Chester Zoo has today opened its doors and revealed a magnificent new African savannah habitat, the Heart of Africa – one of the largest in the UK.
The massive new habitat at the beloved attraction is home to dozens of African species, including giraffes, rhino, zebra, vultures and meerkats.
Chester Zoo has created a vast open savannah where guests can come across species living side-by-side, as well as new indoor habitats where you can see smaller species like never before, and habitats you can clamber inside.
The centrepiece of the Heart of Africa is the savannah, where you can see giraffes, Grevy’s zebras, roan antelopes and ostriches all roaming together across grasses and water.
As you weave around the incredible new habitat, which spans an area the size of 17 football pitches (22.5 acres), you’ll also come across several new aviaries where birds hoot, tweet and screech.
There are 31 species of bird here, including a fabulous flock of 120 greater flamingos, three types of critically endangered vulture, colourful black cheeked lovebirds, and Africa’s largest owl, the Verreaux’s eagle owl.
One of the most impressive new areas is the Hidden Savannah, where you can clamber inside a safari jeep that’s within the actual enclosure, so that you can see 10,000 locusts all around you from the driver’s seat.
This indoor habitat is also home to adorable, wrinkly little naked mole rats, who have a network of tunnels to burrow through, and other rodents like short-eared sengi and pygmy mice.
Heart of Africa at Chester Zoo, in pictures
Heart of Africa at Chester Zoo, in pictures. Credit: The Manc Group
As for the cold-blooded animals, or ectotherms, there’s Trevor the African bull frog, plus dung beetles, red spitting cobra, Ethiopian viper and pancake tortoises.
There are 15 other mammal species to encounter too, including African wild dogs, meerkats, Eastern black rhino, yellow mongoose, and dik-dik.
The Heart of Africa stands as a symbol of Chester Zoo’s continued conservation efforts across the continent, which includes combatting poaching and illegal wildlife trade.
It’s thought that the Heart of Africa will attract an additional 200,000 visitors to Chester Zoo each year while creating 30 new jobs.
Heart of Africa officially opens to visitors on Saturday 5 April – you can book zoo tickets HERE.
18-21 year olds can now travel on Greater Manchester’s buses for half price
Emily Sergeant
18-21 year olds can now apply to travel on Greater Manchester’s bus network for half price, it has been announced.
The Bee Network says it is ‘continuing to lead the way’ when it comes to cutting the cost of public transport, with applications for half price unlimited bus travel for 18-21 year olds now open and around 150,000 young people in Greater Manchester set to benefit.
The new pass will ‘better connect’ young people to work, training, or education opportunities.
With the Greater Manchester economy found to be experiencing faster growth compared to the UK as a whole, and with making travel ‘easier, more affordable, and inclusive’ a critical part of the Bee Network’s success, Mayor Andy Burnham announced the half-price bus travel this week, alongside a raft of other improvements across the region.
Some of the other improvements the Mayor announced include more frequent buses, cheaper travel, and new round-the-clock services.
18-21 year olds can now travel on Greater Manchester’s buses for half price / Credit: TfGM
Young people can now buy a 28-day bus travelcard for just £40, which is half the price of adult fares and the equivalent of just £1.43 per day for unlimited travel on any Bee Network bus in Greater Manchester.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says the new half-price travel is aimed at helping the thousands of young people once their 16-18 ‘Our Pass’ expires, and will support them as they move into further education or the world of work.
“Young people in Greater Manchester have been calling out for an affordable transport option for when their Our Pass expires and this new pass will give them that,” commented Fran Wilkinson, who is the Director for Customer and Growth at TfGM.
The new 18-21 Bee Bus ticket is here! 🙌
Enjoy 28 day’s of unlimited travel on #BeeNetwork buses for just £40. 🚌
Buy yours now on the Bee Network app with an 18-21 Pass ID.
“We know this is such an important time in a young person’s life as they look to go into further education or enter the world of work.
“Now as they explore the many opportunities available to them they will be able to use any Bee Network bus as much as they need to at half the price.”
Fatima Bangoura, who is the Youth Engagement Officer at Youth Leads, added: “The new 18-21 pass opens doors for those who may worry about losing that support once their Our Pass ends, making travel for training, apprenticeships, education and employment far more accessible.”
Digitalapplications for the new 18-21 Pass are now open via the Bee Network app, and you can download the app here.
Featured Image – TfGM
Travel & Tourism
Manchester Airport shares major update and new images of Terminal 3 upgrade plans
Daisy Jackson
Plans to upgrade Terminal 3 at Manchester Airport have taken a big step forward.
The passenger hub’s reputation precedes it amongst Mancs (come on, who among us hasn’t gone ‘Oh god, not Terminal 3’ when you check your travel plans?) – it’s smaller, there are less bars and restaurants, and even the Boots is tiny.
Terminal 3 has become even less favoured since Manchester Airport undertook a £1.3bn investment in Terminal 2, which is now gorgeous and packed with interesting (and local) operators.
But now work has officially begun on a multi-million pound project to revamp Terminal 3 too.
The plans were unveiled back in May, promising extra seating, a new entrance, new shops and food and drink outlets, and ultra-modern security details.
New images are now giving passengers an idea of how the revamped departures area will look – and it includes a new sports bar.
Sporting Chance will be a 469-seat bar with airfield views. The CGIs of the sports bar show gigantic table football-style characters hanging overhead, as well as screens to show sporting events.
Manchester Airport has also confirmed that the Terminal 3 will be home to a new Italian-themed restaurant called Terracotta.
Terminal 3 will be made larger by merging partly with the existing Terminal 1 building, which is set to close once Terminal 2 is complete.
CGIs of Terminal 3’s new sports bar at Manchester AirportAn Italian restaurant will also open at Terminal 3 as part of the upgrade
The first parts of the new-look terminal will open early next year.
Manchester Airport Managing director Chris Woodroofe said: “Here at Manchester Airport we’re proud to connect the North to the world and we’re always looking at how we can improve the experience we provide to our passengers.
“Our 10 year, £1.3bn project to completely transform Terminal 2 is nearly finished and we know passengers who have already used it absolutely love it.
“And now we’re able to shift our focus to Terminal 3 where work has already begun. Our plan is to take advantage of the extra space that will be afforded by the closure of Terminal 1 to really improve the experience for passengers who fly from there.
“It’s great to see the work already underway and really exciting that passengers will start to see the benefits of it from early next year.”
Daisy Jackson -
31st March 2025 
