July 2024
Visited with @Mr Budge during a mad week of exploring every corner of the England, Rutland Zoo, formerly known as Bugtopia, was a small zoo situated by the shores of Rutland Water near Empingham, England. It first opened its doors in 2012 with the mission of educating visitors about insects in an engaging and interactive manner, aiming to dispel some of the negative perceptions surrounding these often-overlooked creatures. The zoo quickly became a beloved attraction. The dedicated team cared for all the animals, treating them like family, until the Coronavirus Pandemic forced leisure venues to close. In September 2020, new ownership took over, rebranding it as Rutland Zoo, and it reopened in May 2021. Sadly, the zoo soon faced financial difficulties, largely due to the pandemic's aftermath and soaring energy prices in the UK, a challenge that has affected many small family-run zoos in recent years.
In September 2022, in response to rising operational costs, the zoo limited its hours to weekends only. The owners revealed that expenses had skyrocketed from £1,700 to £6,500. The zoo managed to survive for another month before funds ran out, making it impossible to provide adequate care for the animals. On October 14, 2022, a post on the zoo's Facebook page announced its permanent closure. Following this, all the animals were relocated to other zoos, and the facility has remained vacant ever since. During our visit it quickly became apparent that the goons had been in with 'exploring with' stickers plastering pretty much every surface this was coupled with a considerable amount of vandalism in the entrance foyer of the building.
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Continued.......
Cheers for looking 
Fujifilm X-T2, 10-24mm f4 R OIS WR (Velvia)
Fujifilm X-T2, 10-24mm f4 R OIS WR (Velvia)
