Tilgate Park

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Tilgate Park

Tilgate Park and Nature Centre has something for everyone. Come and visit us today. The park is open all year round.

Tilgate Park is one of Crawley's most popular places with something for everyone. Lakes, forests, formal gardens, Tilgate Nature Centre, cafe, craft units, Go Ape, boating, mountain biking, outdoor gym and so much more. Tilgate Nature Centre is open from:

10am-4pm November to March

10am-6pm April to October

Please note that last entry is one hour prior to closing. Tilgate Nature Centre is closed on Christmas Day.

16/02/2025

Snow? Now? Oh, it's a flower!
Snowdrops are a clear sign of the changing seasons, typically appearing around February each year as one of the first flowers!
Their delicate white flowers look as soft as fresh snowfall, although this year's snow might be behind us...

📷 Education Officer Richard

15/02/2025

⭐ Star of the Week ⭐

It's important that we regularly health check our animals, and part of that means weighing them. Havana the porcupine is notoriously a prickly character and didn't like getting on the scales initially, but with some gentle training and encouragement from her keepers, she happily stood on the scales and allowed us to health check her this week! Well done, Havana! It's wonderful to see you growing in confidence!

📸 Keeper Dan

14/02/2025

Happy Valentine's Day from our very own goddess of love, Aphrodite, the beautiful leopard cat! Isn't she stunning? We're sure she got lots of Valentine's cards and gifts today!

If you've left it to the last minute and still haven't got your loved one a gift, we still have 10% off our Armadillo Afternoon Tea, Scales & Shells and Meet the Meerkats experiences! Hurry though, the offer ends today! See the link below for available times and dates and to book:

Experiences link: https://orlo.uk/LLtAN

We have another fabulous offer on the cards too! We've got 10% off entry all this coming half term (15/02/25 – 23/02/25) so make sure a trip to the zoo is planned! You can get this offer on the door when you arrive, or you are welcome to book in advance at the link below:

Entry link: https://orlo.uk/1WAlM

Happy Valentine's!

13/02/2025

This week is all about Va... Something... Oh! Vasa parrots! 🦜
We've welcomed Violet the vasa parrot to our flock! She's a sweet and friendly individual who has joined us from our friends over at ! Vasa parrots need a specific ratio of males to females to breed, with lots of males for the females to choose from - hopefully Violet likes the look of some of our vasa lads! Perhaps love is in the air...

Would you like to come see Violet and her admirers? Don't forget it's 10% off entry all this half term!
To book with the discount, follow the link: https://orlo.uk/sFd6I

📷 Education Officer Richard and visitors Suzanne Sullivan and stardustimages_jen

12/02/2025

Many don't expect their gardens to shine in winter, but that's what a 'winter garden' is for!
Our Winter Garden is full of plants that are colourful during the winter, either through their flowers, such as the Daphne (left), or through striking colouration in their stems or leaves, like the Mahonia (right). If you haven't got the winter sniffles, plants like Daphne also provide beautiful sweet scented blooms, so the Winter Garden is a treat for all the senses during more murky winter days.

📷 Parks Team Kaiden

11/02/2025

It's 10% off entry this February half term! (15/02/25 – 23/02/25)!
With beguiling new guinea pigs to greet you, alongside always popular favourites like the meerkats and capybaras, there's so much to see!
This discount is available online and at the admissions kiosk. To book, follow the link: https://orlo.uk/0251s

10/02/2025

Valentine's Day is nearly here! Have you got a gift for your loved ones yet? Don't worry, we can help!

From now until this Friday 14th February 2025 we have a special Spread the Love promotional discount on Meet the Meerkats, Scales & Shells and Armadillo Afternoon Tea for between 1-4 people. You can either choose a date and book today using the link below, or else get a gift voucher (valid for one year form the date of purchase) by getting in touch at [email protected] or calling us on 01293 521168.

Get ready to spread the love...and the mealworms!!

Book here: https://orlo.uk/05r9u

04/02/2025

"Did I hear that right?" Yes! It's 10% off entry this February half term! (15/02/25 – 23/02/25)!
Visit for less from 15th -23rd February to see loads of awesome animals, from our striking ring-tailed lemurs to our spiky porcupine!
Friendly pigs, cute capybaras, prowling servals, raucous parrots - they're all here, waiting to say hello!
To book, follow the link: https://orlo.uk/knu94

📷 Education Officer Richard

03/02/2025

❤️ February is here and that means Valentine's Day is on it's way! What will you be doing to celebrate? Why not Spread the Love with an animal encounter at Tilgate Nature Centre!?

