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Edinburgh Zoo Review

EdinburghZooEdinburgh Zoo

www.edinburghzoo.org.uk

Reviewed by Stella Young

Lions and Tigers and Bears… oh my! Majestic creatures we usually only see on TV or see in films, but not this day, with our small tribe of pre-school children, we were very excited to be planning a trip to Edinburgh Zoo.

The zoo is situated in the Corstorphine/Murrayfield area of Edinburgh. Fairly easy to find, off a main road. We arrived around noon, and it was obviously busy with families making their way in. There was a £4 charge for the car park taken by a parking attendant on foot, eliminating the need for loose change. After parking the car we made our way to the entrance, a large reception area, with a spaced out desk for paying, so it never felt like anybody was looking over your shoulder whilst queuing. We enquired about the safari bus, but were told this no longer operated in the park.

So off we set with our map, noting the times of specific things we wanted to see, like the Penguin Parade, and our allotted time for viewing the pandas. We had hungry little mouths to feed, so we made our way to the picnic area to feed our brood. Although busy with families snacking, we easily found a vacant bench in the well-kept picnic area.

Our first animal stop was the Budongo Trail, an interactive indoor-outdoor chimpanzee enclosure, where we were able to get close up to some of the animals through the glass screens. It is scarily amazing just how similar chimpanzees are to humans. And there are exhibits which display the similarities, as well as knowledgeable staff on hand if we had any questions to ask. While we were in this area, we were invited by University students for our 4 year old to take part in a small study. We were happy to oblige, and he was rewarded with some zoo stickers for his time.

We then made our way to Penguin Rock, where masses of people were congregated for the forthcoming Penguin Parade. We should have gone their earlier though, to ensure our toddler twins could be at the front for viewing from their buggy. People did let me in front of them to get the best view we could, my husband managed to find a good vantage point for our 4 year old to view from on top of his shoulders. The penguins were led out by staff members, much to the delight of the crowd who had been patiently waiting to see them. The parade is a voluntary stroll for the penguins, and on this day 5 decided to come out to visit us all.

We then joined what seemed like a huge queue to see the Pandas. But once people were taken in, the queue disappeared quickly. Whilst we waited, the children were amused watching the penguins swimming in the pool right next to the queue. Handy, when you have 3 to keep amused. The guide invited people who didn’t have tickets to join the queue if they wished, as they were running ahead of time, a bonus for anybody who didn’t manage to book a slot. He also filled us in with lots of information about the pandas before we were led in to the quiet area to observe them. On these occasions, you are obviously at the mercy of the animals in how sociable they want to be. But we saw some inside, and then in the outdoor part of the enclosure as well. A joy, considering these are the only giant pandas in the UK.

Kids needed a bit of a break from having to behave by this point, so we headed off to the play park, a lovely play area in the middle. Although it said not suitable for Under 5’s, my three managed to have plenty fun with some assistance from mummy and daddy.

Having seen the main things we came to see, i.e. the penguins and the pandas, we then set up a more leisurely tour of the zoo. I say leisurely, but the zoo is set on a steep hill, so not advisable for anybody with mobility issues, and we did struggle with toddlers in a twin pushchair. But there were plenty of rest stops for us to catch our breath as we continued our tour. A few animals were shy on the day, or having a rest away from spectators, but that is only to be expected. We did see the rhinos and Malayan tapirs, amongst the wildcats the leopards and tigers were out to play, meerkats, wallabies and of course the extremely cute koala bears, another species which only Edinburgh Zoo has in the whole of the UK. And frankly too many other species to name. But a full list of animals at the zoo can be found here.

We set off back for home after 5pm wishing we’d arrived earlier in the day, as there were quite a few animals we missed as well. But we were completely satisfied with our time at the Zoo, although somewhat tired by the end of it.

We will definitely return to the zoo in the future, but think we’ll wait until we don’t have to battle with a double pushchair, rest assured both children and adults, we all slept well that night

We would rate it as 5/5 for a family day out, also there appeared to be plenty of couples enjoying a date at the zoo.

Rating: 5/5 thumbs_up

Tickets cost: Adults £16.50, Children 3-15 years £12, Children under 3 FREE.  There are also a variety of family tickets available from £36.45 to £62.10.

For more information or to book tickets visit www.edinburghzoo.org.uk.

Edinburgh Zoo, 134 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh, EH12 6TS | 0131 334 9171

5Star

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