Comparing Bridlington's Zoos: Sewerby Zoo Vs Bridlington Animal Park

The Yorkshire Coast is one of my favourite parts of England. My family and I usually visit at least once a year, and over the past two years, we've visited the seaside town of Bridlington. Me being me, no visit would ever be complete without a visit to a zoo and Bridlington has two on offer: Sewerby Zoo and Bridlington Animal Park.

But, if you find yourself in Bridlington and can only visit one, which one should it be? Let's find out!

Background

Of the two zoos, Sewerby is the more historic, having been open since the 1930s and based in the grounds of a hall which dates back to 1714. I last visited as a child in the 90s and I have one enduring memory: my mum's finger being gored by an overenthusiastic goat! Don't worry, her finger made a full recovery. Bridlington Animal Park, meanwhile, opened in the early 2010s and I've only been to it once.

Sewerby Zoo is owned by the local council, whereas Bridlington Animal Park is a family-owned zoo, which gives it more of a personal feel.

Sewerby Zoo is one of the most scenic zoos I've been to, with it overlooking Bridlington Bay and being sited in the well-kept grounds of Sewerby Hall. Bridlington Animal Park, on the other hand, has one of the most bizarre locations I've ever seen; it's in the middle of a caravan park and shares its car park with a homeware store. Most of the zoo is in the middle of woodland, so on a wet, overcast day, it can look a bit boggy and dark. However, it also feels a lot more natural than Sewerby.

There aren't many zoos I've been to with a view like this at Sewerby Zoo

In terms of facilities, Sewerby Zoo is part of the wider Sewerby Hall and Gardens, meaning when you're done with the zoo, you can enjoy the beautiful parkland, cafe, gift shop and hall. There's also a road train which stops at the zoo and takes you onto Bridlington's seafront. In contrast, Bridlington Animal Park has just a gift shop but there's a cafe just outside the zoo.

As for their entry fees, as of November 2024, Sewerby Zoo costs £3.90 per adult and Bridlington Animal Park costs £9.95. Sewerby is roughly half the price but it offers roughly half the collection, so I'd say value for money is about the same.

Animals & Exhibits - Sewerby Zoo (Visited July 2023)

Sewerby Zoo begins with a row of wooden aviaries, the first containing a mixture of Java sparrow, Napoleon weaver, diamond dove, Chinese painted quail and Hermann's tortoise. Opposite is a row of aviaries housed in a converted stable building, containing yellow crested cockatoo, eclectus parrot and white-crested turaco. The rest of the building houses domestics, like pigs and (I think) alpacas. Both sets of aviaries are well maintained and attractive to look at, with lots of space, branches and vegetation. They make a good first impression.

The mixed passerine / Hermann's tortoise aviary

The zoo then slopes gently downhill and offers a row of pheasant aviaries for golden pheasant, Himalayan monal and Temminck's tragopan. All three are a decent size, with lots of greenery. Next to them is another aviary-style cage for ring-tailed lemurs. It's double the size of the pheasant aviaries, with lots of natural climbing opportunities and vegetation. Opposite is an aviary for Australian birds, but Barraband's parakeet and budgerigar is all I can remember. The next three enclosures are for domestics: guinea pigs in a little square enclosure built around a grass mound, and two fairly nondescript enclosures for African pygmy goats and Boer goats (two of the latter coincidentally hailing from my local area).

A view downhill with the pheasant aviaries and lemur cage on the left

Nearby is the zoo's most popular residents, the Humboldt penguins, which live in a mid-sized enclosure featuring a concrete pool surrounded by grass and bushes. Viewing is as good as it gets, with low walls all around and the path skirting the enclosure on all sides. Much-needed privacy is provided by a row of penguin-sized stone shelters. Eight penguins live here (including, until her death a few months before my visit, the world's oldest Humboldt penguin, named Rosie) and there's been some breeding success. All in all, it's a fairly decent enclosure and the definite highlight for most people at this zoo.

The Humboldt penguin enclosure is the highlight for most (the pool was drained on my visit)

Next to the penguins, you get a view down into a South American mixed species enclosure for greater rheas and llamas. There's a huge water feature here, complete with a tall waterfall which is seemingly connected to the penguin pool. It's the perfect set-up for some capybaras if the zoo ever fancies taking them on.

Following the path around the back of the penguins is an enclosure for raccoon dogs. One half of it is a low aviary-style cage but the other half is open-air. The whole enclosure, like most at the zoo, appears very natural, with lots of planting. Then there's a large cage for white-fronted capuchins, the only examples of their kind in a European zoo.

