Chester Zoo 2016

One of the World's highest regarded zoos.

This is part three of a series of three galleries, from a multi-part holiday taking in three completely unrelated destinations. Part 1 (Lake District) and part 2 (Isle of Man) can be viewed separately.

Chester zoo is one of the major British zoos, regularly voted as one of the best in the World, and the best in the UK. In terms of space, it has less than Whipsnade. In terms of species, it has fewer than London Zoo. In terms of actual animals, it appears to have more than any other in the UK. The enclosures and the selection of species are some of the best that can be seen. It is also the most visited zoo (or wildlife attraction of any kind) in Britain.

In particular for me, the zoo has some of the finest reptile enclosures I have seen in a zoo, and a great deal of effort seems to have gone into making sure that the heating and lighting are done in the best way possible. Sadly this was only a regular tourist visit, and not a behind-the-scenes tour, but the quality of the setups and the conservation work that goes on here was still very clear. Behind the scenes there are apparently far more reptiles, including anacondas, cobras, mambas and several pit vipers. The layout of the zoo makes it rather difficult to know if you actually saw everything you could see, since the animals of any kind may be scattered throughout severals sites without any obvious pattern - snakes, for example, are located in multiple unrelated buildings. We probably missed lots.