It's a wild world

London Zoo is a wonderful place to take children. I've been there often in the eight years since my son Liam was born and we'll be visiting again this summer to see the new Komodo dragon enclosure. But despite the excellent conservation work the zoo does, I always leave feeling slightly uneasy.

The cages seem so small, and staring at a magnificent, intelligent creature such as a gorilla in these cramped, prison-like circumstances seems almost obscene.

So Port Lympne Wild Animal Park near Hythe is a zoo for people like me who don't much like zoos. Set in rolling Kent countryside, it was founded by the late John Aspinall to conserve and breed endangered species, and most of the animals live in large family groups as they would in the wild.

For me, the gorillas are worth the admission price alone. Port Lympne and its sister zoo, Howletts, house the biggest collection of gorillas anywhere in the world with more than 100 new births recorded since 1975.

The largest family group lives in the aptly named Palace Of The Apes, and if I'm ever held captive, I pray it's in five-star circumstances like this.

There's a large private indoor area where the animals can retreat from public view, a vast glass-fronted indoor area on two levels covered with straw and full of toys, climbing nets and even a big slide.

Then there's more than an acre of garden that visitors can look down into from a high walkway or via glass windows at ground level. We spent more than an hour here watching a mother groom and feed her baby, younger animals rolling playfully down the slope and a majestic silverback sitting under a tree. A second enclosure is almost as large and luxurious and houses the bachelor males.

The park is huge, and the 40-minute safari trailer ride is well worth paying extra for (tickets need to be booked an hour or so in advance on busy days, and cost £2 and £1 for children). It's the only way to get close to the small herd of elephants in the upper fields, and the trucks trundle slowly past all the main animals, giving plenty of photo opportunities. Liam and his friend loved it.

For lunch in the pleasant Conservatory Restaurant there were the usual dreary kids' choices of chips with chicken nuggets, sausages or fish fingers. But a child's portion of the spicy pasta on the main menu was given to Edward, eight, without hesitation, and both that and Liam's baked potato came with a drink and fresh fruit for £4.50.

We ate a fine chickenand-mushroom pie and an even better roast duck in hoisin sauce (both £6.50). The vegetables were barely warm, but were crisp and tasty so I'm carping here. With a cake, more fruit and four extra drinks to take away, the bill still just topped £30. Elsewhere in the park there were cafes serving big burgers and hot dogs for £2.50, and plenty of places to picnic.