Shaldon Wildlife Trust Reviews Summary

Animal Encounters

Pros:

• "Bought 2 Meerkat feeding experience vouchers for hubby's birthday and chose Sheldon Zoo to use voucher."
• "Absolutely loved my animal experience getting close to the animals was amazing."
• "Really impressed with the Loris. My son enjoyed his lemur experience."
• "The boys got to pick up a tortoise and armadillo, feed lemurs, monkeys and meerkats and lots more."
• "We did the Lemur feeding and it was incredible!"
• "I had a meercat sit on my lap and eat whilst telling off other chancer meercats."
• "As a zoo keeper for the day I got to prepare food, learn about diet, feed the animals, go inside the enclosures, and learn about them firsthand from experts."

Cons:

• "The only downside was that we didn’t get to see the meerkats as they were having work done to their enclosure due to an escape attempt."
• "Only sadness was we didn’t see the civets or the armadillos!"

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Really reasonable admission, nice little shop again very reasonable. Experience days were a bargain!"
• "Great value for money and a pleasant place to visit."
• "Good value entry fee."
• "Well worth a visit and good value for money."
• "Very reasonable entry fees - under £30 for a family ticket."
• "£7.50 for adults but you can come and go all day."
• "But actually, the entry fee is very reasonable."

Cons:

• "Definitely the smallest zoo I have ever been too. Staff are absolutely lovely but honestly overpriced for what's here."
• "On the one hand, £7.50 (adult) feels a bit too much for what is a small place."
• "£10 PP to look in a couple of sheds at a few animals is a disgrace."
• "Not a zoo, more like a small collection of random animals. Overpriced entrance fee."
• "Think little overpriced for what it is though."
• "I felt the ticket prices were a little high."
• "On holiday in Teignmouth with family and children..popped to the zoo as it was 5 mins from where we were staying.cost us £30+ for 5 minutes walk around."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "There was a lovely lady called Jo and she had nothing but time for us. Her knowledge of the animals was incredible."
• "We always love visiting Shaldon Wildlife Trust and talking to the fantastic knowledgeable and passionate staff."
• "All of the staff so friendly and eager to share the information of the beautiful animals who were obviously very happy and contented."
• "The staff are all dedicated, hard working, friendly & helpful."
• "The keeper was knowledgeable and friendly and told us all about the lemurs and other animals around the zoo."
• "The staff are friendly, knowledgeable and obviously love their jobs."
• "The staff are friendly and helpful (thank you to Jo in the shop and Alex and Darcy the keepers) and know loads about their animals."

Cons:

• "Staff need to learn customer service skills! I can appreciate the staff take pride in the animal..but if you don't want members of the public to touch the animals..get appropriate signs rather than writing on wood with tipex you muppets!"

Accessibility

Pros:

• "No facilities onsite, but a car park, toilets, café and pub within walking distance."
• "Facilities are limited; pay and display car park, public toilets just outside and cafe nearby."
• "There is parking right outside, which is cheap (£3:70 for all day), there's a cafe right outside, a pub a little down the hill, & a short walk into Shaldon."
• "Toilets, beach and pub just a walk away definitely enjoyed and would recommend for family day out."
• "Good parking, coffee shop (Ode) and access to the beach all in one spot."
• "You can leave and return as you like, and the beach is within walking distance too (through a tunnel!)."
• "Paid parking around 75m from entrance."

Cons:

• "Quite steep for those with limited mobility too."
• "There's a one way system which is fine (decking) going up but there are a lot of steps to get back down."
• "Although as a disabled person with very bad arthritis in my knees the steps were very challenging as there were so many."
• "NO proper wheelchair access! It says there is and there is a reduced ticket for wheelchair users but, trust me, if you can get up the 2 in 1 wheelchair ramp (HILL) to the entrance- it gets worse!!"
• "Nice to see all of the improved walk ways until you get half way round then its completely non-disabled friendly steps for the second half."
• "It is not suitable for disabled people as it is on a hill and there are steps to go up and down."
• "Sadly, not accessible for wheelchairs."

Facilities and Amenities

Pros:

• "Amazing little zoo. A good variety of animals to see plus a lovely little gift shop."
• "There's also a smashing little gift shop in the front selling all kinds of memorabilia of your day."
• "The gift shop has lots of treasures for kids there as well and the prices are excellent."
• "This place is lovely and the animals are so beautiful."
• "You can see that the animals are well cared for and they appear to be happy and comfortable."
• "Well looked after animals in clean, well organised and spacious enclosures."
• "A small but well laid out zoo with a variety of small animal enclosures plus a tropical house."

Cons:

• "Just a pity they don't have the opportunity to increase the size of some of the enclosures."
• "Indoor enclosures very small and difficult to social distance."
• "A bit limited on facilities (no toilet for example, but there is one very nearby) and certain areas can feel a little cramped if more than one family group try to look at the same time."
• "Few empty enclosures which isn't good when it's this small."
• "The only thing that I would give caution to is the parking. The zoo doesn't have their own and the 2 car parks in very close vicinity have to be paid for and fill up quickly."

Overall Experience

Pros:

• "Really nice wildlife park. Quite small but still so much to look at and learn about the animals."
• "Animals seemed well kept and happy with large enclosures."
• "We've had several visits to this zoo over a couple years and it's been consistently great for the kids."
• "An amazing experience!"
• "A hidden gem of a small zoo."
• "A wonderful little small animal zoo, don't expect tigers, my daughter adores it so we are there at least twice a month."
• "What a wonderful place to visit, the staff are so bright eyed and knowledgeable."

Cons:

• "Definitely the smallest zoo I have ever been too."
• "You will need an hour roughly to walk around this small zoo housing primates, some small mammals, some birds and some amphibians."
• "For a small zoo, this place is pretty cool. Just making the rounds will only take 30-45 mins."
• "You will struggle to fill 30 minutes of your time here, less with impatient children."
• "A lovely little place but no quite a zoo. Very, very quick to go around."
• "This is a really small centre."
• "NOT WORTH THE VISIT. SEEN MORE ANIMALS AT THE BEACH."