Meerkat Experience at Northumberland College Zoo at Kirkley Hall – review

20th September 2026 0 By Rachael Stray

We recently enjoyed our first visit to Northumberland College Zoo at Kirkley Hall including the Meerkat Experience and I thought I’d share an honest review.

It’s not the biggest zoo we’ve ever visited and we didn’t spend a full day there, but we had a lovely couple of hours wandering around, seeing the animals and, most importantly, Elsie got to have a very special experience with the meerkats.

A birthday experience

Steve’s dad celebrated a milestone birthday in August and, as part of Elsie’s seventh birthday, his parents had given her some money to spend on an experience.

When they came to stay with us for a few days at the end of the summer holidays, we decided to combine the celebrations and have a family day out.

We pre-booked the meerkat experience, which was for Steve, his dad and Elsie.

The experience started in the classroom area, where they were introduced to some different animals and critters before heading outside to the meerkat enclosure.

They got to feed the meerkats and watch them doing what meerkats do best – frolicking, digging and taking turns keeping guard. They also learnt lots about them along the way.

Elsie absolutely loved it and I think it was a lovely experience for her to share with her dad and grandad.

The animal experiences are for children aged five and over and cost £30 per person for 30 minutes, with the experience including entry to the zoo.

Exploring the zoo

Once the three of them had finished their experience, we had a good mooch around the zoo together.

Northumberland College Zoo is based at the Kirkley Hall campus and is a little different from your typical zoo because it is also a working college.

The zoo is used by animal care students studying animal management courses, so there is a real educational side to it.

There are more than 100 different species to see, from lemurs and alpacas to armadillos, monkeys and meerkats.

And while it isn’t huge, there was plenty for us to look at during our visit.

Our favourite part, aside from the meerkat experience, was definitely the wallaby walkthrough. We all loved being able to wander through the enclosure and see the wallabies up close.

I think Elsie could have happily stayed in there for much longer!

What did we think?

The zoo is well signposted and it was an easy drive for us from County Durham.

It’s also fairly flat and felt very accessible, which is always something I notice when we’re visiting somewhere as a family.

There’s a small café, outdoor seating and a little play area too, so you can grab something to eat or drink and give the kids a chance to burn off some energy.

Entry is reasonably priced and there’s a large free car park, which is always a big tick from me.

One thing I’d say is that I wouldn’t necessarily plan a whole day around the zoo itself. We were there for a couple of hours and felt we’d had a really good look around.

But actually, I think that’s quite handy.

You could easily combine it with something else in the area rather than feeling like you need to fill an entire day.

Our plans continued…

After we’d finished at the zoo, we decided to head off for some lunch before a trip to the Metrocentre.

We’d never been to the Skiff Inn before, so we decided to give it a try.

I’ll share a full food review soon, but spoiler alert…

It was delicious!

Things to know before you go to Northumberland College Zoo

Northumberland College Zoo is at Kirkley Hall in Northumberland.
The zoo is open at weekends and during Northumberland County Council school holidays.
Opening hours are 10am to 4pm, with last entry at 3pm.
You can buy tickets online or on the day.
There is a large free car park.
The zoo is fairly flat and accessible.
There is a café, outdoor seating and a small play area.
The zoo has more than 100 species.
Animal experiences are available for children aged five and over.
The meerkat, lemur and reptile experiences are 30 minutes and cost £30 per person.
You can also combine two experiences for £50 per person.
The animal experience includes entry to the zoo.
If you’re not taking part in an experience, family and friends can watch from outside the enclosure.

Would we recommend it?

Yes, we would.

I think it’s worth being realistic about what you’re getting. This isn’t a huge zoo where you’ll necessarily spend six or seven hours, but for us it was a really enjoyable couple of hours and the meerkat experience made it extra special.

It was reasonably priced, easy to get to from County Durham and there was enough to keep us entertained without the day becoming exhausting.

I also really liked the fact that it’s a working college and the zoo plays a role in training the next generation of animal care students.

For a family looking for a shorter day out, or somewhere to combine with another attraction, I’d definitely recommend giving Northumberland College Zoo at Kirkley Hall a try.

And for us, it was a lovely way to celebrate two family birthdays together.

Another North East day out ticked off our list.