We visited Hanwell Zoo in a post-coronavirus world and had a lovely time.
Our visit was on 10th July, so the UK was subject to easing of lockdown restrictions, and the playgrounds had been recently opened.
The zoo is (currently) running at reduced capacity to allow for social distancing, and the animal exhibits are setup as a one-way system.
The butterfly and reptile house was closed to due social distancing restrictions.
Booking & Parking
Pre-booking your timeslot is essential, the website is pretty easy to use for booking. Click here to pre-book tickets.
Bookings are restricted to a 1hr slot, but this was easy to keep to, provided I didn’t let them play in the playground too long.
The playground was open, but limited to max of 10 children at a time. Given the restricted numbers, this wasn’t an issue for us at any time.
Tickets are, and always have been, thankfully cheap compared to the likes of London Zoo, however the animal list is of course much smaller and generally less exotic. Adults are £4.50, Children over 3 are £2.50.
Best parking is at Church Road car park, which has free parking and is open until the evening.
Recent changes in the animal exhibits
There have been a few changes at the zoo recently, with some new animals (donkeys, tortoises and leaf cutter ants), some departures (I didn’t see any pigs), and some of the enclosures shuffled around (the capybaras and goats have moved). The butterfly and reptile house were unfortunately closed due to the tight space.
The highlights for us were the donkeys, capybaras, flamingos, alpacas, meerkats, leaf cutter ants, tamarins and lemurs.
A full list of all animals can be found on the zoo website here.
The playground and sandpit is still as fantastic as ever (I believe this was re-vamped in 2019) and provided a welcome means to break up the visit.
The one-way system was a good way to keep everyone socially distanced.
In the area
Outside the zoo there is cafe (open for takeaway orders) and a playground, which was busy when we were there. There’s also the hedge maze, which is also currently open.
On a sunny day you might find an ice cream van at Church Road car park.
Bunny park (Brent river park) and Brent Valley are walking distance from the car park and provide ample space for walks, tree-climbing and nature adventures.
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