Until 14th February you can save 10% on Meet the Meerkats, Armadillo Afternoon Tea and Shells & Scales for between 1 - 4 people. Check out the link below to check availability and book, and the discount will come off automatically at checkout. You can also purchase a gift voucher if you're not sure what date to book just yet! Vouchers are valid for a year and make a great gift for Valentine's, birthdays, anniversaries...or just because! For gift vouchers, call us on 01293 521168 or email [email protected]

Book your experience here: https://orlo.uk/lzYRR

For more info on the experiences, click here: https://orlo.uk/3UXwt

01/02/2025

Scamp of the Week!

A long-time troublemaker - we cannot believe that Max the alpaca has never been Scamp of the Week. He has definitely deserved the dubious title on many occasions - he is not the most 'user friendly' of our animals! Max was adamant he did not want to be weighed this week, alongisde his brothers and sisters and he made sure we knew about it! He was spitting with abandon! Fortunately, he eventually relented and stepped onto the scales. We weigh our animals regularly to make sure that they are in good health and are not losing or gaining weight due to illness. It's very important for their welfare; Max clearly doesn't appreciate this! Make sure to tell himm next time you visit.

📸 Education Officer Richard

31/01/2025

Smile, it's Friday! And Spud the capybara is particularly excited because it means the weekend is on it's way and he's sure to have lots of visitors come to see him and tell him how cute he is!
What are your plans this weekend? Why not join the capybara fan club and come visit the zoo? There will be public talks and feeds and even the weather looks promising, so when you're making your weekend plans be sure to include us...and Spud!

Happy Friday!

📸 Keeper Billie

30/01/2025

We're hedge over heels in love with this view!
A colossal thank you to our Tilgate Park Volunteers team for the culmination of two years of work creating this 'dead hedge'! This is a way of utilising cleared materials to create lots of habitats for wildlife! Dead hedges are a dry hedge made of stakes and barnches weaved together. Clearing the bank in this way opens it up for frogs toads and newts and creates spaces for nesting birds and hedgehogs. Volunteers made sure to leave plenty of trees with low branches for kingfishers to hunt from too! Animals love dead hedges because they provide homes and shield them from any disturbance from people or dogs, so that the environment feels safe to the wildlife and we can enjoy seeing the wildlife at a safe distance where we won’t disturb them... and all this with no carbon footprint whatsoever! Our wonderful volunteers used material onsight to create the hedge, so it's climate friendly AND great for biodiversity! Thank you so much to the volunteer team - without their enthusiasm, dedication and knowledge we could not carry out projects like this so thank you so so much, both for this and across all the areas of the park!

📷 Education Officer Richard

29/01/2025

Happy Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year/Spring Festival, everyone! 🐍

In Chinese culture, the zodiac works in a 12 year cycle, with each year assigned to an animal - and 2025 is the year of the snake!

The story goes that many centuries ago, an Emperor was looking for a way to help people measure time. He decided to hold an animal race where there would be 12 winners; each to represent a year of the zodiac. The race involved crossing a river to the finish line. Not being the best swimmer, the snake hitched a ride on the horse, and when they were approaching the finish line, leapt off the horse and pipped it to the post, coming in sixth place! Because of this, people born in the Year of the Snake are said to be recognised for their intelligence!

We are lucky enough to have several snake species here at Tilgate Nature Centre, including our stunning Indigo snake who obviously knew we coming to take a photo of her for this very post as she was posing perfectly - talk about intelligent!! These snakes are the longest snakes in North America, with some reaching over 2m in length! Their scientific Latin name even means 'Ruler of the Forest'. Don't forget to stop by and see this clever queen on your next visit!

📸 Education Officer Holly

28/01/2025

Don't forget we're running our Spread the Love promotion until 14th February, meaning you can save 10% off animal encounter experiences if you book before Valentine's Day!

The discount applies to Meet the Meerkats, Armadillo Afternoon Tea and Scales & Shells, so whether you're looking for a special Valentine's gift or if you just fancy a fun day out, look no further!

See the link below to check availability and to book - the discount will come off automatically at checkout. We can also offer gift vouchers which are valid for a year from the date of purchase. For gift vouchers, get in touch at [email protected] or call us on 01293 521168 and the team will be happy to help!

