Saturday 13 February 2016

Dartmoor Zoo Review

My children broke up for school on Thursday and we decided to go for a family day out at Dartmoor Zoo which is only a short way from our home.

It was raining and drizzling but we don't let the weather get us down, we put on wellies, hats and gloves. Warm and cosy we drove to the zoo which is very well sign posted from the A38. We found it easily and parked in the car park which was almost empty. 

We walked up the hill from the pay station to the main part of the zoo which was a bit steep, however there are beautiful capybara animals for the children to see on the way up so it wasn't too bad. 
Harrison thought they were giant hamsters. 

The main part of the zoo starts with absolutely adorable meerkats. They were running all over the place and having a great time. 
The zoo is really well laid out and just big enough for little people to walk round, we stayed for four hours. We took a picnic with us for the children and ate in the restaurant. The adults had a pasty meal deal for £5.00 which included a pasty, a drink and a snack. I am vegetarian and can honestly say that the vegetarian pasty was gorgeous. It was a lot more affordable than we had expected. It was clean and the service was fast. The attached gift shop is small and good value. They have some lovely items and it is not too overwhelming for little ones that want to spend some pocket money.

We saw lots of amazing animals who didn't seem to mind the drizzling rain either. We saw the wolves, cheetah, lions and a jaguar who was spectacular. They all looked very content and healthy which was a blessing to see. The animals had a lot of space and different aspects of the habitat to entertain them. They were a good distance from the public so that hopefully they didn't feel overwhelmed. 

The most amazing thing for us though was seeing the bears, we thought that they would have been asleep given the cold weather but both Hayley and Fudge were awaiting their handlers who were about to feed them. They were so majestic and I really could of stayed all day just watching them. 
There were so many other animals that we got to see too, all of them seemed happy and very well cared for. There is a lot of construction happening at the zoo at the moment so some of the enclosures were closed but that didn't take away from our enjoyment of the day. 

My Son particularly liked the otters and the red foxes.

I can honestly say that we had a brilliant day, it was very much worth the admission price. They could perhaps have had a children's outdoor play area or even an indoor softplay to make it more of a whole day out than just a morning but we certainly had no complaints at all. 

I would highly recommend a visit if you are local or visiting the area. It is a great size and not as exhausting as some of the bigger zoos that we have visited. Don't let the rain put you off, the zoo is quieter and you can still see the animals. 


Thank you Dartmoor Zoo for a really lovely day out, we look forward to visiting you again soon. Love the Webb Family xxx

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