Chester Zoo Review
Chester Zoo
Reviewed by Lee Talbot
On a cold, but dry wintery Saturday morning, I, along with my six year old daughter, headed out to visit Chester Zoo. Driving from the hotel in Warrington that we stayed in the previous night, we followed the motorway to Chester. We hadn't planned a route and thank goodness the signage for the Zoo appeared and directed us straight into the car park. Parking is free, which is a pleasant change compared to other zoos we had visited, and vast enough to cater for a multitude of vehicles. There were plenty of staff on the entrance and we were through and in without delay. You are handed two sheets of paper, both of which are vital to your visit. The first is a map of zoo, excellently designed indicating everything on offer (you find yourself using this a lot), the second shows you all the educational talks that occur throughout the day and where they happen.
We found the zoo to be a perfect size a whole day's entertainment. All the usual suspects are on show, lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes, along with more unusual offerings, painted dogs, spectacled bears, onagers, capuchins. All the enclosures have all the information you could hope for to educate you about what's inside. There are also videos and games in the walls to help with the teachings. As well as the outside animals there are also a number of buildings housing a vast variety of animals and birds. The Butterfly Journey was magical where they are actually flying all around you as you walk through. Islands In Danger and Tropical Realm have all sorts of strange and wonderful species.
There's a Monorail and Waterbus that allow you to get access to views of the animals that you just can't get from on foot (as well has giving you a welcome rest). There are three adventure playgrounds, a mini golf course, and a face painting studio. Plenty of places to get food and drink dotted round the zoo, and a gift shop by the main entrance.
All in all, a wonderfully fun and educational way to spend a day. Highly recommended.
All pictures are the copyright of Chester Zoo.