A WONDERFUL DAY

My birthday present from D, D and A was a trip to Longleat. We were supposed to go 2 weeks ago (when I was poorly) but we finally got there today!

D'd done her research and learnt it was better to go to the safari in the afternoon as it would be quieter, so when we got there we headed straight for the attractions. We wrapped the girls up and loaded them into the double buggy.

We started with the miniature train ride - A adored it, Alice was less sure about it. On our way around we'd seen that the boat was full and about to depart, we discovered that there was likely to be another in about 30 minutes. We filled the time with a trip to the shop (Alice was in heaven - it was full of stuffed animals, most prices were reasonable and although the animals were nice looking and soft they were quite hard in terms of filling, so we just looked). We had a coffee and then went to the boat, we missed the turning for the route with no steps (steps are tough with a double buggy!) and so by the time we got to the quay we'd just missed the boat!

The next boat didn't take too long and we watched the meercats while we were waiting - they came really close and Alice groaned with delight when she spotted them. D and I were really surprised and pleased with how much the girls watched and how much pleasure they got from seeing the animals. We circled Half Mile Lake on the Lady Bath, we saw lots of Sealions, a silver backed lowland gorilla, 2 hippos and lots of birds. A was a little upset by the sealions but Alice was fascinated. Alice enjoyed the boat ride much more than the train ride.

After that we had lunch and then went to the safari park. Lunch was fine - we ate early as it suited the girls, I'm glad we didn't leave it later as it may have been difficult to get a table.

The safari park was separated into sections, I can't remember most of their names! We started off with the giraffes and zebras - the only time we parked and got out to look. Alice groaned, she loved watching them, even the zebras (they were quite far away). We got very close to camels, we drove behind them for a few minutes and then between the pair on the road. More camels, white rhino, lots of animals I can't remember the names of (or can't spell!), monkeys all around the place (including on top of the car - A wasn't very happy about that), tigers, lions, lion cubs and wolves. The girls slept through some of the animal enclosures towards the end but they were very observant while they were awake! Then they slept for a lot of the homeward bound journey, lovely!

There was far too much to do in one day. It was a great day to go, right at the end of the season so quite quiet and a lovely crisp (but not too cold) and sunny day. We will go back again when they open again next March (ish).

A great day, thank you D, D and A! x