Derby Days Out visit Twycross Zoo
Derby Days Out family Mum (Sarah) Dad (Scott) and daughters Mya (aged 12) and Holly (aged 9) visit Twycross Zoo! 🐒🐯🦧🦒
Twycross Zoo was on our family day out bucket list for the summer holidays! We hadn’t visited the zoo before as a family, and my last visit was around 20 years ago so it was about time we went to check it out!
Our car journey was a 30 min drive from Derby to Twycross Zoo, Leicestershire. Parking is free and there is a section of the car park near the zoo which is reserved for visitors with blue badges.
The entrance building to the zoo included ‘The View’ restaurant, a large indoor ‘Jungle’ soft-play and the zoo gift shop. The multi-tiered soft play jungle is designed for babies (0-2 years), toddlers (2-5 years) and juniors (5-12 years). It's open every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and school holiday! Sessions are 1-hour and it’s available on a first come, first serve basis. Please note, you will need to walk past the play area first before accessing the zoo and it costs £5 for 1+ year-olds.
Once we got our tickets and checked in, you had the option of downloading the Twycross Zoo app designed to help you navigate around the zoo, locate the animals and facilities. You don’t have to download the app, as there are a lot of maps located around the zoo too.
Before we began our zoo adventure we had a quick picnic near the ‘Wet n Wild’ play area! There were plenty of picnic benches in this spacious park area and many families enjoyed picnics or food and drinks served at the burger hut. The ‘Wet and Wild’ play area was unfortunately closed that day due to a water pressure issue.
After lunch we went onto see some amazing animals including; Tigers, Chimps, Rhinos, Leopards, Giraffes, Meerkats, Penguins and the four great apes – Gorilla, Chimpanzee, Orangutan and Bonobo. Twycross Zoo is the only zoo in the UK where you can see all the four great apes!
There were some great features to explore and enjoy too including the ‘Lemur Walk Through’ – an enclosed area you can go into and see the Lemur’s up-close (though spotting one can be tricky!) One of my personal favourite areas was the Gibbon Forrest, a purpose-built Gibbon habitat to watch them in action!
We also loved Twycross Zoo's brand-new beach area! It was a particularly sunny day so this was very popular with families. It gave you a chance to have a break and relax while the kids made sandcastles. Another new feature to the zoo this summer is the ‘Island Princess Show’. The show features songs and activities, all hosted outside on an open-air stage. Throughout the performance, children learn top tips to put into action to help protect the natural world and the other species with whom we share our planet.
Throughout the zoo there were sanitiser dispensers everywhere, and social distancing was encouraged. Masks were also encouraged to be worn in busy and indoor areas.
Cafés, toilets and most animal houses are accessible by wheelchair. Assistance dogs are permitted at the zoo, although there is no access to the Apes and Rhinos. The Explorer Zone is currently closed for an exciting new development coming soon.
We had a great day out and loved seeing the animals. We would recommend taking a picnic as there are plenty of outdoor eating spaces to enjoy.
For more information about Twycross Zoo and their summer holiday activities please follow this link: https://twycrosszoo.org/summer-holidays/.