Venturing further downhill, there's a circular aviary containing red-headed parrotfinch. The aviary isn't as attractive as the others, with less natural sunlight (given it's covered with a wooden roof) and no foliage. Further along there's a walkthrough aviary, which was sadly closed on my visit due to bird flu restrictions. It's one of the newer developments at the zoo, having been opened in 2022. It features a pond, a small wooden bridge and a path which meanders through some plants. Some of these plants are native, which provides a natural habitat for native insects. The aviary contains wood duck, ringed teal, Mandarin duck, white-faced whistling duck, West Indian tree duck, Chiloé wigeon, ferruginous duck, tufted duck, Australasian shoveler, falcated teal, silver teal, red-bellied tree duck, rosy-billed pochard and marbled duck.

The walkthrough aviary — sadly closed due to bird flu restrictions

Lastly, there's an aviary-style cage for South American coatis which is a decent size and nicely planted. On the outskirts of the zoo, there's sizable paddocks for donkeys, alpacas and Sika deer — the latter housed against the backdrop of the sea.

Every enclosure has been given signage to label the species on display, which is presented well but very basic in its content. This might be enough for most species, but the endangered ones, like the Hermann's tortoise, could really use more information on its conservation. That conservation message seems to be low on the ground in general and I don't believe the zoo has any animals involved in a captive breeding programme.

The South American coati enclosure.

As for future developments, since my visit, plans were approved for an expansion featuring three new paddocks for existing species. There's an African Farm paddock for Cameroon sheep and African pygmy goats, a South American Plains paddock, presumably for llamas and alpacas, and a Shetland Isles paddock for Shetland ponies. I think, aside from the ducks in the walkthrough aviary, the zoo has been largely stagnant in terms of new arrivals, which is a shame.

Animals & Exhibits - Bridlington Animal Park (Visited July 2024)

The first thing you'll notice about Bridlington Animal Park is how overrun it is with Indian peafowls. They're seemingly everywhere — and that's not a bad thing by any means; it adds to the experience!

The zoo opens with a small aviary-style cage for a pair of rusty-spotted cats. The enclosure itself is small but appropriate for the size of the species. It's packed with natural climbing furniture, a few nest boxes and other areas to hide in, and some greenery. Nearby is a lawn with some wooden benches where the zoo holds animal encounters (we met a skink). Alongside it is a large netted aviary containing (as labeled) greater flamingos, scarlet ibis, white-faced whistling ducks, African spoonbill, ruddy shelduck and (possibly) Lady Amherst's pheasants and guineafowl. I only saw the flamingos, ibis and a pair of unsigned black swans. Regardless, it's an active, well-stocked aviary with a large pond and muddy banks. It used to have some grass, which made it look greener, but now only a few shrubs remain. The birds also have access to a concrete shelter, which has a window to let you look into it, but there isn't much to see besides a muddy tiled floor.

The wader aviary, home to flamingos, ibis and swans.

This is where the zoo takes you deeper into the woods. There's a large enclosure for emus, red-necked wallabies and Patagonian maras. You only get to see it from a distance at first, but later on you get to see it as a walkthrough enclosure (which I'll describe later). Ring-tailed lemurs then occupy a complex of wooden cages, with a tunnel connecting them overhead. Sadly, it's one of the weaker lemur exhibits I've seen as, despite its size, it's lacking in climbing opportunities and any interesting features; it's basically a flat bit of dirt with a few platforms and two bits of rope. There's a small house wedged inbetween which allows you to view the lemurs when they're indoors, but it's little more than a large garden shed with a small shelf, one tiny bit of rope and some wood shavings.

The unimpressive ring-tailed lemur enclosure — is that really it for climbing opportunities?

Next along is a row of enclosures, the first of which belonging to raccoons. It's another wooden cage but this time themed around an American backyard, complete with trash cans, a white picket fence, a kid's slide, a mail box, a ball pit and (of course) two great big American flags. I get the idea behind it — raccoons live in urban environments and visit American backyards — but I do think they'd have a better time in an enclosure which is a bit more natural and not just concrete. It's not the largest space either, and besides the kid's slide, there's nothing for them to actually climb. The website lists their habitat as "woodlands and urban environments" but there's nothing particularly "woodland" about their enclosure, despite it being surrounded by natural woodland.

The "quirky" raccoon enclosure designed to look like an American backyard.

