Chester Zoo

From Chester Wiki

No visit to Chester would be compete without a trip to the zoo. Situated just on the northern edge of Chester, barely 3 miles from the centre, Chester Zoo is at the forefront of some of the world's most important conservation and programmes and you can easily fill a whole day here.

Contents 1 Animals 2 Talks and feeds 3 Kids 4 Other facilities 5 Prices 6 External link

[edit] Animals

Where to start? There's a good selection of all creatures great and small, so whatever your preference, you're bound to find something to appeal to you. We recommend visiting the bat house - a permanently twilighted zone with two rare species of bat flying loose inside, the monkey house (mandrills, Columbian spider monkeys, macaques) and the very charming meerkats. There's a large number of black rhinos, lots of deer/oryx/addax of various kinds. There's also a tropical zone with a large collection of reptiles, and penguins and lemurs. And lots more. Far too many to mention!

[edit] Talks and feeds

Every day, there is a programme of public feeding with a short talk for certain for species. On our visit, we watched the very entertaining Humboldt penguins from Chile feast on sprats and do some spectacular dolphin-style diving, followed by the magnificent Sumatran tigers tussling over large hunks of raw meat.

[edit] Kids

In the unlikely event that your children's eyes glaze over with ennui from seeing rare creatures, there's a sizeable play area available with climbing frames and log tunnels to wear them out. Still bored? No problem - they can get their face painted, paint pottery or get a fake tattoo...

[edit] Other facilities

The Cafe Tsavo at the main entrance and the Ark pub and Oakfield House restaurant (both at the rear pedestrian entrance) all offer reasonably priced food and refreshments. There are picnic areas if you want to bring your own food.

If you get fed up with shank's pony, you can ride the Zoofari monorail or take the waterbus trip (these cost extra).

Don't miss the specialist gardens scattered around the zoo. There's also a Grow Zone.

There's a large gift shop by the main entrance -- as well as the predictable toy stuffed monkeys, it sells a range of local products.

[edit] Prices

Not especially cheap at almost £10 per adult and almost £8 per child. However, a family ticket for 2 adults and 2 kids is a more reasonable £35. Disabled people get a discount on proof of eligibility (such as a disabled travel pass) and can bring a carer in for free, which basically means two for the price of one.

[edit] External link

The Chester Zoo website has full info on hours, prices, bookings, how to get there, educational facilities etc.