👉 ⭐ Link to book: https://orlo.uk/X3RBF ⭐ 👈

27/01/2025

Not exactly a master of disguise, but certainly a master of cuteness, here's Trouble the ferret enjoying a nice walk around the zoo!
He loves scurrying around and playing in the leaves - and meeting our visitors too! Did you get the chance to meet Trouble today? Keep an eye out for our new daily Animal Encounters on your next visit! Some of our friendliest animals will be out and about with their keepers at these sessions, so you'll have the chance to get up close like never before! You might even get to meet Trouble himself...if you can spot him, that is 😉 !

📸 Education Officer Holly

25/01/2025

⭐ Star of the Week ⭐

If you've visited the zoo you're sure to know Scrooge the Bengal eagle owl! Large, handsome, imposing and very vocal, he's a bit of a force to be reckoned with. The keepers had to give him a routine health check this week which required catching him up, weighing him, checking him over and giving his talons a pedicure! Given his fearsome reputation it was quite a daunting task...but keepers El and Holly soon realised that his hoot is much worse than his peck, and Scrooge was the perfect gentleman during his check-up, making the process a lot easier and less stressful for everyone involved. Well done, Scrooge!

...and don't worry, we won't tell everyone that you were quite happy to be swaddled in a snuggly Peppa Pig blanket like a little baby, we don't want to damage your reputation too much!

📸 Keeper El (of Keeper Holly holding Scrooge!)

24/01/2025

🧑🏻‍🏫 Happy International Day of Education! 🧑🏻‍🎓
Today, we at Tilgate were delighted to welcome Gemma, the zoo educator from Battersea Park Children's Zoo, to share ideas and best practice in zoo education!
The zoo community is very collaborative - we are all working to the same shared goal of conservation and education and we all have lots we can learn from each other!
At Tilgate, our education team wear lots of hats - school visits, public talks, animal experiences, signage, social media and a bit of keeping too, so after lots of discussion on the topics we offer schools and our evaluation techniques, we finished the day feeding our trio of capybaras, with Alf the tapir clearly keen to learn more about what we were doing too!
Thanks for coming Gemma, it was lovely to meet you and you're welcome back any time! We love sharing ideas with our counterparts in other zoos, both in collections like us and beyond! Happy Day of Education from Holly and Richard, the Tilgate Education Team!

📷 Keeper El

24/01/2025

What's that you say? It's time for another animal experience promotional discount!? Oh, go on then!
January is nearly over (hurrah!) and Valentine's Day is just around the corner (ooh la la!) so it's time to think about the perfect gift for the loved ones in your life. Don't worry, we've got you covered! We're excited to announce that we are running our Spread the Love discount again this year! From today (24th January) until 14th February, book a Meet the Meerkats, Armadillo Afternoon Tea or Scales & Shells experience for between 1 - 4 people and enjoy 10% off! See the following link to choose your time and date and get 10% off automatically at checkout. If you haven't got particular date in mind just yet and would prefer a gift voucher (valid for one year from the date of purchase), give the team a call on 01293 521168 or email [email protected] and they'll be happy to help!

Let's get out there and Spread the Love...and the mealworms!!

⭐ 👉 Link to book: https://orlo.uk/A4kN1 👈 ⭐

Address

Titmus Drive, Tilgate
Crawley
RH105PQ

Telephone

01293 521168

Website

http://www.crawley.gov.uk/tilgatepark

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Videos

Opening Christmas Presents!

Just can't wait until tomorrow? 🎁 Let the excitement build watching our animals open a few early presents today! What are you hoping to unwrap tomorrow? #tilgatenaturecentre #tilgatepark #tilgate #crawley #tilgatezoo #tilgateparkzoo #zoo #christmas #animalpresents

BIAZA Secret Santa 2024!

Christmas has come early for the keepers! It's Secret Santa time! 🎁 As part of @BIAZA, each year we take part in the zoo secret Santa! Head over to Battersea Park Children's Zoo to see their video opening our gifts to them and we want to say a massive thank you to... ... Reaseheath Mini Zoo for all our lovely gifts! We're so grateful! Merry Christmas to everyone at Reaseheath Mini Zoo! #BIAZASecretSanta2024 #BIAZASecretSanta #BIAZA #SecretSanta #TilgateNatureCentre #TilgatePark #Tilgate #Crawley #TilgateZoo #TilgateParkZoo