Up next is a tall wooden cage for a mixture of Brazilian porcupines and striped skunks. It's a lot better than the racoon cage with numerous branches for climbing (some of which tower quite high — perfect for the tree-dwelling porcupines) and lots of rocks and stumps on a natural substrate for the skunks. The enclosure is also active with at least three or four skunks. The Brazilian porcupine is a rare exhibit in European zoos and there's only three other UK zoos which have them. The indoor quarters are on-show, meaning you can see the animals whilst they're sheltering inside.

The striped skunk / Brazilian porcupine mixed enclosure — I love the verticality.

The final enclosure in this row belongs to the ubiquitous meerkats and African crested porcupines. It consists of a low concrete barrier, with some ground-level viewing windows (perfect for children), as well as lots of grass and dirt. There's a small thatched hut in the middle with a semicircle of benches in front, presumably used for animal experiences. Once again, it's a well-stocked enclosure, with more porcupines than I've ever seen and they're all kept in a fairly large space.

Nearby there's a polytunnel, called the Tortoise Tunnel, which is home to (you guessed it) various tortoises. It features a wooden walkway passing down the middle, with tortoise enclosures on either side of it. There's African spurred tortoises, red-footed tortoises, Hermann's tortoises and Speke's hinge-back tortoises (another rarity). The enclosures themselves are all identical in size — large enough for most of the tortoises but a bit snug for the larger African spurred tortoises. They were each filled with a natural substrate, a few pots or stones for decoration and, of course, some heat lamps and UV lights. There's nothing especially fancy about them but at least the concept is somewhat unique.

The Tortoise Tunnel — not the largest space for the African spurred tortoises but I like the concept.

Leaving the tunnel, there's a wooden cage for a mixture of large hairy armadillos, six-banded armadillos and common marmosets. They live in a sizable space with the armadillos on a natural substrate inwhich they can forage and the marmosets above them on a network of branches and rope. They share their indoor quarters, which is fully on-show, and for some reason, it seems to be better furnished with a lot more stumps for the armadillos and climbing opportunities for the marmosets.

Next up, there's a trio of canid enclosures, starting with a species I've always wanted to see but haven't until now: fennec foxes. Sadly, their enclosure is very uninspiring: it's essentially a sandpit surrounded by a tall mesh fence, with a wooden box for them to sleep in. It's disappointing to see such an interesting species held in such a lacklustre manner, but at least you get to see them up-close thanks to a huge viewing window in their house.

A disappointing Fennec fox enclosure — why so barren?

Opposite them is an Arctic fox enclosure, which may look a bit ramshackle but is otherwise adequate, with lots of grass, dirt, plants, rocks and logs. It has a roof but it's very low and looks as though it was an afterthought. A wooden box at the back provides a den. Nearby, there's also raccoon dogs. They live in a grassy enclosure surrounded by a low fence, complete with a Japanese torii gate for decoration and some bamboo. It's one of the few enclosures which incorporates some of the natural woodland. There's at least three dogs and one of them is leucistic, which you don't see everyday (unless, of course, you work at the zoo). 

The two Artic fox pups are fun to watch in a slightly ramshackle but otherwise decent enclosure.

The zoo then opens to some fields and there's a large enclosure containing two subspecies of plains zebra — Grant's and Chapman's — as well as a few ostriches. It's a basic grass paddock but it more than serves its purpose with lots of grass, some shrubs and a few trees. There's a few sheep (possibly Balwen Welsh mountain sheep) seemingly nestled in the space between its barrier and guard rail. In the corner, there's also a small enclosure with a long wooden stable for Shetland ponies and chickens (the latter is kept to provide eggs which are fed to other animals). It's got a wide guard rail for some reason, so you can't really get as close to it as you normally can with other domestic enclosures. Moving along, there's two large paddocks, with Bactrian camels in one (shown on the map as dromedaries) and a mixture of alpacas and donkeys in the other. They're both pretty featureless aside from some field shelters. The path then ends by two enclosures: one for Boer goats and the other for Kunekune pigs — again, nothing interesting to say about either.

The "Africa Field" with Grant's and Chapman's zebras, plus ostriches.

Following the path backwards, you re-enter the woodland part and follow the path towards much of the zoo's bird collection. First up is a laughing kookaburra aviary which sits on the edge of the Australian walkthrough enclosure seen earlier. It's of the same wood-and-wire construction as most aviaries at the zoo but it's nicely furnished with perches and plants. The emus and wallabies provide an appropriate backdrop. The walkthrough enclosure is visited next. It's a good size and takes advantage of the zoo's woodland surroundings with lots of trees and shrubs. It's mostly mud (the path included) so this is where the zoo is at its boggiest in wet weather. There's red-necked and parma wallabies, as well as an emu or two. For some reason, there's also Patagonian maras, which kinda diminish the Australian vibe.

