Not London, Whipsnade or Colchester – UK’s best zoo has 30,000 animals

One zoo has beaten the likes of Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Whipsnade, and London Zoo to be crowned the UK’s best on TripAdvisor. The vast attraction describes itself as the “UK’s number one charity zoo”, with more than 30,000 animals from over 500 species, including some of the most endangered on the planet.

Thanks to its conservation efforts, a critically endangered West African chimpanzee was born in the zoo, as well as a Sumatran orangutan and thousands of Bermudian snails. There are six lemur species alone and you can also get a glimpse at the fossa, Madagascar’s largest carnivore, at Chester Zoo.

Despite the size of Whipsnade Zoo, Chester has around 20,000 more animals, home to more than 10,000, including a herd of Asian elephants. London Zoo has fewer with around 8,000, incuding giant silverback gorillas.

This is something visitors continually point out on TripAdvisor, with many saying they cannot get around all the enclosures in time. Despite being home to so many species, visistors praised the size of the enclosures.

One happy customer wrote: “This might arguably be the best zoo in the UK. The enclosures are the best I’ve seen for animal enrichment and the whole park is well maintained and considered. Well done team!”

A second added: “Had a lovely day out in the sweltering heat. It’s pricey but worth it for the good work conservation work that Chester zoo do.”

The zoo dates back to 1931, when the Mottershead family founded it. Three years later, it was registered as a non-profit organisation to be run as a charitable, conservation and scientific institution.

Another person gushed: “Absolutely amazing place, always come when we can and returning this weekend staff are so lovely and helpful very cute animals 100% recommend. Very child friendly staff also amazing with kids”

However, not everyone is impressed. Some said the zoo was poorly signposted, with one saying they “genuinely struggled” to find the way out.

They complained: “The whole experience was stressful rather than enjoyable, and we ended up leaving after just two hours. The last time I visited was around 10 years ago, and it was a far better experience. Sadly, the zoo seems to have gone backwards.”