Home Invaders Dressed all in Red! | Biodiversi-Tree 2024

🎄 There's a stranger in the BiodiversiTree! 🐞 Christmas is a time for home invaders, be they the Wet Bandits from Home Alone or the jolly man in red! But why are these little red insects inside my house too? Find out in today's clip! #Biodiversitree #conservationchristmas #tilgatenaturecentre #tilgatepark #tilgate #crawley #tilgatezoo #tilgateparkzoo

Festive Fezziwig the Owl! | Biodiversi-Tree 2024

🎄 Amongst the branches of the Biodiversi-Tree is Fezziwig the barn owl! 🦉 With a festive name like that, she's perfect for this time of year, as is Holly our zoo educator! #Biodiversitree #conservationchristmas #tilgatenaturecentre #tilgatepark #tilgate #crawley #tilgatezoo #tilgateparkzoo

Tilgate Tales Storytime: 'Hoof on the Roof' | Biodiversi-Tree 2024

🎄 Storytime at the Biodiversi-Tree, all about robins! 🪶 Today on our countdown to Christmas with British biodiversity, we have the robin! Here all about this iconic winter resident with this year's Tilgate Tales storytime about Russ the robin, called 'Hoof on the Roof'! #Biodiversitree #tilgatetales #tilgatetalesstorytime #conservationchristmas #tilgatenaturecentre #tilgatepark #tilgate #crawley #tilgatezoo #tilgateparkzoo

O Christmas Bee! | Biodiversi-Tree 2024

🎄 Who is pollinating the Biodiversi-Tree! Bees! But how do bees find their way around? Find out in this clip with Keeper Emily! #Biodiversitree #conservationchristmas #tilgatenaturecentre #tilgatepark #tilgate #crawley #tilgatezoo #tilgateparkzoo

Squirrels Sleeping Soundly | Biodiversi-Tree 2024

🎄 What's that in the branches of the Biodiversi-Tree! It's a grey squirrel! 🐿️ Since they're around here and in the park, how are they keeping warm in the chilly air? Find out in today's clip! #Biodiversitree #conservationchristmas #tilgatenaturecentre #tilgatepark #tilgate #crawley #tilgatezoo #tilgateparkzoo

Reindeer Fly and Dragons Fly? | Biodiversi-Tree 2024

🎄 The Biodiversi-Tree continues! Flying reindeer is one thing, but a dragonfly? 🐲 At Christmas? Why don't we see dragonflies in December? Find out in today's clip! #Biodiversitree #conservationchristmas #tilgatenaturecentre #tilgatepark #tilgate #crawley #tilgatezoo #tilgateparkzoo

Turkey and stuffing or puffin? | Biodiversi-Tree 2024

🎄 The Biodiversi-Tree continues! On the run up to Christmas, we think about lots of birds - mostly turkeys or robins. But what about one of Britain's prettiest - the puffin! Hear why they fit in perfectly with Christmas in today's clip! #Biodiversitree #conservationchristmas #tilgatenaturecentre #tilgatepark #tilgate #crawley #tilgatezoo #tilgateparkzoo

Wallabies in a Winter Wonderland! | Biodiversi-Tree 2024

🎄 Day 2 of the Biodiversi-Tree! In our countdown to Christmas, bounding towards the big day, our next decoration is a wallaby! 🦘 But... Aren't we focussing on British biodiversity this year? Find out how it all makes sense in today's clip! #Biodiversitree #conservationchristmas #tilgatenaturecentre #tilgatepark #tilgate #crawley #tilgatezoo #tilgateparkzoo

Boughs of Holly and... Butterflies! | Biodiversi-Tree 2024

🎄 The Biodiversi-Tree is back! It's our countdown to Christmas, where we look at all the wonderful biodiversity of the world through our wild and eclectic assortment of animal decorations! First up is a butterfly! 🦋 Find our why butterflies would love Christmas but rarely get to see it in today's clip! #Biodiversitree #conservationchristmas #tilgatenaturecentre #tilgatepark #tilgate #crawley #tilgatezoo #tilgateparkzoo

The capy is out of the crate!

The cat’s out of the bag! Or should we say, the capy is out of the crate! Well done to everyone that guessed correctly, we have welcomed a lovely new male capybara to Tilgate. His name is Spud and he comes from our friends at Hertfordshire Zoo. He’s already settling in really well and getting to know the girls, Carol and Clara - here’s hoping friendship turns to romance and we can welcome some new capybara babies soon too! Watch this space, and don’t forget to say hello to Spud on your next visit! 🎥 Senior Keeper Emily