A summer family day out at London Zoo

‘Can we go to the ice cream zoo?’

Baby Girl has renamed London Zoo the ice cream zoo, and it’s pretty fitting this time of year when there are so many places to buy an ice cream in the Zoo.

I like visiting all year round and we’ve used our annual memberships a lot in the last two years, but when we went the other weekend it reminded me that the Zoo is extra special in summer.

There’s now a summer grill, lounge chairs and ice cream parlour on the green near the carousel, and there’s a bit of a festival feel to that area. On the weekend they had face painting (£4 each or £7 for two) in the same place, transforming little ones to their favourite animals.

Around the corner there’s an inflatable slide and bouncy castle, just next to the small playground, and by the carousel, which is £2.50 a ride, there’s a milkshake bar also serving ice cream.

For young visitors. there’s now a 20 minute Jungle Jukebox puppet show by Little Creatures in the Amphitheatre at 11am and 2pm every day, and Animals in Action at 12.30pm and 3.30pm in the same venue.

On very warm days it’s also great fun for young visitors to go in the Splash Zone in Adventure Land, the area for kids by kids, where there are farm animals, llamas, donkeys and more.

With additional shows and experiences making it easy for families to have a special summer day out in London Zoo, I’m not surprised there was a queue outside the Zoo even before they opened on the Saturday we were there and far down the street by the time we left.

Tags: Attractions, Carousel, Children's theatre, Face painting, Family day out, London, London Zoo, Summer, Water play