Thursday 14 July 2016

Edinburgh Zoo

Back in May we visited Edinburgh Zoo for Sophia's third birthday as she is animal crazy. We decided to travel to the Zoo via train as like most toddlers she loves trains and is always asking to go on them, the journey from Newcastle takes just over an hour and the tickets were really cheap at around £15 each return. I have visited Edinburgh many times in the past but I have never actually been to the zoo before, I had no idea it was so close to the city centre. We hopped on a bus outside of Waverly train station that dropped us right outside the Zoo five minutes later.


We had pre-booked are tickets online (£53.50 for a family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children, under 3's go free) so when we arrived at the entrance I just showed the reservation details on my mobile and we were given a map and confirmation details of are booking to see the panda's. As soon as we exited the entrance we walked through the pelican enclosure and then went to see the meerkats, which were a huge hit with my two toddlers. Walking around we were impressed with how clean and tidy the zoo was and all the enclosures looked well maintained and close to the animals natural habitats, with great indoor and outdoor viewing points. When walking around we did notice that a lot of the enclosures seemed to be empty though which was a shame.



We visited the monkey walkway and the Budongo Trail which was the most amazing indoor Chimpanzee enclosure, it was huge and I was amazed at how many chimps there were. It was amazing watching them climbing and eating so close up, we viewed them indoors through huge glass windows although they did have an outdoor enclosure too.


We then headed to see the Koala bears although all three of them were asleep in their trees when we visited. It was still amazing to see a Koala bear up close though, sadly one of them died recently. We headed up a very steep hill to see the Tiger who was indoors, probably due to the cold but we did catch a glimpse of him through the bars of his enclosure. We did see the lion though who was lying down in his enclosure near the glass viewing platform which Sophia was amazed at.


As we had visited on a term day weekday all of the little kiosks and some of the food outlets were shut, luckily we brought a picnic along with us. We also stopped off at the penguin cafe for coffee and cakes which were a tad on the expensive side, but what you would expect from a tourist attraction. Having a toddler who has just mastered potty training and a little one still in nappies we were pleased that there was lots of very clean toilets and baby changing facility's dotted around the zoo.





Sophia and Jacob both fell in love with the penguins when they seen them, the enclosure was huge with indoor, outdoor and underwater viewing points. Lots of the penguins were sitting in nests with baby chicks or eggs when we visited, baby penguins are so cute! We were lucky enough to catch the penguins at feeding time when they all swam out the water at once, much to Sophia and Jacob's delight.



The monkey house was also a massive hit with Sophia as she adored seeing the monkeys climbing about and eating, the look of sheer joy on her face was priceless as she ran around trying to see them all.


As the giant panda's are the only panda's in the UK you have to pre-book your slot to visit them when you book your zoo tickets, so the enclosure does not get too busy. We had booked to see the pandas at 2 pm and we were really looking forward to seeing them, the female panda was nowhere to be seen as I think she was inside. The male panda was outdoors though right in front of the huge glass window to his outdoor enclosure in full view. It was amazing seeing a panda so close up and he was so happy just lying eating bamboo, so content. There was a keeper giving a talk about him and answering questions but we didn't really hear much of what she was saying.



As soon as we left the pandas enclosure we were back at penguin rock just in time for the penguin parade, which happens each day at 2.15pm. The penguin parade only happens if the penguins want to come out, luckily they did the day that we visited. All the visitors had to form a barrier around the walkway and then some of  the penguins came out the enclosure and walked around the paths right in front of us, Sophia, Jacob and Chloe were amazed by this and it was defiantly the highlight of their day.




On are way out of the zoo we visited the gift shop and we let each of the children choose a soft toy each to take home, Chloe and Jacob both picked penguins and Sophia picked a panda. I think the soft toys were about £15 each but they are nice momentous of the day.


We had a really lovely family day out at the zoo and my one year old, three year old and 13 year old all really enjoyed it. It was a lovely zoo to visit and so easy to get to from Edinburgh city centre, we will certainly be returning one day soon.

One thing worth noting though is that the Zoo is very hilly and while Sophia walked most of the time she did end up having to go in the buggy or have a carry every now and then as she was so tired, it is very accessible though with a buggy. Also as we visited on a weekday during term time there seemed to be so many big school groups and it was difficult for my toddlers to get to see some animals as the groups of school children kept getting in the way.

We also made a little video of are day out if you would like to watch it below.



Have you visited Edinburgh Zoo before ?


Babyfoote
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41 comments

  1. Love your video :D

    I do like Edinburgh Zoo overall (esp the penguin parade) but in the last few months I am sort of torn about whether we should keep animals in zoos or not? It's a tricky one.

