Birmingham Nature Centre

It’s the first time we’ve been to Cannon hill nature centre, we all loved it. Would recommend a visit all ages will enjoy.

We went on a visit here last year, was a great day out and good value, would recommend a visit, see my full review here http://www.kevinsimon.co.uk/?p=895

Visited for the 2nd time and wanted to say how much myself, my wife and 2yr old daughter enjoyed our visit. Superb value at only £4 per adult and children under 5 are free. Well done Birmingham City council for this excellent attraction. I've taken a few pictures which I've posted. I hope that you all enjoy them.

Growing up in Birmingham, i've been here ALOT throughout my whole life, i'm now 21 and recently went back to see what the place was like now, its EXACTLY how i remember it, with some changes to animals, this isn't exactly a huge zoo, or an animal park, but a decent sized center for some pretty cool animals, including Lemurs, small moneys, snakes, rodents, lovely otters! porcupines. Its a great half a day out for anyone, you cant help but smile at how enthusiastic the otters are, and watching the lemurs bound around is great, toilets are good, cafe is great, and you can enjoy it no matter what the weather! id highly recommend it!

I visited the nature centre last week with my 2 daughters, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

There is plenty to see and to amuse young children, with a real variety of different animals such as small reptiles, various rodents, wildcats and small mammals, insects and tropical birds.

Particular standouts were the large tortoise, the lemurs, otters and porcupines.

There is plenty of near by parking, as well as being easily accessible for both the Pershore Road buses, or a very short walk to the Bristol Road bus route.

We will definitely go back, as it is such a cheap day out, with the addition of having Cannon Hill park next door.

The Nature Centre is fantastic, visited yesterday and was surprised by how much there was to see and do. HOWEVER, the Ocelot enclosure simply isn't big enough for the animal! It is the one thing for me that lets the Centre down badly. The animal was pacing up and down its cage, presumably out of boredom and lack of stimulation in its environment. A space like the lynx enclosure (and maybe a mate) would be more appropriate in my untrained but sincere opinion.

We visited here the other day and,once we found the entarance,discovered what a lovely place this is. As mentioned above,we had trouble finding the place,esp as pedestrians new to the area. There are only traffic road signs for directions,and we got to the park and still no clear directions. Else,the selection of animals homed here is good and reasonably different from other smaller zoo type places I have been to previously. There are Lynx,Porcupine,Limas,owls,otters,meercats etc.,as well as the small mammals and bugs/insects,plus more. They have a cafe for refreshments,seating inside and out with toilets nearby. The biggest let down I feel more for children,is the gift shop. It may have been when we went,but we found there wasnt much selection of gifts to buy as a reminder of the day. There is only a small selection,half of which are behind the counter,which I am guessing,will be difficult to view in the event of a large group of people wanting to purchase something. Otherwise a great day was had by all,and for the cheap enterance fee,was well worth a visit,and highly recommend a visit if you are in the area and have a couple of hours to spare,esp if you have children with you.

i firs went with my uncle and loved it its a really cool place for everyone
ben age 12

a wonderful place to visit whether the weather is cold or not. They now have a small charge for adults but it is well worth the money. They have a variety of animals there ranging from sheep to cranes to snakes to lemurs. The animal enclosures look spacious and clean and all the animals look happy. there are inside areas where you can see spiders and other small animals. there is a small play area with slides and climbing frame and there is also a soft play area inside the cafe which is reasonably priced and has lots of hot and cold snacks and ice cream for the little ones. the toilets do need major refurbishment. close by is cannon hill park which is worth a visit for the play area and duck pond. there is a large car park but it can get muddy!

bargain - perfect for young children - great price and always plenty to see with a nice cafe on site

The nature centre is great for young children. Its very cheap to get in around £1.75 for an adult and child there is also a small gift shop. There is quite a few animals, a soft play area and cafe.
The animals seem happy and well cared for. There are sheep, goats, small monkeys, birds, spiders, small mammals etc.
In warmer weather you might want to take a picnic as there are areas where you can eat.
You could quite easily spend a day there

A great place for younger children, older children might find it abit boring if they go more than once. Plenty of animals bugs rodents for kids to look closely at. admission is very cheap great prices for a couple of hours of entertainment during those long school holidays. I wouldnt say the cafe was very good though i would rather take my own picnic and eat at the picnic tables provided. It has a gift shop although not much selection its amazing how a rubber bug can make a child smile so big!
All in all a cheap entertaining afternoon out for the family

nice well layed out,and cheap,but not much there,for older children,but there are many little animals eg wild cats,lix,owls,mearcats.and nice play area

This place is fantastic if you have young children. It is very cheap, so much so that I never bother buying the membership. It is located next to Cannon Hill Park. Do note though that it is only open at weekends during the winter.

The range of animals is good enough for young kids - I particularly love the meerkats and the goeli monkeys (think that is how it is spelt) and the otters but the centre also has hamsters, birds, deer etc. It also has a decent enough outdoor play area, ideal for 1 - 6 year olds in my experience. The only bit of the nature centre that disappoints is the cafe. It smells of greasy food and the food offer is not exciting at all. I would never plan to buy lunch there - prefering to take a picnic on a nice day and eating outside. The soft play area is also problematic for very young children as although the height limit is clearly marked, many parents do not bother to enforce it (ie keep taller/older children out of the soft play area) and the staff don’t enforce it either. Don’t let this put you off though as I think the nature centre is a Brummie treasure.

This place is great for a few hours walking around looking at the animals. Its really cheap to get in and there is parking. Indoor and outdoor play areas. Keeps kids entertained for little ££.

Ok, so don’t expect lots of big exciting animals, but it’s a perfect cheap family day out. They have meerkats, walabies, wild cats and other small animals. Bring your own picnic to eat at the tables and you could have a family day out for under £20!

This place is awsome. It cost like £1 for students to get in. Its much bigger than you would think from the outside. They have quite a lot of animals there too. Ranging from rats, to monkeys to otters. There arent any big animals but theres plenty of the cute little ones. Children and adults will love this place. Well worth a vist. Very cheap fun (part of the) day out. Theres free parking too.

This little zoo in the heart of Birmingham makes for a lovely day out.

Although small, it houses a good collection of animals and birds, from goats, sheep and geese to lemurs, meercats, otters and red pandas. There is also a reptile house, small insectarium and an aquarium to look round on your visit.

Entry to the park is phemoninally cheap. If you tire of looking at the wildlife the children can burn off some energy in the play area or you can pay a visit to the cafe for a drink and something to eat. There is also a gift shop to buy little mementos of your visit.

My daughter and grandchildren introduced me to the nature centre alongside Cannon Hill Park. It was not somewhere I had visited until on a day out with the grandchildren. The car park outside was a good size and we found a place easily. You gain entrance to the centre walking through the brown building, paying a small entrance fee, pick up a guide to the center and walk straight out to be greeted by the sights of sheet and goats. For the entrance price this venue is a wonderful way to spend half a day enjoying the animals ranging from rats, monkeys, fish, lynx to red panda. They house many wonderful animals here. They are currently only open at weekends so it can be rather busy

The Nature Centre is a great place for any animal lovers to visit. There is a wide variety of animals to be seen, whether you admire the cute, the cuddly, the sly predator, the scaly or the insectoid. I liked seeing the otters! The birds there were also wonderful to see. It was difficult to see some animals because of the enclosures being as accurate representations of their natural habitats. But we returned to the particular enclosure later in the day so we managed to see everything by doing that.

The day may be influenced by the weather but there are places to shelter, either admiring animals in the reptile, rodent and spider/millipede/etc houses, the cafe or the shop.

The staff were friendly and helpful.