Review: BrickLive animal trail at Edinburgh Zoo

The stars aligned, and the conversation charity had a brick trail of impressive animal sculptures while they also had late nights.

So, I dragged Birdy along, didn’t quite need the Zoo’s rainy day guarantee and then went to Shakedown afterwards.

@edinburghreviews

Girdy and Birdy went to @Edinburgh Zoo to see #bricklive animal sculptures and make use of the late night ticket price special. Edinburgh Zoo is run by the conservation charity RZSS and we think it is important to research any zoo before you visit.

♬ original sound – Edinburgh Reviews

Bricklive Animal Trail

The Bricklive animals make a big difference to Edinburgh Zoo, and it’s a shame they’re not here all year round.

Why? Edinburgh Zoo is not a show zoo; you can see animals in person here that you might not get the chance to at any other time, but your money goes on conversation efforts, not a performance. The animals that sleep during the day get to sleep; if an animal wants to hide in long vegetation, it gets to. The Bricklive animals are a safe bet, always impressive, reliable, colourful, and strategically placed around the hill.

Kids don’t get to climb over the Bricklive animals but they can get much closer to the large ones.

As a big kid, I was fascinated by the signs that accompanied each animal. “Not associate with LEGO” was my first grin because these looked like LEGO bricks to me, but then my jaw dropped. These animals take teams of people many days to complete. Some of these impressive artworks have hundreds and thousands of not-LEGO bricks.

I especially liked it, and this is geeky of me, comparing the weight of the actual animal to that of the not-LEGO animal. Often the non-LEGO animal was heavier, but the aquatic animals challenged this. I’m no biologist, but it was fun coming up with theories about water buoyancy or streamlined designs to explain this.

Do you need to be a LEGO fan to enjoy Bricklive? No, but it clearly helps. You need to be young enough to be wowed by the big colourful thing or mature enough to appreciate the art and the engineering.

What’s Edinburgh Zoo like?

It rained quite a lot while we were there, and that wasn’t terrible, but I was better dressed for weather protection than Birdy was. The rainy day guarantee means your trip can’t be a washout, but I think it’s also important to notice there are indoor activities such as bug/insect rooms as well as enclosures.

For example, We got close to a hungry and physically impressive rhino. The big fella (gender assumed) tromped into his shelter to escape the rain, eat hay, and strip leaves off a branch the keepers had left for him. It was remarkable.

The Zoo is on a hill, though, and we didn’t get to the dinosaurs at the top. Dedicated parents, some with pushchairs that I think came from the Zoo, did, and I heard kids raving about the bigger animals at the top of the hill on their way down.

The penguins, a longstanding Edinburgh zoo attraction, are memorable as well. You can see them up front, up close through glass (and one seemed to be happily viewing us) and go around the back to look through an underwater window.

Things to do near Edinburgh Zoo

Edinburgh Zoo is large and uses a lot of space wisely; the downside to this is that there’s not much else to do nearby.

I’ve mentioned Shakedown, which you can reach by walking (about 15 minutes) towards Corstophine, but you could also head the other way and eat at Murrayfield Hotels’ The Bothy. I’ve done that, too.

Speaking of Murrayfield, that stadium is nearby, and if not hosting rugby, it might be the arena for an international singer, a big football match, or something like that. Signing up for the RZSS newsletter can be a sly way to see if the Zoo is opening its car park to members visiting Murrayfield.

Overall

I recommend Edinburgh Zoo, especially if you want to get outside and improve your health while kids strengthen their understanding of the world. I wouldn’t go to a zoo that is not run by a conversation charity.

Is Edinburgh Zoo hard to get to? I walked there, and it took about an hour from the centre of town, but it’s an easy drive from most places, and there are loads of buses.