The Unexpected Beauty of Croydon

Did you know that you can meet, feed, and pet capybaras in Croydon? These giant relatives of the guinea pig are well known for their relaxed and friendly temperament. They love a good scratch under the chin or around their armpits.  How about meeting a porcupine who likes to nose boop people's hands?  Corsac fox You could meet meerkats, corsac foxes, parrots, sugar gliders, tortoises, and more. Not forgetting domesticated favourites like cute pygmy goats, rabbits, normal sized guinea pigs, and Shetland ducks, which have lovely curled tail feathers.  Shetland ducks All of these animals live at the ARC Centre in Selsdon . It's based in the grounds of Greenvale Primary School, close to Selsdon Wood. This Community Interest Company is not a zoo, it's an educational organisation, so you can only visit for pre-booked sessions. There are sessions where children of all ages can learn about different aspects animal care and become rangers, after school, at weekends and in school h...

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of farm animals. With lockdown a year ago, I couldn't travel to city farms to get my animal fix, so I had to look closer to home. This post is a celebration of Croydon's sheep and a guide to where to find them, although sheep are moved around as necessary through the year. Goats and cows are also used for conservation grazing on some sites but I'll cover them more in another post. Sheep are naturally nervy but the ones round here are generally pretty tame and curious and their characters shine through.  If you do see sheep, please don't feed them and please keep your dog on a lead anywhere where there are sheep grazing, even if you think your dog isn't a threat to the sheep. There have been incidents where dogs have found their way into the fields and seriously injured and even killed sheep in Croydon. Croydon Ecology Centre, based at Heathfield Gardens , has an orchard with two resident sheep. They're pretty friendly. ...