Other in Bedfordshire

ZSL Whipsnade Zoo sits on the escarpment of the Chiltern Hills in Bedfordshire, its 243 hectares of open downland and wooded parkland providing one of the largest and most spacious zoo environments in Europe. The white chalk figure of a lion cut into the hillside below the zoo has been visible for miles across the vale since it was created in 1933, a landscape-scale advertisement for the zoo's presence that has become one of the informal landmarks of the Bedfordshire countryside. Whipsnade opened in 1931 as a country sister site to London Zoo, conceived from the beginning as a place where animals would be kept in conditions more closely resembling their natural environment than urban zoo cages could provide. The open paddocks, large enclosures and the ability of many species to be kept in outdoor conditions year-round in this relatively mild chalk downland setting represented a significant philosophical advance in zoo management and influenced the development of zoo design internationally throughout the following decades. The Chiltern escarpment setting provides both an exceptional backdrop for the zoo and a landscape of significant ecological interest in its own right. The chalk downland of the Chilterns supports one of the most important semi-natural grassland ecosystems in southern England, with plant communities of exceptional diversity that survive on the thin, nutrient-poor chalk soils above the escarpment. The views from the zoo's higher ground extend north across the entire Bedfordshire plain toward Northamptonshire, with the flat agricultural landscape stretching to the horizon in a panorama of considerable scale. The zoo's large animal collection includes substantial herds of white rhino, Asiatic elephants, giraffes and many species of deer and antelope that roam paddocks large enough to allow natural herd behaviour and movement. The Sea Lion lake, the Cheetah Rock and the penguin pool are among the established visitor favourites, while the Wild Asia and Heart of Africa sections represent more recent investment in immersive habitat design.

ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in the Chiltern Hills of Bedfordshire is the largest zoo in the United Kingdom by area, covering approximately 600 acres of downland above the Vale of Aylesbury that provides space for the large animal enclosures and open paddocks in which the zoo's exceptional collection of large mammals, birds and other species is housed. Whipsnade was opened by the Zoological Society of London in 1931 as a country complement to the urban ZSL London Zoo, the spacious downland site providing conditions in which large animals including Asian elephants, white rhinos, giraffes and the large herd of European bison could be maintained in environments far more appropriate to their needs than the confined spaces of a city zoo. The zoo's position on the Chiltern escarpment gives it exceptional views over the Vale of Aylesbury below and a setting of considerable natural beauty, the combination of the open downland, the ancient beech woods at the scarp edge and the extensive grassland within the zoo creating an environment with its own intrinsic landscape value. The chalkhill blue and other butterfly species that use the unimproved chalk grassland within the zoo's perimeter are a reminder of the ecological value of this site beyond its role as an animal collection. The drive-through section of the zoo, through which visitors in their own cars pass the paddocks containing large herbivores in a format reminiscent of a safari park, provides a different experience from the walking sections and allows closer approach to animals in open enclosures. The combined effect of the drive-through and the walking exhibits makes Whipsnade a full-day destination of considerable variety. The Asian elephant herd at Whipsnade is one of the most significant in Europe and the zoo's elephant management and breeding programme is a major contribution to the conservation of this endangered species.