Colchester Zoo

We visited on a hot sunny saturday. Blue badge parking right by the door which was really nice. We did a career ticket with blue badge as evidence only which was nice. As soon as we entered we could see it was going to be tough going as I really struggle with hills. Sadly no mention from the ticket staff of hills or offers of mobility carts but they are all youngsters. No sign of onsite transport although we saw a roadtrain doing a weird tour route. The enclousures are really well put together though and it just keeps coming and loved the up close activities so as a zoo its really good. Be clearly aware its very hilly, paved paths but very uneven, they are in that trap of putting ramps in where there should be steps as to them it probably feels more accesible! Limited places to refil water bottles which was a pain today but plenty of places to buy drinks but not may selling savoury foods. We enjoyed though but I hate hills!

Having previously visited several other animal parks, we were impressed with Colchester zoo. On our visit, it was clean (even the disabled loo) and well-organised, with friendly staff and animals that looked like they were well cared-for. It was no problem taking part in events like feeding the elephants in a wheelchair, and it was lovely to be able to participate fully in something with my little boy. But... they aren't kidding when they warn you about the paths on their website. It's not just that some of them are pretty steep, even on the 'easy' route; they're also very bumpy in places. My very small Luggie scooter couldn't handle the uneven surfaces, so after a few near-capsizes, we went back and hired one of the zoo's own wheelchairs (£5), which was OK but it was lucky my partner was there to do some strong pushing!

The site itself is quite difficult to get around. There are lots of steep paths, but the zoo has provided lots of seats for rest breaks. There are some areas that would be very difficult for wheelchair users or those with limited mobility using walking aids etc.