London Zoo Lates

Helen was in town today, and we decided to go to the Zoo Lates this evening. Now, we decided this well in advance, as you have to - the zoo generally closes at 6, but has taken to offering "lates" for over 18s only on selected Fridays during the summer. On these days, the zoo closes at 5, and opens for "lates" customers from 6 to 10. Last admission during the day is an hour before closing, and for the "lates" at 8pm. The "lates" have proved exceptionally popular, and this week's and last week's sold out. So, booking is essential, and we availed of a half price Time Out offer.

The next thing was to figure out how to get there. Now, it's on my side of the city, and generally, things on my side of the city are quick enough to get to. If I'm to travel over to the other side of the city, I might expect to spend an hour or more in transit - not if I'm travelling to something in the west. This goes to show, however, just how tricky it can be to get around if you're not travelling along one of the main transit routes. London's transport network is intricate, and covers most popular routes like a spider's web, but there are areas where it falls down. The zoo is one of these. There doesn't seem to be a really convenient way to get there if you don't have a car.

We elected to take the Tube to Hyde Park Corner and a bus from there. It was just as well I noted the letter applied to the particular bus stop we wanted - Hyde Park Corner is chaotic. Six major roads intersect there, and you really need to know which direction you're headed in. Despite our destination being to the north, upon reading the bus map that's handily located at the exit to the Tube station, we discovered that our required bus stop was to the south, and thus determined which of the six exits we should take! So, complicated, but not impossible.

Of course, our bus was at the stop as we approached, and left as we got near. Only to be expected. About 18 different bus routes use that stop, and what with the heavy rush hour traffic, the indicator just couldn't keep up, so it was fun to guess which would be next - and there was a constant stream of them. A bus on the route we wanted arrived in due course, and we spent what seemed like forever on it, as it crawled through the traffic. At least we were on the upper deck, with something of a breeze from the open windows - much needed in this heat. And we could spend our time perusing, from our high vantage point, all the posh shops of Mayfair and Berkeley Square.

Now, it had seemed to us, from the online bus route map we consulted, that we were to disembark at Regent's Park Barracks, which we did. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that there was another bus stop, further on, which would have saved us a bit of walking.. and which was directly opposite our return bus stop, which was named for - Regent's Park Barracks! Hmph. Anyway, we trudged on, and some deal of trudging was required, in the heat. About 15 minutes, I'd guess - and that from the nearest bus stop! No, not handy to get to at all - and much further again to the nearest Tube station. I pity anyone coming here with small children.

We finally made it to the entrance. Make sure to take one of the convenient, yellow, folding zoo maps on the way in - this is a big place, with lots to see. Helen's priority was the big cats, so we made our way first to the tiger enclosure, then the cheetahs and lions. We were graced with the presence of a magnificent adult tiger, who reclined and posed for the cameras. They had three cubs some months ago, whose den is visible on "cubcam". They have a huge enclosure, and the walkways weave through it, with viewpoints from different angles - we also managed to catch a glimpse of one of the cubs exploring, and another asleep behind a tree.

The cheetahs were unconcerned by the attention, but happily their sleeping area was in plain view to us tourists. One slept, the other glared at us, and we got photos of both. In the lion enclosure, one of the two lionesses visible caused great excitement when she decided to go for a run - but then she settled down languidly. The other paced relentlessly, obviously unhappy. Various people speculated that watching us was making her hungry..

Some photos here. Helen's camera has a better zoom, and she managed better photos than I did. See here.

The cute and furry creatures were more snap-happy, delighted to pose and frolic for the cameras. As Helen astutely remarked, the student-types more than made up for the lack of children at the event, with their antics. Most of the entertainment, which we avoided, seemed geared to them - and I had to wonder what brought these people to this event at all. The bands playing had no connection to the zoo - they could have gone to see similar bands anywhere, probably cheaper. Why drag themselves all the way out here? The silent disco, when we passed it, seemed dead in the water, with about three people at it, standing forlornly to the side.

The food festival was more successful - a large range of stalls arranged in a circle. Indian food and hot dogs featured strongly. Helen's fancy was taken by a "British Food" stall, and I queued for a burger, before realising that this was the collection queue, and I needed to order and pay first. It took forever, but I was delighted with the burger when I got it - it was the simplest on the menu, but it's been a while since I had one so tasty. The chips that came with it were a bit salty though, and I didn't have many.

When we finished, it was just after 9, and there were a couple of animal enclosures we were keen to see before 10, when the place closed for the night. Only.. the animal enclosures, almost without exception, close at 9! Now hold on a minute, no-one told us that! Sure, I noticed a sign to that effect on the tiger enclosure, which we'd visited first - but nowhere else! That should really have been made clear in the terms and conditions for this event. It's as though they really didn't expect people who came to the "lates" to be actually interested in the animals. As Helen remarked - and I agree - it was ok for what we paid, but had we been paying full price, it would definitely not have been worth it.

At least the exit was closer to the bus stops, and we made our way back - something of a rush for Helen, who had to travel quite a distance outside of London, and pointed out that the trip to the zoo took nearly an hour each way from my place! It's a great facility, and they have some good initiatives. But it's a real slog to get to, and there's way too much to see in the time allowed for the "lates". If you are interested in the animals, that is. Definitely not worth it at full price. But if you want to go during the daytime, and you're prepared for the journey to get there, I do recommend it as a venue.

Tomorrow, I'll take a trip into town to peek at the Naked Bike Ride - assuming I'm not too wrecked after tonight! And tomorrow night, ShowFilmFirst provided me with a free ticket to a dance performance called Dreams of the Orient, at what seems to be their preferred venue - Fairfield Halls in Croydon. Busy, busy, busy me..!