Newquay Zoo — Milva Tewynblustri — is in Trenance Gardens, a short walk from the town centre, and it is the largest zoo in Cornwall: roughly 993 animals of 36 species on a thirteen-acre site.
It opened in 1969 as a municipal attraction and has been through several ownerships, most recently passing to the Dutch leisure company Libéma in January 2026.
The planting is the thing people notice first and it is not incidental. The zoo won a Britain in Bloom Gold award for the first time in 2025, and the site is laid out as a subtropical garden with the enclosures set into it rather than as a set of cages with grass between.
That does two things: it makes the walk round genuinely pleasant, and it lets a number of the enclosures mimic the animals’ natural environment in a way visitors consistently comment on.
Lemurs, in a walkthrough enclosure, and a strong primate collection including capuchins, tamarins, marmosets and gibbons.
Sloths — a particular favourite, and the habitat gets specific praise.
Red pandas, meerkats, penguins, wallabies, otters, porcupines and tapirs.
A tropical house with free-flying birds, which is repeatedly singled out as one of the best parts of the zoo.
Reptiles and invertebrates.
A farm section and a Dragon Maze for children.
Keeper talks and feeds run through the day; get the timetable at the gate.
Thirteen acres is small, and visitors who arrive expecting a large safari-style collection say so. The honest figure from most visitors is two hours, sometimes a little more with the talks.
Set against that, the prices are reasonable — this comes up repeatedly, and in Cornwall in August it is worth noting — and the animals are consistently described as well cared for.
The penguin enclosure attracts more criticism than the rest of the site, which is worth knowing if penguins are what you are coming for.
The zoo sits inside Trenance Gardens, and the gardens are free. That matters, because they turn a two-hour zoo visit into a half-day.
Trenance boating lake with rowing boats and pedalos, terrapins in the water and a café.
Formal gardens and a large open park.
Crazy golf and play areas.
Trenance Heritage Cottages, restored, with a tea room.
The Victorian railway viaduct striding across the valley above.
For families, the sensible plan is the zoo in the morning and the gardens and boating lake in the afternoon, which costs almost nothing extra.
Admission charged; online booking is cheaper.
Time: two hours for the zoo; a half day with the gardens.
Facilities: café, shop, toilets, picnic areas.
Parking: at Trenance, charged.
Access: the site is largely level with surfaced paths and is one of the more accessible attractions in Newquay.
Weather: mostly outdoors, with the tropical house and reptile house indoors.
Getting there: Trenance Avenue, about ten minutes’ walk from the town centre.
Thirteen acres, with about 993 animals of 36 species — the largest zoo in Cornwall, but small in absolute terms.
About two hours, or a little more if you follow the talks.
The prices are widely described as reasonable, particularly by Cornish standards.
The tropical house with free-flying birds, the sloths and the lemur walkthrough.
Trenance Gardens surround the zoo and are free, with a boating lake, crazy golf, play areas and a café.