I had a lovely day with my family at the Zoo yesterday. This positive experience was enhanced by the fact that my husband was given free tickets and £3 each towards food by his employers. We did bump into a few of his colleagues there as the tickets had to be used on that one particular day. It was an exremely enjoyable day.

About Paignton Zoo.
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Paignton Zoos correct title is in fact Paignton Zoo Environmental Park and it is in Devon. They are a registered charity and have also done a lot of work at the Zoo towards conservation. They have a successful breeding programme and have bred lots of rare and unusual birds as well as other animals. They recycle what they can and save water. They have waterless urinals and they use collect rainwater to water plants. They use solar water heating and low energy lighting. Their Restaurant contains local produce and they sell fair trade. For more information look on the website which is www.paigntonzoo.org.uk.

The environment at Paignton Zoo is lovely. They try to keep is as natural as possible for the animals. They have done a lot of work at the zoo, it has changed considerably since I first went many years ago when it was more of a traditional zoo, animals in cages rather than natural looking enclosures.

The zoo strives to do more and they are currently raising funds to construct a crocodile swamp which should be fabulous when finished. The area has already been marked out and it promises to be well worth a visit. Already at the zoo are zones Primely, savannah, forest, wetland, tropical forest and desert, displaying different habitats and housing different animals..

The zoo has the obligatory gift shop which you can buy things from when you are there or you can purchase on line.

The zoo has a sister site called Living Coasts with the penguins and seals (which used to be at the zoo).

Getting There.
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It is easy to drive to Paignton Zoo and there are 11100 spaces in the free car park on site and an overflow carpark a short distance away. It is on the A2033 Totnes Road and then brown signs marked with an elephant can be followed.

The train stops at either Torquay or Paington station but it is necessary to catch a bus from there so this is not the easiest form of transport.

The bus service is good, First Western National and Stagecoach operating services direct to the zoo. On production of a valid bus ticket, a 10% reduction of the admission price is given which is good.

There are free secure bike racks in the main entrance.

Opening Times.
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The zoo is open all year round except for christmas day from 10am. Currently the zoo closes at 6pm but these times vary throughout the year so it is worth checking.

Prices.
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The listed admission prices currently include a 10% voluntary contribution. You need to mention when paying if you do not wish to contribute. In some ways I disagree with this but it is a good cause. Some people may feel that they are unable to say that they do not wish to pay and for low income families in particular, the difference in price could pay for an ice cream later on. On the other hand the money is being ploughed straight back into the zoo and they are getting far more this way than if asking for donations. It is for funds towards the crocodile swamp and towards conservation, therefore I consider it worthwhile. The prices are the ones listed and the ones in brackets are the ones if not contributing.

Adult £11.35 (£10.30)
Child 3-15 £7.60 (£6.90
Under 3, free.
Senior and Student £9.31 (£8.50)
Family, 2 adults, 2 children £34.10 (£31.00)

Diasbled:-
Adult £9.35 (£8.50)
Child 3-15 £6.25 (£5.65)
Under 3, free
Senior and Student £7.65 (£6.91)

Joint tickets are also available for Paignton Zoo and Living Coasts:-
Adults £16.25 (£14.75)
Childs 3-15 £11.10 (£10.05)
Under 3, free
Senior and Student £14.15 (£11.95)
Family £49.15 (£44.65)

Disabled access seemed good, we saw lots of wheelchairs. Wheelchairs are available from the Zoo (either manual or electric) by prior arrangement by phoning 01803 697500. Though the zoo is not completey flat due to the geography of the South West, the hills are not too steep and the paths are either tarmac or pressed stone.

When we were walking down to pay, we observed that there is grass on the roof, presumably to blend in and fit the environmental theme. As we walked over we were able to watch some of the birds on the lake. You could look at these without acutually gaining entry to the zoo as you can see part of the lake from outside. We stopped to watch for a while. There were ducks but also lots of flamingos. These were fascinating with their long bandy legs, almost mechanical looking and their flexible necks as we watched them bathing. Their colour was striking, brighter pink than usual flamingos, I think these were Chillean. This made me more keen to go in and have a look around.

Restaurant.
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I may have thought I was keen, but the Restaurant is right at the begining. I had worked a night shift and we didn`t get there until midday so it had to be our first stop as I am always more hungry after a night shift. I thought if we ate straight away, it would set us up for the day.

There was a long queue for the self service, but it didn`t take too long and there was plently seating. My only criticism was with the seating, the fact that it was so busy that the table had not been cleaned or cleared.

The menu was quite good and the food was quick as it was already these in warmers. They had children portions and adult sizes. There was fruit and packed lunch style food available as well as cooked meals. There were roast dinners, meals with chips and currys. I won`t go into everything as there was a fair selection but I was impressed. Just to let you know, the choice of curry was good and it was served with a popadom. There was either chicken korma (which I had), turkey tikka masala (which my husband had), vegetable curry, quorn curry. It seemed to try to cater for everyone. There was a selection of hot and cold drinks. We had a meal each, two adults and one child and a drink each. It came to £16 something but with our £9 off with the token we only paid £7 something which was good. It did set us up for the day. I know we wouldn`t have gone in there though if we had not had the vouchers but in this instance it was well worth it and the food was really good.

There were other snack type food places around the zoo as well as ice cream.

There are plenty picnic tables and benches to sit on if you bring your own food.

Tropical House.
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This is the first place but the last one that we entered due to us by passing it on the way in to satisfy our stomachs. The first part is tropical, the second part desert. The tropical part was very hot. There were lots of glass tanks with animals in and ponds depending on the creature. There were snakes galore in the tanks as well as lizzards, beetles and anything that may have lived in this type of environment. There were turtles in a little pond and crocodiles in another. This went round in a little square shape and it was a leisurly walk around looking at everything. The plants were green and lush. There were a few loose tropical birds which seemed accustomed to people.

