Europe's 'best zoo to visit' is just one hour from Birmingham and real hidden gem

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This tiny little zoo has everything you need and more - the free flight bird show is nothing short of incredible.

When you hear the words ‘Europe’s best zoo to visit’, this little place probably won’t be one you have in mind.

In fact, you may be thinking of the heavy hitters like Chester Zoo, Tierpark Berlin or Pairi Daiza Zoo in Belgium (to name just a few).

But nestled within around an hour’s drive of Birmingham city centre sits this little hidden gem.

It’s Wild Zoological Park, situated close to Wolverhampton, Dudley and Stourbridge just off the B4176 near Halfpenny Green Airfield.

When an email dropped into my inbox entitled ‘Wild Zoological Park crowned best zoo to visit in Europe’ I immediately clicked on it to check the details.

Yes, you may be thinking - another survey! But Vape Superstore investigated the highest rated zoos in Europe, based on a combination of Tripadvisor reviews, Google reviews and the percentage of five star reviews given on Tripadvisor. 

I’m a mum-of-three - and was surprised to think of such a highly thought of day out that we, as a family, had never even been to.

To get to the point - we absolutely loved our visit there.

The real highlight has to be the truly amazing bird shows. I’ll set the scene - you’re sat in a vineyard just outside of Wolverhampton and the sky is full of free-flying birds including birds of prey, cranes, macaws, vultures and owls (I’m not even exaggerating).

It really is a surreal experience - and one we will definitely be returning to see. The zoo has the largest free flying macaw flock in the UK.

Animals from around the world can be found in each of the five themed lands. Reptiles Unleashed, Wild Australia, Amazon, Asia and Africa. Demonstrations and hands on experiences are available each day.

Wild Zoo at Halfpenny Green in Wolverhampton. It is considered to be home to the UK's best shows and displays - the free-flying bird show is incredibleWild Zoo at Halfpenny Green in Wolverhampton. It is considered to be home to the UK's best shows and displays - the free-flying bird show is incredible
Wild Zoo at Halfpenny Green in Wolverhampton. It is considered to be home to the UK's best shows and displays - the free-flying bird show is incredible | Wild Zoo

Another highlight was the dinosaur show - my children believed we’d actually gone back millions of years and that the huge puppets were real dinosaurs.

The zoo, unsurprisingly, was awarded Trip Advisor’s travellers choice award 2024 - and it really is lovely to see such a small attraction doing so well.

The staff and volunteers are incredibly friendly and helpful - you seem to come out of one show or demonstration straight into another.

Wild Zoological Park at Halfpenny Green is considered to be home to the UK's best shows and displays - the free-flying bird show is incredibleWild Zoological Park at Halfpenny Green is considered to be home to the UK's best shows and displays - the free-flying bird show is incredible
Wild Zoological Park at Halfpenny Green is considered to be home to the UK's best shows and displays - the free-flying bird show is incredible | Emma Walker

And that’s not even mentioning the vital work the zoo is doing to help rare or near extinct species. The talks all touch on this, including the work to help vultures that are being targeted by poachers’ poison in Africa, massively decreasing the species.

To put into context how well Wild Zoo has done based on ratings - Chester rated 19th on the latest list.

What do you need to know?

Ticket prices, opening times and zoo address

Prices: Adults - £22, children £16, concessions £14, family tickets: explorer - £70 (2 adults, 2 children) or ranger £85 (2 adults, 3 children)

Opening times: 11am to 3pm

Address: WILD Zoological Park, Upper Whittimere Farm, Tom Ln, Halfpenny Green DY7 5EP

Website: https://www.wildzoo.co.uk/

It may be small and hidden away, but Wild Zoo is truly mighty with its excellent bird shows and very important work towards conservation.

A portion of the ticket prices go towards the conservation efforts and the staff are working on breeding programmes to see some of these birds released back into the wild.

Wild Zoological Park is a real hidden gem and must visit day out.

The top five zoos in the UK, based on visitor ratings, are as follows:

  1. Wild Zoological Park ( near Wolverhampton)

  2. Wolds Wildlife Park (Horncastle)

  3. Wild Discovery (Preston)

  4. BCA Zoo (Maidenhead)

  5. Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World (Telford)