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All 1 Sparkwell Attractions »

Dartmoor Zoological Park

Sparkwell, Sparkwell PL7 5DG, England
01752 837 645
Ranked #1 of 1 attractions in Sparkwell
3.5 of 5 stars 57 Reviews
Type: Zoos
Description: Small friendly wildlife park/zoo on edge of Dartmoor featured on BBC TV series and about to be turned into a movie starring Matt Damon.
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57 reviews from our community

Visitor rating
    22
    9
    6
    7
    13
Date Rating
Torquay, United Kingdom
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 27 May 2012 NEW

I have visited many zoo's in my life, over 20 at a guess and I have to say this one is the pits. I won't bother repeating what has already been said. It is said that when people read review site's they only seem to take note of the bad ones, in this case you really should. There are no... More

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Sevenoaks, United Kingdom
Senior Reviewer
6 reviews 6 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 20 May 2012

I spent a whole day (around 8 hours) at this Zoo which has recently come to prominence because of the film "We brought a Zoo. I thoroughly enjoyed the day. The staff are very helpful and knowledgeable. The animals are kept in nice large enclosures and all looked very contented. The restaurant was very clean and the food reasonably priced... More

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1 review
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 19 May 2012

I went here today with my wife and two year old son, really looking forward to a family day out. How utterly disappointed we were. I arrived at the kiosk and paid. No greeting, introduction, map or anything. We walked through to begin our trek up the hill to the start point. The first thing you see is an empty... More

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Truro, United Kingdom
Reviewer
4 reviews 4 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 17 May 2012

This was undoubtably the work attraction i have ever been to, it was run down, dirty and a appaling excuse for a day out. It looked more like it was suited to the third world. The cafe and shop was dirty bare and unheated, the smell was overpowering. Staff were uninterested and looked as unkept as the whole attraction The... More

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Brighton, United Kingdom
Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 9 May 2012
1
person found this review helpful

The zoo is a bit smaller than some, and doesn't take long to go right around, but the animals really are quite splendid and you'll likely go back and see some again within your trip. Strongly recommended for a friendly, happy family day out. More

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Plymouth, United Kingdom
Senior Contributor
39 reviews 39 reviews
Reviews in 8 cities Reviews in 8 cities
26 helpful votes 26 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 8 May 2012
1
person found this review helpful

Dartmoor Zoo. Sparkwell, Plymouth Devon. Rated excellent. Visited the Dartmoor Zoo yesterday with my daughter and three grandchildren.The grounds cover 33 acres of wonderful devonshire countryside, the animals have huge paddocks to roam around. The zoo is the base story for I bought a zoo The improvements to the zoo hae been wonderful, we had a great day out. The... More

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Devon
Senior Reviewer
9 reviews 9 reviews
Reviews in 8 cities Reviews in 8 cities
18 helpful votes 18 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 7 May 2012
2
people found this review helpful

The zoo is lovely, animals were well cared for and the staff were really friendly and available for all sorts of questions. It doesn't appear to be as polished as Paignton but I preferred the Dartmoor Zoo. Its a little rough and ready but I really liked that, I'd rather the money be put back into the animals than into... More

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Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 6 May 2012
1
person found this review helpful

After reading previous reviews we weren't sure what to expect as there's such a split in opinion. I went with my 1 1/2yr old, my husband and my parents and we easily filled 5 hours or so. My daughter loved being able to get so close to the animals, the enclosures are such a good change from the concrete you... More

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Devon, UK
Senior Contributor
23 reviews 23 reviews
Reviews in 12 cities Reviews in 12 cities
14 helpful votes 14 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 5 May 2012

Now that this small zoo has received much publicity as a result of the newly-released film ('Honey, we've bought a Zoo' - April 2012) the pressure is really on to match new visitors' expectations. And while the smallish collection of animals all looked happy and healthy, the same can't be said for their surroundings! As others have reported, once you... More

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Exeter, England, United Kingdom
2 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 5 May 2012
1
person found this review helpful

Poor customer service on the entrance - we weren't offered a zoo guide or a map by the rather sullen girl on duty - consequently spent our visit wondering around disorientated. Poor facilities - grotty toilets, and shabby and rather unclean restaurant, we were glad we'd packed a picnic. Some of the exhibits are badly signed or information is missing... More

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