What Is the Biggest Zoo in the UK?

Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire is the biggest zoo in the United Kingdom by area, home to 10,364 animals. Count animals instead of acres and Chester Zoo is well ahead, with more than 30,000 on a 130-acre site. Bigger does not automatically mean a better day out; mostly it means more time on your feet or behind the wheel, so choose the giant that suits how you want to spend yours.

Which venue to choose

Measured by land, the other big names line up like this: Port Lympne at 600 acres, the 550-acre Safari Drive at Knowsley Safari, Woburn Safari Park at 360 acres, West Midlands Safari Park at 200, Chester at 130 and London Zoo at 36. Chester's figure is the zoo itself; its total land holding is about 400 acres. Longleat is the hardest to place. Wikipedia lists its area as 9,000 acres, but the safari park sits in the grounds of Longleat House and shares them with the house and the Longleat Railway, so it is not a like-for-like number.

One of the giants rejects the label it gets ranked under: Port Lympne describes itself as a breeding sanctuary rather than a zoo. If you want the biggest zoo, go to Whipsnade. If you want to see animals from a car or truck, look at the safari parks below.

Whipsnade Zoo: the biggest zoo

For some wild nature on the way home, Dunstable Downs, the highest ground in Bedfordshire, has rare wild flowers such as the bee orchid and butterflies like the marbled white and chalkhill blue; the National Trust manages much of it as its Dunstable Downs & Whipsnade Estate.

Featured location Whipsnade Zoo Dunstable, United Kingdom Whipsnade Zoo, opened in 1931, is a zoo in Dunstable, United Kingdom.

Chester Zoo: the most animals

Chester fits more than 30,000 animals of more than 500 species into 130 acres, and it keeps growing. Heart of Africa, opened on 5 April 2025, is the largest zoo habitat ever created in the UK: 22.5 acres and 57 African species, with northern giraffes, Grevy's zebras, roan antelopes and ostriches sharing one savannah. Later in 2025 the zoo opened The Reserve, a hotel of 51 lodges overlooking giraffe, zebra and antelope. Its indoor habitats include the UK's largest tropical biodome, and you will spot the Asian elephant herd to the left as you walk through the admission lanes.

It is also far busier than Whipsnade: 2,136,224 visitors in 2025, against 923,438. Parking is free, and Stagecoach buses 1 and X1 between Chester and Liverpool run seven days a week.

Longleat: the original safari park

Longleat in Wiltshire opened in 1966 as the world's first drive-through safari park outside Africa.

Port Lympne: 600 acres, and not a zoo

Port Lympne in Kent covers 600 acres and keeps over 900 animals of 75 species. A 45-minute Truck Safari is included with entry and passes three rhino species, spectacled bears, camels, water buffalo, vicuna and free-roaming deer and antelope. The reserve also has the UK's largest breeding herd of black rhinos, and Dinosaur Valley, the UK's largest outdoor dinosaur exhibition. Plan on 3-5 hours, and time your walk for the gorilla feeds at 12pm and 3pm at the Palace of the Apes.

Port Lympne Reserve is a breeding sanctuary for rare and endangered animals and wherever possible we aim to send animals born here to protected areas of their natural habitat where they can live free – just as they should be.

It is about 60 minutes from London St Pancras by high-speed train to Ashford International, then a bus or taxi; by car it is 5 minutes from junction 11 of the M20.

Knowsley Safari: the longest drive

Knowsley's 5-mile route is the UK's longest safari drive, across 550 acres, with over 750 animals. You drive through Lion Country with no fence between you and the pride, and past one of the largest white rhino crashes in the UK. Your ticket also covers the Foot Safari, with free parking, where Bear Country, home to two Andean bears, is the newest attraction. Soft-top cars cannot enter the lion or baboon areas but can take the car-friendly route; the Baboon Bus, at £7.50 a head on top of admission, takes you through them instead. Knowsley is in Prescot, just off the M57 and under 30 minutes from Liverpool, and Prescot station, with trains from Liverpool Lime Street every 30 minutes, is less than half an hour's walk away.

Tickets and saving money

Prices as of September 2026:

• Chester Zoo: £25 for adults online on Value dates and £38 on Standard dates, £25-28 for children; £42.50 and £30 at the gate. Toddlers aged 1-2 pay £2.50.
• Port Lympne: £36 for adults and £29 for children online, plus a £2.40 booking fee, or £40 and £32.50 at the gate. Children aged 0-2 are free.
• Knowsley Safari: £26 for adults and £24.50 for children aged 3-15 booked ahead, or £29 and £27.50 on the day.

At Chester, the 4 for £99 ticket saves a group of four up to £71. Longleat's advance-booking savings run through its Main Season, to 1 November 2026, and it sells a Two Day Ticket valid for two consecutive days. Port Lympne's Annual Pass also covers Howletts Wild Animal Park, and if you book ahead, its Rainy Day Guarantee lets you come back free within 30 days.

Best time to visit

Opening hours, as of September 2026:

• Chester Zoo: 10am-4:30pm until 1 November, last admission an hour before closing; closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
• Port Lympne: 9:30am-5pm until 11 November, and open every day except Christmas Day.
• Knowsley Safari: its published times list it closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and open 10am-4.30pm Thursday to Sunday, with the Safari Drive open until 3.30pm.

At the safari parks, the drive's last entry is the time that matters: Knowsley turns cars away after it. Knowsley is busiest at weekends, in school holidays and in summer, and much quieter on winter mornings.

Later in the year come the after-dark events: Longleat's Festival of Light from 7 November to 10 January, Chester's Lanterns & Light from 13 November to 3 January, and Port Lympne Illuminated, 2pm-9pm, from 26 November to 2 January.

With kids and accessibility

At Chester, visitors with disabilities bring one carer free with a full-price ticket, and a Quiet Room near the Madagascar Grasses Garden offers a break from the crowds; children can let off steam at Pamoja Village, the new play area in Heart of Africa. Port Lympne has a steep hill from the entrance to the main park and runs an on-request shuttle for guests with mobility issues. Some of its safari trucks have lifts and carry one wheelchair each, and pushchairs are not allowed on the trucks but can be left at Basecamp.

Leave the dog at home: dogs are not allowed anywhere in Knowsley Safari.