Chestnut Centre Otter, Owl & Wildlife

Great place. Daughter had a keeper experience day and loved it. People were lovely. Just a shame it's closing at the end of the year.

Really like this place. The animals all seem happy and looked after. The cafe isn't great but enjoyed the rest of it

Really nice, gentle place. We took our daughter 25 years ago and took our grandson recently. Both were a similar age at the time of the visit and the reaction was the same. Nice friendly feel and a great location. The otters are terrific and nice to see them close up. Plenty of other animals and birds to see too.

What a brilliant place.
I enjoyed it so much, spent a good few hours seeing some of there less commonly seen animals within a zoo type business but without the zoo type setting.

Some of the reviews are laughable however. It's in the middle of the countryside and website and flyers do forworn people that parts are inaccessible to wheelchairs and prams, the enclosures have been created around the landscape, so the place is built upon conserving nature,not tarmacing smooth pathways over it.

As for areas unsafe for kids because extra fencing is needed,maybe offer extra donations to help with this.. .or alternatively just supervise children better ?

I noticed too how overgrown enclosures were,I thought it was a great source of enrichment and looked like they were in the wild. As for people complaining they were confined in cages,...well it's a zoo, this wasn't a secret, of course they were going to be in enclosures. It was mostly otters and owls,however it clearly states this and is the reason we went to visit as on 3 occasions to Chester zoo I've been unsuccessful in ever seeing there giant otters.

I thought it was a great place for animal lovers whom have a realistic expectation of seeing animals in captivity.

Already plan on going back

Fantastic place to go for a family day out. Lots of information about the wildlife they have there. Educational and fun. You get a little map of the different areas and informed about feeding times on that. The surrounding area and grounds are beautiful. The cafe is small but equipped for the a quick coffee and cake stop. If you are taking children it would be an idea to make sure you have suitable footwear and I would advise you to leave your prams at home and baby wear (sling/wrap/carrier) instead for you to get the best out of the day however we managed to get our pram around all of the areas available with some lifting here and there (our pram is a beast!!) There is also a route you can take that doesn't involve lifting and ideal for wheelchairs but this does limit what you get to see. Definitely recommend a visit here.

We visited sunday morning with five children (2 under 3) we payed £34 now for the time you actually spend there it is a little pricey we was in and out in under 2 hours including time with a picnic. There were plenty of parking spaces and you enter through a lovely tea room and shop. There are toilets before entry but not once you are in there. This is not a wheelchair or pram friendly place, we seriously struggled with a pram. The giant otters were a wonderful sight in their huge enclosure and there were lots of owls and deer too, but the red foxes and scottish cat were no where to be seen and their enclosures were tiny! We really did have a lovely walk (minus the pram trouble) but its really a one hit wonder we will never need to go back but worth going once.

Actually a little worried about the pine martin here and one of the otters. I have never seen such distressed animals before. It was very disturbing to see. The pine Martin was running in circles looking very distressed and panting. It seemed the cage was way to small for its needs. We also saw an otter alone, and although its area was large, the otter seemed unhappy, circling and looking upset, it seemed odd to see the otter alone? The wild cat enclosure was tiny! We have seen European wild cats in other sanctuarys and their enclosure was huge with tall with trees for the cats to climb. Here the enclosure was so small I am not sure a person could stand up in it. This site had loads of Owls and different types which was great to see, however quite a few of the large owls were in very small enclosures.

No information on the animals in the enclosure for example no history of the animals past or how they came to the sanctuary etc. All we could see was signs asking if people would adopt the animals. Very few staff available or present if you had any questions or needed help. Apart from feed times no staff is around at all! The map is labelled incorrectly for the animal enclosures, so if anything you might leave less educated than you arrived.

We drove two hours to visit and felt very excited to explore what the website suggests as British wildlife, however due to the desperate state of the pine martin and otter, I have to say I honestly wish I never went.

I love this place. It does involve a steep walk at the end of the circuit of the site but the otters and other beasties are a lovely place to visit. Considerable effort obviously goes into upkeep and the little shop/café is well-stocked with nick-naks and some homemade munchies.

After a bit of a walk (past free roaming deer) you get to the enclosures to see many species of owl and otter with a few polecats too. Very good activity to do on a day out.