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    1. Thanks Sam, I literally have no idea at all how to edit videos so quickly done it on imovie on my mobile. The penguin parade is such fun isn't it ? It really is a tricky one, I think it depends as obviously most of the animals are born in zoo's and help with conservation projects. I don't agree with animals being caught to go in zoo's though xx

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  2. Everyone loves a visit to the zoo, especially to see the cute animals like the koala bears!

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    1. They really do love a visit to the zoo , great family day out x

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  3. That looks a fantastic day out. I absolutely love penguins - a penguin parade is an amazing idea. And the little nests that they had with the umbrellas were so cute. Really lovely video! :)

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    1. My little two adored the penguins too, they were amazed with them. xx

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  4. I love going to the zoo and plan on going for a family day out to our local one this summer hopefully. It's a shame about a lot of the enclosures being empty. But at least u still got to see a good amount of animals.

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    1. We seen so many different animals, the zoo was huge. The pandas was amazing to see in real life xx

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  5. The Edinburgh zoo looks amazing! Especially love the photos of the penguins :)

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    1. It was such a wonderful family day out, the penguins were the star of the show xx

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  6. I love Edinburgh Zoo, we regularly take the little one because he's animal daft! It probably helps we live fairly close to it and have the car to just drive there but the little guy does enjoy getting the big train to it as well. His favourite is the two tigers, such beautiful animals. Glad you all had a great time, it's an amazing place for the little ones to learn and explore.

    Jordanne || Thelifeofaglasgowgirl.co.uk

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    1. It is fab we loved it, you are lucky living so close. My little two are animal crazy too, they love the penguins. We only seen the one tiger when we were there but it was inside its enclosure x

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  7. We last visited Edinburgh Zoo in 2014 and James liked the playground the best! Seeing the animals came second :) Only one penguin joined the parade when we were there!
    Looks like you had a fab day. Would you go again? If yes, would you choose in term time or holidays? Thank you for joining #daysoutwithatoddler

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    1. WE did not even see the playground, the penguins were a huge hit with my two. We really did have a great day, we have already said we will go again in a year or two - I would probably go at half term as the little ones would be at school / nursery starting next year xx

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  8. This looks a lovely zoo to visit. My SIL is from Edinburgh and we are planning a trip next year for her to show us the sites. I will add this to the list x

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    1. I love Edinburgh, we loved the zoo such a lovely family day out. I am sure your girls would love it xx

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  9. This zoo sounds so amazing!!! So much better than our puny little zoo in Newquay (although it's the perfect size for toddlers). I love zoo's, they're perfect for days out with little ones. x

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    1. It really was amazing we could not see it all in just the one day. Zoo's really are perfect days out with toddlers xx

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  10. I so want to see the penguin parade - looks like so much fun

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    1. The penguin parade was lots of fun, the highlight of the day for my little ones xx

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  11. Not been to this particular zoo before but it looks really big.

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    1. It really was rather big, we did not have time to see everything in one day xx

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  12. I love to visit the zoo and see all the animals. We have not been in ages. Aww love the penguin photo :)

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    1. This was the first time I had taken my little ones, it was such a great day xx

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  13. Glad you enjoyed the zoo. Last time we went none of the penguins wanted to come out. X

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    1. We really did, I had no idea it was so close to the city centre! We got lucky with the penguins as quiet a few came out xx

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  14. What a fab zoo! Loved watching your video :)
    I think my little one would love the penguin parade.
    Glad you all had a great time x

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    1. Thank you, we really did all have a great time xx

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  15. Your pictures are gorgeous and it looks like you had a lot of fun! X

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    1. Thank you Helena, we really did have lots of fun xx

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  16. Not visited Edinburgh zoo before but looks really lovely. The last time I went to a zoo was 2010 in Lithuania

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    1. It really was really lovely, a great day out. I have never been to Lithuania before xx

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  17. Sounds like a great zoo! I'd love to go to Edinburgh :)

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    1. It really is a great zoo, Edinburgh is such a lovely city xx

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  18. It looks quite similar to ZSL in London, Edinburgh looks like a great zoo to visit.

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    1. I have never been to London zoo before but I have heard they are similar xx

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  19. Aww were a huge fan of zoos. As a family it can make a fantastic day out. Most recently we got to visit London zoo. However Edinburgh zoo looks amazing, i'd love to visit at some point. So many unusual animals there :)

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  20. We keep talking about going around Scotland with our little ones! Such a beautiful park of the UK and I always hear such positive things about the zoo.

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    1. The zoo is fab and Scotland beautiful, you should visit someday x

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  21. Such a nice set of photos and a must visit for us when we get to Edinburgh next.

    My husband and I have managed to get away for the weekend to Edinburgh & we saw the Zoo and said a place to come to when we bring the kids.

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