Everyone has a handful of places that brings up a whole world of nostalgia for them. One of mine is Colchester Zoo – I could not count the amount of times I’ve been here and have been going here since I was little. I absolutely love the place; it’s got such a gorgeous atmosphere and whatever the weather, you can quite comfortably wander around for the entire day. I visited here a few weeks ago, for the billionth time and I wanted to write a little blog post about the day and share some of the photos I took. Come and join me at Colchester Zoo!
This zoo gets busy. I mean busy. But thankfully, we went on a Monday and most children were back at school from their October half term. They have a lovely seating area overlooking a pond right in the middle of the zoo, so we stopped there for a sit down and a snack when we got there. We also made friends with a really friendly duck, so there’s that too.
One of my favourite areas of the zoo is the big walkway in between the elephants on one side and the rhinos, giraffes, zebras and ostrich on the other. These enclosures are very big and every day they offer feeding encounters to the public. There’s African style music playing in this area of the zoo as well so it gives it a beautiful atmosphere!

The penguins have recently had a bit of an enclosure revamp with a new platform guests can stand on to get closer to the animals. I absolutely love penguins, they’re such funny little characters! We were also very lucky to see the red pandas out having a bite to eat and the beautiful wolves having a lay about in the sun.
Now I know not everyone likes zoos or agrees with them but I would never, ever support anything that I believed wasn’t worth supporting. Colchester Zoo has lovely enclosures, knowledgeable staff and they do a lot of fantastic work. I adore animals and being at a beautiful zoo is one of the most relaxing places for me so if I didn’t think the animals were being kept fairly, I just wouldn’t go.
They also have a beautiful gift shop on the way out which sells tons of Yankee Candles, homemade soaps and gifts – all very reasonably priced so it’s a great place to pick up some treats for you or a loved one!
[…] But sometimes you really can’t beat a day or an evening at home. Going to the cinema, to the zoo or out for a meal is all great fun but sometimes, a chill day and night at home without having to […]
[…] But sometimes you really can’t beat a day or an evening at home. Going to the cinema, to the zoo or out for a meal is all great fun but sometimes, a chill day and night at home without having to […]
[…] your kids love animals, then a trip to the zoo is a must. You could head to London or Colchester zoo for a fun-filled day out amongst the animals. Or try a safari park where you can get up close to a […]
There must be something in the air, I’ve just read a post about Colchester Zoo by the girls over at The Flower That Blooms, and I posted my own on my blog (with a little vlog too) a few weeks ago! I love Colchester Zoo, I’ve never met anyone from Essex who doesn’t (that I know of at least?) I missed the Chimps too, such a shame but I hope their new enclosure is better suited to them, I can’t wait to go back and see them! Also your photo of the red panda is the best I’ve seen, he wouldn’t even look our way when we went! x
Wow really? Haha, definitely something in the air! Maybe it’s the time of year? I love going to the zoo when it starts to get cold so you can wrap up all warm. It just has so much atmosphere! It’s a lovely day out (: And thank you! I caught him at a very good time, whilst he was having a munch on something! I tried to be discreet with my camera as well to not disturb him so it was pure luck that he looked up just at the right time! xx
Awesome photos! I particularly like that red panda – so cute!
I hadn’t been to a zoo in years until a couple of months ago when I went to Chester Zoo. It did make me feel pretty nostalgic as well, just because it’s the kind of thing I always did with my mum and dad when I was a kid.
Thank you! Aww I get what you mean – although I literally go to the zoo like 12 times a year, it still makes me feel nostalgic for some reason. I just find that they’re such homey and family orientated places (: xx
I love zoos as well and agree with you! 🙂 These photos are beautiful, I especially like the penguins and the red panda!
Thank you so much! Animal photography is my absolute favourite! The red pandas are just SO cute!!!
Haha same! I can never take enough photos of animals 😀 Yes they are! I want to cuddle them but I doubt they’d like that haha
Love Colchester Zoo. I took my son there for the first time this summer (he just turned 3) and we discovered that he finds penguins hilarious – who knew? We’ll be going back when they get the new ape enclosure finished. A great day out for animal lovers of all ages 🙂
Oh wow really? It’s fantastic there! I was gutted last time I went and saw they’re re-doing the chimp enclosure! They’re one of my favourites 🙁 I’ll definitely go back when it’s finished though – maybe we could arrange to meet up there? I’m such a child at the zoo! (: xx
I love the zoo and, as you say, Colchester’s great because the big, well designed and you can see the animals are very well cared for.
Sorry. Phone did something bizarre then! I was trying to say the enclosures are good! Sadly now I don’t live in Essex anymore (born and bred!), our trip to Colchester will probably only be an annual pilgrimage. My lucky sister still lives down the road and has annual passes!