they are so friendly they sometimes let you pet them.

was a lovely warm sunny day visiting Gorgie City Farm &…read moreCafe 8/8/19. I think I came here a very long time ago so it was great to see all again. Walking around seeing all the animals was great and taking some photos of my experience. The weather was so hot, it felt like my head was burning a bit. Very impressive what I saw from goats, chickens, pigs, birds and many more. The young goats where so cute, I wanted to fit one in my pocket lol. I would recommend this place to anyone, if you love the outdoors and animals. You can get a Lothian Buses number 25 from Princess Street in Edinburgh and it will take you straight there also Gorgie City Farm is free to anyone too. Check out my article on Gorgie City Farm on my Blog below https://socialsandi1.com/2019/08/08/gorgie-city-farm/

I visited this time for Puff's toddler group trip and was delighted to go back. Smudge has now…read moredeclared herself far too grown up for this sort of activity much to my disgust as I loved our trips here when she was little. This visit was a beautifully sunny day so the perfect day to wander around checking out all the animals; goats, donkeys, GIANT bunnies, guinea pigs, cows, sheep, rats, collie dogs, geese and puff's favourite a cat - we have a cat at home!!! As well as a farmyard full of animals to check out, you can pet lots of the wee ones. A whole barn full of fluffy bunnies, chickens and guinea pigs to stroke. Unless like me you're allergic in which case not touching is a much better option - puffy eyes, manic sneezing and a snotty nose does not make for a fun day out. Once you have spent a happy hour trying to teach a stubborn one year old any animal noise other than meeow, and failed, there is still plenty to do here with an inflatable cow bouncy castle, indoor soft play area, tractors to ride, trampolines to bounce, fossils to uncover and a lovely cafe to eat cake and drink coffee in. It has to be said that a rainy day would not completely ruin a trip to Almond Valley. There is plenty to do under cover and even a big picnic barn to eat in, not to brag but we used it for shade because it was so hot.

This is a lovely little place, a great day out for all the family. Lots of animals to see, an lots…read moreto learn. they're upgrading it all the time so it just keeps getting better and better. They do lots of special activities, Christmas Fayres, Easter, all year round really. they have soft play for toddlers and a new bigger area for older kids. It's got a great little cafe too with friendly staff and good food. It really is worth a visit, you will undoubtedly learn something and have fun while doing it.

Amazing! Loads of animals and lovely gift shops would really recommend to any animal lover!…read moreBut WARNING loads of wasps in the summer

We went to Blair Drummond this Sunday, not for the first time, but for the first time in a while…read more We went without booking tickets, but ended up making an online booking standing in front of the gates. So, book! The weather was nice and that made sure we had a lovely day. The safari drive through was good, the individual displays nice. We finally saw the tiger (jumping down from a tree), the chimp viewpoint is a good addition and the lemar walkthrough always nice. We spent a very nice 4 hours.

Went here today as suggested by the bf as a wee cheer me up day and im so glad he suggested it as i…read morehad so much fun. Its a bit fiddly to find at the moment with the diversion due to the new forth rd bridge but if you follow the diversion you will be ok. Cost was £14 per adult however if you book in advance online its slightly cheaper. We got to see sharks being fed and a giant turtle but for me the best thing was seeing the seals being fed. They are so cute and clever and the tricks the handlers have taught them are briliant! There are tv screens dotted around the place that show you the times of all the feeds so you dont miss anything. The underwater tunnel is a brilliant way to get up close and personal with the sharks too. There is a cafe but we didnt visit that. The gift shop has all your usual cuddly toys and gifts. Plenty of parking available on site too. A great day out for young and old alike!

Deep Sea World is a great day out for all the family. I came here with my friend and her two little…read morecousins a few years ago and they were fascinated by everything, I've never seen them so well behaved. They even saw a bit of seaweed move and ended up mesmerised by it for ages. They were also huge fans of Finding Nemo and started screaming at the top of their voices when they were faced with Nemo in the flesh living it up in his Coral Reef. There are also plenty of sharks to marvel at and you can even dive with sharks... I don't know if I fancy that though. My personal favourite underwater critters are stingrays and was pleased when I saw a good few swimming around. Tickets are rather pricey, £12 adults and £8.25 but it's an excellent day out and there's so much to see and do and it's only a 20 min drive from Edinburgh city centre.

We did the owl flying experience and it was amazing! Staff member was so kind and all of the…read moreanimals are so cute!

The Scottish Deer Centre is only a 50min car ride from Edinburgh and about half an hour from St…read moreAndrews. It's a fun day out for young and old. 2 adults and 2 children pay about £26 and I believe you can also get yearly passes. £8.50 for adults. This place is not cheap, but then, the money is used for a good cause, to keep the deer centre going. The area is easy walkable, even with a pram. It's not massive. You will find various species of deer on one side of the park and in the witches wood you will find the water reindeer, the brown bear, otters and some amazing Scottish grey wolves. You might think they seem very patient, but when out in the wild, I can't imagine that they would just look at children making funny Wolf howling noises at them, as they do now, behind a very robust fence. The brown bears look so cuddly and lazy. Security is very high. The place offers a farm shop, gift shop, Edinburgh woollen mill shop, plenty of children play areas, a birds of prey area with certain times for performances and a tea and coffee shop, which looks a bit outdated. The queue for the tea order was massive and really slow. I had a scone, but had better. Overall, it's a lovely little place and definitely a play heaven for children or even an interesting picnic area, if you want to pay the entrance fee. Plenty of toilets and parking available. Bus stop just outside. Enjoy!

I loved it kids had a good time with all the bugs and butterfly's all children very interested in…read morewhat the man was saying

Sadly the butterfly and insect world closed down about 6 months ago,…read more I wold have given it a 3/4 stars there was a small kids area, but a toastie and cup Team was £7 expensive if you have 2 kids, it was a good place to go with the kids,,

Was on our way back to Glasgow and needed to take up time with the kids, and decided on this place…read more OMG what a find! It was Scotland rainy at that start, but the rain stopped. The show was great (really want to stay for that), and the keepers took extra time to answer all of our questions and more. The cafe was very good as well - but we only had coffee. My one issue about this place is that it was hard to find - maybe just for Americans :-). If not for a couple of signs to the cafe we would have given up. If you have any interest in birds this is a great stop. My son shot some paintballs, which felt like a little much for the amount he got, but he was more than happy. That being said, I have no idea how expensive paint balls are. There were other things that were offered, but we did not try them. IMO worth a visit.

From the owner: We are Scotland's largest Birds of Prey Centre including eagles, hawks, owls, falcons, vultures and…read moreparrots. We are open 4 days a week and have fantastic flying displays every day. Our falconers run experiences for members of the public and for corporate events. We offer visits to schools and other events in the community. We also rescue birds at the Centre.