Tilgate Nature Centre Reviews Summary

Accessibility

Pros:

• "It is in fact wheelchair accessible."
• "What a delightful animal park to visit, so helpful of the staff to assist disabled parking."

Cons:

• "I wouldn’t say wheelchair friendly, lots of hilly sections and the exhibits don’t always have a lower viewing window for those in a wheelchair."
• "The main walk along the lake has been closed down and replaced with metal fences and signs notifying that the structural integrity of the bridge is in question."

Animal Welfare

Pros:

• "The animals all seem Happy and very well cared for."
• "A hidden gem, a lovely visit the animals all looking content."
• "Animals well looked after and good enrichments within their enclosures."
• "The smaller animals were super cute and looked like they were happy and healthy."
• "All the animals seem happy too."

Cons:

• "But the bigger animals and some birds looked sad. The birds were in a very crowded enclosure and the bigger ones probably could not even fly."
• "The bird aviaries brought great concern and upset me."
• "The deer looked very stressed out, walking in circles and no food or water in sight especially when these days are so hot."
• "Looked very tired, enclosures poor and in need of a good clean. Some of the animals looked depressed."
• "The reindeers looked so depressed they had there heads were down and they were walking in circles."
• "Some of the enclosures are painfully inadequate to provide a decent life experience for the animal enclosed."
• "Apart from the birds...some of them are huge and I don't think they have enough space to fly around :("

Value for Money

Pros:

• "It's an absolute bargain at £3 per adult and £2 per child yet each time we go they've improved the animal enclosures and are constantly adding more animals."
• "This is a fantastic and reasonably priced park."
• "For a modest fee you can not only witness a wide range of critters, including Brazilian Tapirs, Reindeer, Ring-Tailed Lemurs and Alpacas, but contribute to an ever growing project of conservation."
• "At £10 for all 4 of us, it's a reasonable price."
• "Great day out for the kids at a very reasonable cost."
• "Really good value for money."
• "Amazing prices and very affordable."

Cons:

• "The zoo looks very tired, but at £27 for three adults and a child a tad over priced for the experience."
• "£7 used to be worth it but no idea how they’re justifying the price anymore it really isn’t worth visiting, debatably even for free."
• "Sadly this place is completely run down with different enclosures being refurbished yet still ripped off with the £8.00 adult entry."
• "I love Tilgate Park but the nature reserve is a massive disappointment. £8 for an adult and £7 for over 2 yrs which is overpriced."
• "Not worth the money for entry."
• "Not that great anymore use to be free entry and somehow gone up to 7 per child 8 per adult."
• "Not worth the price at all won't be going back for sure."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "The staff were so helpful and knowledgeable and were happy to indulge all my questions and chatter."
• "All the staff we encountered were friendly."
• "The staff were friendly and knowledgeable especially when doing the animal talks."
• "Park staff very friendly and welcoming."
• "Knowledgeable friendly staff, animals well looked after and good enrichments within their enclosures."
• "The staff and keepers are all very friendly and helpful, and Always happy to chat about their animals."
• "The staff were all very kind and welcoming."

Cons:

• "Today the lady at the till didn't recognised my mother's disability card (she has invisible disability) and asked for a proof that she's being paid money from disability allowance!"

Facilities and Cleanliness

Pros:

• "There's lots of seating areas for picnics and a dog washing area near the car park/toilets which I thought was good."
• "A beautiful park, with the loveliest nature reserve and a great Cafe."
• "The enclosures were clean with plenty of enrichment and a surprisingly diverse collection!"
• "Also good food you have at the restaurant, clean toilets and very polite staff."

Cons:

• "Cafe could be better, I had the fish and chips which wasn't very nice, I've had better frozen fish!"
• "Cafe is good but pricey with lonnng queue. Expect to wait 30 mins just to order and then another 30 to get any hot food."
• "Hardly saw any animals, with lots of unkempt, empty cages and dirty glass."
• "There were overgrown stinging nettles across all of the path edges which caused the children to sting their legs multiple times."
• "The majority of enclosures were filled with brambles and overgrown nettles."
• "Beautiful place, but please, sort that car park out. I sat for 30 minutes trying to leave it."

Experience and Attractions

Pros:

• "Lovely little zoo with a surprisingly large amount of animals."
• "What a delightful animal park to visit."
• "Really enjoyed our visit here today. Two adults with no kids! Friendly welcome, one way system is great so you don't miss anything."
• "Beautiful nature park full of lovely animals."
• "The nature centre is a winner. From meercats to storks to lizards, it’s all here in a relatively relaxed setting."
• "It was educational and fun."
• "Great place to visit with your kids. It offers a wide variety of activities such as nature walk, go ape, adventure site, playground and small zoo."

Cons:

• "Recently the nature centre has appeared like a site under reconstruction, there are randomly located metal barriers, empty enclosures and an eery feeling of desertion."
• "I was saddened to see the state of disrepair that the park has fallen into and the now limited number of animals!"
• "However on the whole was a bit disappointing with a number of enclosures empty and exhibition cabins closed- no info was given on these prior to paying."
• "A once great place to take the kids has declined so much that at least 50% of the attractions were empty/closed for refurbishment as of Feb 2023 and the whole place has generally fallen into disrepair and looking almost abandoned in places."
• "Sadly this place is completely run down with different enclosures being refurbished yet still ripped off with the £8.00 adult entry."
• "Some enclosures could do with some sprucing up, and sadly a lot of displays were closed when we were there."
• "Was absolutely disappointed had read reviews and had mixed ideas."