Since first discovering The Wild Place Project on the outskirts of Bristol it has become a favourite place to visit.

While it is certainly true that nothing beats seeing wildlife in it's natural habitat, that isn't always a possibility. I've never liked busy, built up zoos; they often seem more like prisons for animals than anything else. I'm not saying Wild Place is perfect, but the enclosures are larger and there is more emphases on wildlife protection and conservation than simply showing off living attractions. The enclosures are larger than most zoos are able to provide and designed to be a more natural setting than small enclosed spaces.

As far as photography goes, it's a great place to practice capturing images of wildlife at more of a distance. And it's not just the animals that make great subjects; the gardens, woodlands and meadow with its clock tower make for great landscape shots.