Colchester Zoo advertizes itself as voted the second best zoo in the UK and high on the list of world zoos. Our group included 2over 60s ( my wife &I) two 40’s and one 10 year and 18months. We took the 10 yr old at 9.30 to make the most of the day. My wife cashed in her Mother’s Day voucher and had half an hour one to one with the Giraffe keeper and the giraffes. This was a significant way to start the day and gave us some good photos of her feeding them titbits and we all enjoyed the walk by as they were let out of their night accommodation into the paddock. A,10, had her own camera with her and was really engaged taking photos all day. Close up encounters feeding a horse and goats, stroking a rabbit and an African snail and feeding nectar to very excited rainbow birds made it a great day. Good, brief, information boards and a strong conservation message. CanThe pace slowed a little for her taste after the others joined us for lunch and the afternoon. Big improvements on the eating front compared to our last visit. Busy but no very long queues. Only down was we got a bit lost trying to follow the map. There is a lot of walking and its on several levels. We enjoyed it enough to buy 5 platinum passes to take other parts of the family and enjoy it again and again for the next 2 years.