Marwell Zoo Tropical House — Attraction in Winchester

Marwell Zoo presents itself as a vibrant, action-packed wildlife experience, but in reality, the visit can feel a little underwhelming—especially if you’re traveling from a distance. While the grounds are extensive and the zoo clearly has a strong focus on conservation and animal welfare, several aspects left me questioning whether the experience lives up to the advertised excitement.

On our visit, a significant number of animals were either not visible, had been transferred, or were kept out of public view. We later learned nearer the end, there was bird flu outbreak. While understandable from a biosecurity standpoint, it definitely took away from the experience, especially since it wasn’t clearly communicated before we entered.

Some enclosures had thick bushes or landscaping that entirely blocked the view, which somewhat defeats the purpose of a zoo. In one case, the penguin habitat was no more than a temporary swimming pool. As a vegetarian and someone mindful of animal welfare, I found this setup disappointing—especially considering penguins are arctic animals and benefit from more environmental enrichment and appropriate habitat design. And again I want this to be completely non biased so to add even though I’m a vegetarian I don’t know enough about penguins to know if the set up was appropriate just a swimming pool, so I’m gonna have to assume it was even if it didn’t seem so.

That said, not everything was negative. The animals that were visible generally appeared healthy and active. The monkeys, birds, and even guinea pigs seemed especially lively. I also had a peek into one of the staff-only areas and saw that feeding schedules and welfare notes were up-to-date, timestamped, and detailed, which suggests good behind-the-scenes care. It’s worth noting that not all animals are going to be active or visible at all times, and this could just be a quieter day.

One standout highlight was the Tropical House. This section genuinely felt immersive and unique, with birds flying overhead and darting between guests’ feet. It was the one part of the visit that felt magical and memorable.

In conclusion, Marwell Zoo does appear to prioritize animal welfare, which is commendable. However, for visitors expecting a full day of wildlife encounters, the experience might fall short, especially during times of animal relocation or health precautions. I’d suggest it’s best suited for a short visit if you’re local—anything more than a 30-minute drive might leave you feeling like the journey wasn’t quite worth it.

Note: buy tickets online it’s cheaper than getting...

This is sort of an extension to my Marwell Zoo review. The tropical house was great! I wasn't expecting it at all as you walk in all manner of tropical birds are flying around your head. Its huge so they have plenty of space to fly and they range from huge to tiny. The tiny ones took to flitting past my head so be aware if you are taller than most! The colours of these birds are amazing.

Most interesting was the sloth! I could only catch a very tiny glimpse of a claw, but would have loved to see so much more. My missus hung around for a good while and eventually managed to get a grainy shot, but she really likes sloths. I was off looking at ants or something.

The only thing I have to say that's negative, although it's a sort of necessity I guess, is the amount of foliage kind of ruined it. It's very much a wheres Wally kind of thing because unless they fly above you, you really have to look hard to see anything. The sloth in particular was so wrapped up in foliage you can barely see them, when you compare this to Bristol Zoo where they have a red lighted glass screen and you can see the sloths in all their glory, it's not great.

But like I said it's not a knock, the place is still great and well worth...

I visited with my family. I had booked a time slot. We were shocked by the sheer number of visitors as if COVID never happened. That aside,the disabled toilet facilities were a problem for me and other visitors to the park. There were additional toilets provided, but no extra disabled toilet facilities. As I had to wait before I could go in, I had "an accident" and had to change clothes in the toilet. There was water everywhere and it was very difficult to get cleaned up and changed. There were 2 people queuing up when I eventually opened the door,I felt very embarrassed and upset because I had taken so long. I have limited mobility but I felt I would be able to manage to get around the park on the road train. There were only 2 stops around the park and they were so far apart and so many people were queuing,I had to give up and walked back, very slowly and painfully to the exit,missing the tropical house and other things I had wanted my Grandson to see. I have adopted a Sloth and I was so excited to be able to see him,but I couldn't get to the tropical house. I felt very sad and disappointed,I had waited a long time to visit Marwell and I will have to think long and hard a out whether...