Hanwell Zoo
WHERE
London
What it’s like
Face to face with meerkats, flamingos, porcupines and lemurs on a small zoo site in west London.
You come here for the close-up bit, not the acreage. The animal list reads like a proper collection for the size of the place: meerkats, flamingos, porcupines, lemurs, miniature donkeys, margays, cranes and dormice all get a mention, and the site is built around getting near them rather than watching from a distance.
There's outdoor play too, so if you've got one child who wants to stare at a porcupine for twenty minutes and another who just wants to run at something, both get sorted. A café on site means you're not packing a full picnic, though you might still want snacks for the walk round.
Hours shift with the seasons. Summer (April to September) you get 10am to 5pm with last entry at 4pm; over winter it closes an hour earlier both ways, last entry 3pm. Worth building your visit around that last entry time rather than the closing time, since that's the bit that actually catches people out.
Parking is free, which is rare enough these days to mention, but the site describes it as limited, so if you're driving on a nice Saturday don't bank on a space right by the gate. Hanwell station is a few minutes' walk if you fancy the train instead, and the E3 and E1 buses stop nearby too.
Facilities
Need to know
- Last entry
- April–Sept: 4pm. Sept–Mar: 3pm
- Parking
- Free on site, limited
- Getting there by bus or train
- Hanwell Railway Station a few minutes' walk
- Opening hours change with the season, so the last entry time moves too
- Bikes have their own parking if you're cycling over
- The zoo also does school visits, so it's set up for group trips as well as families
Plan your visit
What time should we actually arrive by?
Aim well before last entry. That's 4pm in the summer season (April to September) and 3pm from September to March, not the closing time itself.
Is parking easy?
It's free on site, which helps, but they describe it as limited. Turning up early or taking the train from Hanwell station is the safer bet on a busy day.
What animals will the kids actually see?
Meerkats, flamingos, porcupines, lemurs, miniature donkeys, margays, cranes and dormice are all named, so it's a decent spread for a small site.
Is there somewhere to eat?
There's a café on site, so you don't need to bring a full packed lunch.
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