Visiting Marwell Zoo and Hall in Winchester, Hampshire - England UK
During this trip to England, we did something a little bit different than my previous visits. We ventured out a couple hours for a family fun day at Marwell Zoo in WInchester, Hampshire. Aside from it being very family-friendly which is expected, this place is also great for dates or with friend. There are 100s of animals, a 140-acre park with 5 adventure play areas, animal feeds, cafes and a gift shop. Marwell Zoo reccomends allotting 4 hours for a first-time visit. The zoo is organized well with the maps/app, and you can learn not only facts but endangerment status for the animals. Just last year, Marwell Zoo helped bring back the scimitar-horned onyx antelope from the brink of extinction (in 2000 they were declared extinct in the wild). The species was re-classified as extinct in the wild to endangered.
Since the 1980s, Marwell has helped with conservation efforts in Africa by providing onyx to set up a self-sustaining antelope population. (BBC) With 140-acres, there’s a trek involved. If you want to rest your legs awhile exploring the zoo grounds, you can take in the wildlife park via the zoo’s non-stop train (£2) or chill in the many resting/picnic areas. There’s a ton of playgrounds for the kids, as well as cafes and a self-service restaurant (we got bbq for lunch).
To make the most of the £30 admission (this includes about a £5 donation to the zoo/wildlife conservation efforts), we stayed for about 4 hours, which is the recommended time to allot for your visit. I can see how families can easily spend almost the entire day here. We had a blast! There are standard and off peak day ticket prices that will fluctuate dependent on the time of year. There’s also cost difference between advanced ticket purchases with and without donation, and if you purchase at the gate, the donation is automatically included. Of course, if you are a Marwell Zoo Member, you’ll receive year-round access to the zoo.
Marwell was founded by John Knowles in 1972, starting as the Marwell Preservation Trust, an organization with a mission to protect and breed endangered species through the operation of Marwell Zoological Park. The grounds of Marwell Zoo also hold an immense amount of history spanning back to the 10th century when King Eadgar granted land to the new monastery in Winchester (which would later be known as Hyde Abbey). There’s also Marwell Hall which was acquired by Sir Henry Seymour, the brother of Jane Seymour - which was acquired somewhere in the 1520s, and he was definitely living there by 1551. When the hall was passed to the Dacre family in the early 1700s, the estate went through expansion. There was further expansion and restoration by William Long (a prominent surgeon who purchased the Hall in 1799). It was really amazing to get to walk the surrounding grounds of Marwell Hall (and is said to have a spooky past tied to Jane Seymour, since it is said that this is the location that Kind Henry VII secretly wed her, and why it is said that Anne Boleyn’s ghost has been sighted wandering the gardens of Marwell Hall). All spooky stories aside, this was such a different environment and setting to get to experience when visiting a zoo, so I found it very intriguing.
