I’m playing in a fantasy RPG based in England and the UK, and I’m looking for a suitable place to plunk down an utterly fictional wildlife rehabilitation center. Most of the character interaction seems to be taking place in London, but, somehow, I think it would be a poor choice of location for what I have planned.
I’ve been running searches trying to find a good spot, but I’m also trying to be more accurate than just pointing at a map and saying, “Oh, that place has a neat name, I think I’ll locate there.”, when anyone who knows a damn thing about the region knows that there’s not a single acre of suitable land for keeping large exotic animals.
I’m not asking for anyone to do my research for me, but I’d appreciate if you could toss some possible locations my way so that I can narrow my search somewhat. Thanks!
Ok, what sort of wildlife are we looking at?
You probably know that there are few wild animals of any size left in the UK (I am not including the Loch Ness monster).
For example, I live near Rutland Water, which has:
We have a number of zoos (including one in London) and I’m sure they all do some animal work.
I would be happy to do some research - just let me know what you want!
Is the RPG present day?
If so, you can reach Rutland Water from London by main road (about 90 miles) or by train (one change). Both journeys would take around 2 hours, but traffic jams are likely at certain times on certain days.
Don’t forget the stately homes of England!
The Lions of Longleat in Wiltshire
John Aspinalls place somewhere I forget…
Windsor Safari Park (now Legoland)
The location does depend on your intentions. If you want to be an evil criminal mastermind who runs a bunny rescue centre, then the best place would probably be one one of the Channel Islands, such as Jersey which already has a really neat zoo.
Thanks for the links, everyone! I’m stealing aspects of the other centers for my nefarious purposes as we speak. The Lions of Longleat…good lord, how did I not know this existed?
Oh, darn. And here I was hoping to be able to work Nessie in as some kind of dragon-spawn.
I was thinking along the lines of a privately-run WRC that could deal with anything from the local wildlife, to exotic pets that people ill-equipped to deal with surrendered to the center by owners or authorities, to abused creatures confiscated from run-down zoos or carnivals (though I think that’s more of a problem in the US than in the UK; animal welfare laws seem to be taken much more seriously in the UK), with the possibility of a wild-release program – to the appropriate environments, of course; there will be no tigers trying to take a cooling dip in the Thames!
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For example, I live near Rutland Water, which has:
We have a number of zoos (including one in London) and I’m sure they all do some animal work.
I would be happy to do some research - just let me know what you want!**
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Thanks so much! Looking at Rutland Online right now.
Mostly what I’ve been looking at are sites that give information on the processes of receiving and caring for exotics, and trying to figure out which employees would do what at such a center. What’s the area like around Rutland? Mostly city? Semi-rural? Crime rate? What are the people like? Just general atmosphere.
Erm…actually, I just thought of something else. Do you know of any sites that have the vagrancy laws and the penalties for violating such in Rutland, London, and the surrounding area? My character is living out of his car with his dog, and I’m trying to figure out how much hassle he’s likely to get from authorities on a regular basis for that, if any.
The RPG is present day Tolkien-fantasy (Arda Reborn <Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos>) so that is a lot of help. I am mostly looking at area because I’m looking to plunk down a completely fictional, privately financed center, but, unless I can convince one of the players that he world really would be a better place if her wealthy altruistic character would finance it, I’ll probably go for something a bit more realistic than sprawling compound I’ve got in mind.
My ignorance concerning London is so profound that I’d hardly know where to start asking questions. I’ve managed to get a general lay-out, population, which side of the road he should be driving on, and which sorts of establishments aren’t likely to make too much of a fuss about a dog following him in, so I think that’s enough to start off with, as he’s mostly just going to be going back and forth to one location if he has to be in London proper at all; my character is not enamored of cities.
My monitor is now covered with a fine spray of coffee and snot. Curse you, Tapioca Dextrin for invoking the words “criminal mastermind” and “bunny” in the same sentence.
In this case, the main aspect of location that I’m concerned with is distance from London – mostly for purposes of knowing how far my guy will have to commute – and someplace large enough for me to get away with a lot of acreage.
I second the recommendation for Whipsnade. It’s located up high on the downs, a perfect place for people to hang-glide from, launch dragons from (who are recovering from injuries), gryphons, etc. It’s a great place - it’s also fairly close to the amusingly-named town of Cow Roast, which I’ve been through a few times.
And if you ever go to Whipsnade, see the pygmy hippos!
There is also the Wetlands and Wildlife Trust in Barnes - right in London, if that helps at all. It’s a bit of a stretch, but you might be able to tweak the details. At least it is central London.
There’s another Wetlands and Wildlife Trust center in Slimbridge, just south of Gloucester. I don’t recommend visiting (£6.50 to see the ducks is a little steep!), but it might make a good setting for your book.
Hampstead Heath is very big, although not a noted nature reserve, it does however have an awful lot of chaps on it of an evening “looking for badgers”.
There is the Wetlands centre mentioned above and a city farm in Vauxhall, which is handy for the MI5 building as seen in the recent Bond film.
My Rutland postcode (national system, issued by the Post Office) is LE15 6DJ
An outer London postcode would be N13 5JU
An inner London one would be W1A 1AA
This is as good as you’ll get for such information in England!
Rutland is the smallest English county. Its 2 largest towns are only about 10,000 people - it’s rural!
I’ve lived here 15 years, but am still considered an outsider (though made to feel welcome!). Some folks have only been 10 miles away from their home (“why would we want to go to the big city?!”)
Market Days in Oakham (the ‘county town’) are on Wed + Sat, when fresh fruit and veg are available at very low prices.
We had a murder about 3 years ago. It made front page news for weeks. (We are not a high crime area!)
Vagrancy depends on how much notice you bring on yourself. E.g. you’re not allowed to live in your car, and the police would be called if you were obviously doing so.
You could expect offers of help from local social services. In London there are homeless charities who will house and feed you.
There is also an excellent national scheme, started by a businesswoman, whereby homeless people sell a magazine called ‘The Big Issue’ on the streets. They get a cut of each copy sold and therefore avoid having to beg for a living.
Some landowners in the UK are really rich, and have plenty of space. Stick a title (Duke, Earl, Lord etc) in front of their name, assume their family has owned over a thousand square miles of land since the Middle Ages and away you go.
Off the top of my head:
Earl Glee of Rutland, whose family kept their lands intact by staying out of the English Civil War*, has a magnificent country estate in the county of Rutland with a 25 bedroom mansion surrounded by park and forest.
Poor investments in Lloyds Insurance** a few decades ago mean he has rented part of the estate to Mr. R.P.G Character, who has then established a ‘privately-run WRC that could deal with anything from the local wildlife, to exotic pets that people ill-equipped to deal with surrendered to the center by owners or authorities, to abused creatures confiscated from run-down zoos or carnivals…’.
*‘The majority of the country was neutral in the civil wars, and both sides only had about 13,000 men in 1642.’ See:
**there was a dramatic series of losses in the insurance market, and some inexperienced investors lost a packet.
London is a sprawling area of nearly 1000 square miles.
The tourist centre is based around Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square (home of the famous statue of Lord Nelson.
There are many theatres, cinemas, museums and restaurants.
Travel is by road (including bus + taxi) plus an extensive Underground (the Tube). Railway lines all go out of London (they were built last century by rival companies).
Airports just outside London are at at Heathrow (Tube connection) and Gatwick (train connection).