Going on to the desert part, in contrast there was sand. It was very authentic. The only disadvantage to both parts was that it was a bit too hot for me (the desert part was cooler). It could be because I was tired, especially as we had left it until the end of the day. It was certainly interesting though. There were lots of cacti in the desert.

Railway.
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I am not even going to try to remeber which animals were next to one another or which ones were in each type of environment, there were far too many. I am just going to say it as I saw it.

There is a little railway that cost 50p each, children under 3 free. This is only about 5 or 10 minutes long but it is a good way of relaxing and seeing some of the animals. I couldn`t wait to get on this being tired having worked the night shift. We waited until about 4.30 and the

Pictures of Paignton Zoo

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last train is 5. It is only small, each carriage only taking two people really but we managed to fit our child in with us and he loved it. The train goes round over a little bridge first and the bird life is well visible. I think they had recently been fed as there were absolutely loads of them. There were flamingos which were paler than the others, ducks and pelicans. When were first arrived at the zoo we spent time watching the pelicans. They were catching fish, we saw quite a few. They would catch the fish, waggle it around a bit and then swallow it whole. We were amused to see two seagulls fighting over a fish. There were lots of different types of birds and it was nice to see. We then moved swiftly on past the tiger enclosure containing two tigers. These were in good view. The lion was next which was basking in the sun on a wooden `perch`. These magnificant cats were great to see. It was possible to walk past them aswell but the train suited me. We then went round some more of the lake finally ending up where we started. There were 2 monkeys in individual glass cases at the start. This is the only part of the zoo that reminded me of caged animals, they looked a bit bored.

Giraffes and Elephants.
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These were housed next to each other and depending where they were, you could either view them outside or inside though the glass into their `bedroom`.

There was only one giraffe which was a young male. Sadly there was a fire at some time, unfortunately killing the giraffes though the zoo did all that they could. I can`t remember the details and everyone wants to put everything behind them and look forward. I love giraffes, they are very therapeutic. They are tall and majestic with short compact bodies and remarkable markings. They stand there chewing and are very peaceful looking.

There were 2 elephants. Interestingly enough, the gestation period is 22 months, so it takes nearly 2 years for a baby elephant to be born once conceived. These two were both fully grown. One was African and one was Asian (which I had always known as Indian). It was good to see the contrast. The African has large ears, the Asian has small ears. There are other differences but the good thing about visiting the zoo is the learning. You can read about each animal and at various times you are told about them so I am not going to give everything away. The elephants had a ball to play with which was suspended from an elasticated bungee. We saw one of them playing with it, both pushing and stretching.

The zebras were near here and goats in a rocky area for them to climb.

Baby Rhino.
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I wanted to see the baby rhino and I was lucky because I saw him at about 1.15 and he is only out between 10.30 and 1.30 as it is tiring for him to be out for too long. He was scampering around like a proper little baby. A single rhino calf is born after 15 or 16 months.

Monkeys.
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There are lots of different monkeys and apes. The monkey house is interesting to see. There are monkeys outside in other cages aswell, various types. My son was amused by black monkeys with a moustache. There were small black monkeys which were like minature gorillas. They were lovely and there was a little baby one. They all kept climbing and playing, the baby was really cautious. My son told me that I was becoming obsessed, he was a bit jealous. Another lot of monkeys that we saw had really long thin tails. I shouted out loud that one had two tails, twice. My son said, no it is skin peeling off. My husband looked at me and said `what must people think?`, he informed me that it had its baby on its back. I still couldn`t see it though. I am not stupid, really.

Other animals.
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There were lots of other animals. I can`t remember all of them and I won`t even pretend to mention them all, just the ones that I liked in particular.

There were bird aviarys.

My son loved tortoises and would love to have one. There were quite a few tortoises, turtles and terapins. My son informed me that the giant tortoises were too big to have at home though. We won`t be getting a tortoise but it was great to see his enthusiasm about them.

The red pandas were quite shy, I didn`t see them.

The camels had two humps. One was lying down and the humps were floppy and drooping to one side. The other two camels had firm erect humps. Strange, solve that one!

There were large black bison, two of them.

To find out what the rest of the animals are, it is really worth a visit. It is possible to adopt animals.

Education.
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There is an education centre, unfortunately we were too late as it closed at 4. I have been in there before though and it provides lots of information and facts. There are lots of opportunity to be tactile and to figure things out. Throughout the zoo there is lots of information. It is possible to read about most of the animals. All around are little bits of information and things to touch. I saw people touching a model snake and I did the same as most. It was a green head of a snake in a little hole. The snake was rubbery to the tough so it was almost everyones initial reaction to instantly recoil their hand.

There were also other opportunities throughout the day. Feeding times were at set times and it was possible to watch. There was also a bird display at various times during the day. It is possible to pay to be a vet or keeper for the day for £150 I imagine that you would have to be really keen for this.

My Verdict.
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I really enjoyed my time at the zoo. We spent 6 hours there but could easily have spent a lot more had the zoo not been closing. It is the kind of place where you could spend all day without any effort at all.

It is fairly expensive but animals are high maintainance and are not cheap so it is worth the money for what there is.

Money can be saved by taking your own food and drink. There are lots of places to sit and enjoy. There are play areas for children so let them play while you take a well earned break. If you are feeling flush, I can recommend the restaurant though. Even buying things like ice creams can mount up so if you can save on things like drinks or lunch, these things can be enjoyed without spending too much.

I think that Paignton Environmental Zoo is fun, relaxing and good for children or adults. The animals appear content. I would recommend this zoo for their emphasis on caring for the environment and making the place as natural as possible for the animals.

Unfotunately I forgot to take, these ones are from the website.