Things to Do in London – Annual Entry Fees

Battersea Park Zoo
Battersea Park Zoo

On a recent visit to Battersea Park Zoo, we decided we’d buy an annual family ticket. However we soon changed our minds when we discovered the annual zoo ticket price was £240.00 – around 10 times the family entrance fee. This prompted me to do a bit of research into what other similar places charged for annual entrance, and the results were quite amazing.

Annual Entry Fees 2010

VenueAdult (£)Family (£)Annual (£)Definition of FamilyConditions and Notes
Battersea Park Zoo7.5025.00240.002 adults & 2 children or 1 adult & 3 children
London Wetland Centre 9.9527.7562.002 adults & 2 children, 4-16 yearsNamed parents or grandparents with up to 6 of their own children/ grandchildren (aged 4-16 years).
London Zoo17.2055.62162.00No family annual membership – 2 adults + 2 children priced.
Kew Gardens13.0026.0070.002 adults & unlimited children
HMS Belfast12.9525.9070.002 adults & 3 childrenAccess Churchill War Rooms, HMS Belfast, and Imperial War Museum Duxford
National Trust8.8020.3584.50Two adults & their children or grandchildren under 18. One-off admission price varies. Basildon Park picked as example.
Comparison of Annual Entry Fees for London Attractions

Not only was Battersea Park Zoo the highest I found, they were highest by a considerable margin. London Zoo was the only one that came close for an annual membership, but as their daily admission charge is about double that of Battersea Park Zoo, it still comes out as excellent value.

One of the venues in the table above said that their pricing was based on a number of factors including competition, a wish to attract local people who would benefit the most, balance the admission fees with the increase in income from secondary onsite sources and that research had shown that a typical member would visit 2 and a half times.

Many London attractions use their cafe, restuarants and shops to provide revenue. The National History Museum subsidies its activities to the tune of £2.7million. When the competition is fierce it’s a classic marketing technique.

Research has shown a correlation between admission price and visitor numbers so I would be interested to add this data to the venues in my table.

Big Lunch

Battersea High Street transformed for the Big Lunch
Battersea High Street transformed for the Big Lunch

Battersea High Street was transformed for this years ‘Big Lunch’ street party. We saw bouncy castles, wine tasting, local beer tasting, face painting, chalk drawings on the street, salsa dancing, and delicious barbeques and picnic lunches.

Every trader in Battersea High Street participated (with the exception of bookmakers William Hill) and the layout was double the length of last years.

It was inspiring to see all the hard work that had gone into it, and I expect to see many more street parties springing up next year.

When I’m Boss

When I'm Boss - page 1

When I’m boss I’m going to make my family obey me and tidy my room. I will make my class listen to me make a throne and take me to mcdonalds

When I'm Boss - page 2

to have every meal [,] let me have a birthday every satarday and get to stay up as long as I want to. get me the whole football kit and make dad go to sleep at 6 oc[lock].

Jargon

ICANN Brussels

Jargon overheard at the ICANN conference in Brussels:

Push-back: I’m going to push-back on your suggestion, I don’t think it’ll stand up to scrutiny.

On-boarding: We’re not seeing much on-boarding of that new feature so it might get dropped.

Northcote Road Festival

Northcote Road Festival 2010

The Northcote Road Festival took place on Sunday and looked to be very successful. There were a lot of people, but as the road was closed for the day it didn’t cause any problems. There was the usual street market, plus fairground rides, two stages for music and entertainment and lots of stalls for local businesses and charities.

The kids enjoyed the bouncy castle and Jeanette and I were checking out the Battersea face painters.

Battersea park zoo

Battersea Park Zoo Bar-b-que

Monday was the Friends of Battersea Zoo Barbecue. Although the weather wasn’t great, there was a big turn out, and hopefully much cash was raised for the Friends. Apart from a raffle, silent auction and drinks being on sale for charity, there was a face painter for the kids.

Battersea Park Zoo is one of only 3 zoos in London and is perfect for kids. Its small enough for little ones to walk around without getting tired, and there a large play area for children. This has expanded recently and now includes a real fire engine.

Editors note: This article has been updated to correct an error. Money raised from the event supports Friends of the Park, not the Zoo. The Zoo gives the use of the premises free, and the staff give their time free as well.

Review of Crabble – Mobile phone stand

Crabble Packaging

I recently met the creator of the ‘crabble’ at a business seminar and he had some examples of his product with him which caught my eye.

The ‘Crabble’ is a mobile phone stand which suits most smartphone types. Unlike most desktop stands it’s very portable – it fold flat and will fit inside most wallets.

Pros

  • Simple and Compact
  • Does what it is supposed to do
  • Fun designs

Cons

  • A bit pricey for what is effectively a bent piece of flat plastic with some rubber bands on the ‘feet’ (£5.99 RRP)
  • No space for the charging / sync lead
  • Design hidden when in use

I found it easy to use, sturdy enough for my phone and a pleasure to look at. If you have a phone that uses a lot of battery, you might have a problem though – there simply isn’t enough clearance at the bottom of the stand for the charging lead to stay connected. OK if you turn the phone sideways, but this really only works for viewing movies or web browsing.

The Crabble
The Crabble