The Australian walkthrough enclosure — the wallabies seemed happy in it (see left)

The next section of the zoo is dedicated to parrots, many of which are former pets that were rehomed at the zoo. There's a large cage for blue-and-gold macaws which is shared with red-rumped agouti (a much rarer species than the usual Azara's agouti you see at most zoos). Both species have access to a house which is fully on-show thanks to a big window. There's seperate aviaries for Timneh grey parrots, Congo African grey parrots, Amazon parrots and long-billed corellas. Each aviary is well maintained and surrounded by attractive planting.

The aviaries for rescued parrots. Agoutis also share the same enclosure.

Nearby, there's a hexagonal wooden cage for South American coatis. It has a solid roof over part of it, which does make it look quite dark, and there's no planting of any kind, but it is otherwise well furnished with lots of climbing opportunities. It makes up for its lack of footprint with lots of vertical space, which is used for raised platforms and a walkway.

A row of bird aviaries follow. These look newer than the others and therefore more pristine in condition. They're fronted by a wire mesh but then surrounded on three sides by solid wooden walls and are partially covered by a corrugated roof. They contain: snowy owl, red-legged seriema, (another) laughing kookaburra, tawny frogmouth, common raven, great grey owl and barn owl. They're furnished quite creatively and appropriately for each species. For example, the barn owl aviary contains a wooden gate (like those commonly seen in the British countryside) and the raven aviary contains a minature London double-decker bus (ravens have a long history at the Tower of London). The snowy owl has the best aviary here; it's twice the size of the others and filled with coniferous trees (albeit small ones). The aviaries are all a bit snug but the birds get to stretch their wings during displays. I believe the zoo started out as the "Bridlington Birds of Prey and Animal Park", so it's nice to see that part of the collection still surviving.

The best of the bunch of aviaries, home to a snowy owl.

Unfortunately, the zoo ends on a sour note as the common palm civet enclosure is next and it's easily the worst at the zoo. It's about the size (and shape) of someone's garage and fully roofed over and surrounded by solid walls, meaning there isn't much sunlight (though I suppose this is appropriate for a nocturnal species). The enclosure is positioned quite far from the path so you can't really view it up-close and, aside from a small ramp, there's no climbing opportunities. It just looks like someones dumped a load of sticks and called it a day.

This palm civet enclosure left a bad taste in the mouth. The zoo can do better.

Every enclosure at the zoo is accompanied by high quality signage that, not only provides basic facts on their occupants, but also highlights conservation issues they face. Like Sewerby, I don't believe the zoo is involved with any breeding programmes.

In the short time since my visit, the zoo has developed to include Asian small-clawed otters and capybaras, and looking at the website, they seem to be part of a steady stream of new arrivals. That being said, I do think that the zoo should improve its existing enclosures before taking on any more animals.

Conclusion

Sewerby Zoo and Bridlington Animal Park share many similarities: they're both what I'd consider small zoos, housing similar collections and neither have any overly-impressive, standout exhibits, but they do have their differences. I think one of the strengths of Sewerby Zoo is its location which is within the beautiful gardens of Sewerby Hall and overlooking the sea. If you want an attractive zoo that's pleasant to walk around, then Sewerby Zoo is what you're looking for.

If, however, you're willing to traipse through mud and view slightly less attractive enclosures for the sake of a bigger, more diverse collection, then Bridlington Animal Park is the one for you. Not only does it have more variety but it also has better viewing opportunities since every enclosure is well-stocked and most have shelters that you can see inside (useful for seeing animals that are sheltering from the UK's typically wet or cold weather).

If you were to ask me which I personally prefer, then I would probably say Bridlington Animal Park because I appreciate the variety more than I appreciate Sewerby's picturesque location. However, if you ask any non-zoo nerds, they might have a different answer as I know my family weren't too keen on it due to the muddiness, odd location and the state of some of its enclosures.

With that being said, both are definitely worth a visit if you find yourself in the area and they only take about an hour to see, so you could easily do both if you wanted.

If you want to see any photos of either zoo, check out my Planet Zoo Inspiration Database. The Sewerby Zoo photos can be found here and the Bridlington Animal Park ones here.