My wife loves animals (yes of course that's why she loves me) and so a trip to Chester Zoo was a must when we were in the area. With over 11,000 animals in 110 acres of zoological gardens, it is one of the world's top zoos and the UK's No.1 wildlife attraction. The zoo is well laid out and it's easy to follow a path around the animals, without retracing your steps too much. There is free wheelchair and electric mobility scooter hire for those with mobility issues. Although we had a beautiful sunny day, inevitably the UK will produce rain on some visits. The zoo have a wet weather walk all planned out for you so you can stay under cover as much as possible. There are some very interesting and informative talks by the staff at various times of the day. These often also cover the conservation status of the animals. The enclosures themselves are obviuosly well thought out and very spacious for the type of animal in them, but on the downside there are also plenty of places for the animals to hide if they don't want to be seen. The orang-utan enclosure is the biggest in Europe, but whilst impressive, the orang-utans seemed to be hiding in the connecting tunnels must of the time. That shouldn't detract for the abundance of obviously well kept and sometimes endangered species clearly on view. Of course there are the favourites you could watch for hours, like the amusing Meerkats. Highly comical to watch and not one of them tried to get me to compare the market (.com). There is a very interesting banner that shows the history of the zoo and the process of continual development that still goes on. The park is very clean and there are plenty of places to get refreshments. This is an excellent day out and my one irritation is that, not being cheap to get in, the monorail and canal ride were extra. Things like this which are basically an attraction and help you get around the zoo, should be included. Notwithstanding I would highly recommend a visit to Chester Zoo.
