Cedars Nature Centre

The Cedars Nature Centre sits just outside Waltham Cross and trades on something that proper zoos don't always manage - it feels like you've wandered into someone's wildlife project rather than a corporate operation. It's small, which means you won't spend hours queuing or trudging between enclosures. The focus is on animals you might actually see in the wild rather than the big draw-in-crowds stuff, though that depends entirely on what they've got on the day you visit.

This is the sort of place families with younger kids gravitate towards, especially if they want something low-key. There's no pretending the animals live in vast savannahs or rainforests - it's more intimate than that. Walkers passing through the area might pop in for an hour between exploring the Lee Valley parks nearby, which is a fairer expectation than a full day's outing.

If you're based at Theobalds Park or Fowley Mead Park - both just under two miles away - it's worth checking what's on before you commit. The admission fees and opening hours aren't readily available online, which is a bit annoying for planning purposes. Ring ahead rather than showing up blind. That said, if the weather turns and the kids need a break from the campsite, it could save the day. Don't expect Colchester Zoo levels of spectacle, but sometimes that's precisely the point.