London Zoo's New Penguin Pool

The Coolest Pool in Town

The new penguin pool at London Zoo © ZSL

London Zoo has just opened England's largest penguin pool. At first, 80 of the flightless birds will inhabit the new 1,200-square-meter pool holding 450,000 liters of water. There's also a new breeding facility, Penguin Beach, for colonies of Humboldt, macaroni, black footed and rockhopper penguins and much better viewing spaces for visitors.

So hop along to see the traditional penguin feeds where twice daily the birds dive for their food through a new underwater viewing area. For baby penguins which are too small to tackle the deep end, there's a special penguin nursery. Also new for visitors is an exact replica of the field station where the Zoo's resident penguinologist works on climate change research.

Penguins have been living at the Zoo since 1865, but now the race is on to preserve large colonies of threatened penguins. Go on one of their special Friday late evenings in July and August, when the crowds are thinner. You can picnic and get much closer to the animals.

Where: London Zoo, Regent's Park, London NW1

When: Daily to July 15, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; July 16-Sep 4, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sep 5-Oct 29, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Oct 30-Spring 2012, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Closed December 25.

Admission: Adults £17.60-£20.50; children £13.70-£16.40; under 3 years old free. 10 per cent discount for online bookings.

Website: www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo

For more events, see our London What's Going On page.