Butterflies Excursion

Katy's nursery group, along with the morning nursery group plus the class of the older foundation children - all in all 3 coaches worth of children, teachers and parents headed off to spend the day at Cotswold Wildlife Park.



John Heyworth opened this park in 1970 just as safari parks were becoming trendy. At the heart of this 160 acre park is the Bradwell Grove Manor House where John was born and lived. Although we didn't have time to look inside the manor, it was a stunning and surreal backdrop to the rhinos, zebras and giant tortoises enclosures!




Our little group consisted of 9 children (aged between 3 and 4.5 years old), Miss Sidon and 3 parents. We wandered around the exhibits peering into cages trying to identify the occupants -  owls, emus, bats, penguins, a romp of very hungry otters and meerkats. We walked through the tropical house but couldn't spot the sloth and by this time our little people were beginning to fade so we stopped for lunch and rest.

Once our batteries were recharged we marvelled at the size of the giant tortoises, came eye to eye with a few of the giraffes thanks to a special observation deck, glanced at the sleeping lions, sadly observed a crazy (bored?) ostrich repeatedly pecking at his wire fence, watched a male peacock trying unsuccessfully to impress the white female peahen by the size of his plumage and tiptoed quietly through the woodland hoping to spot a wolf or two but they were all asleep too!

The highlight of the visit would have to be seeing a newborn white rhino. And when I say newborn, I mean it was only a few hours old, with the evidence still hanging from mum's behind (which if you look hard enough you can see it in the photo). The birth is the first for the park in it's 43 years history. Apparently rhino's only reproduce every 2.5 - 5 years, so the window for success is pretty small!

Another (!) toilet request and with our departure time fast approaching we whizzed past the flock of flamingos, the anteaters and the capybara (enormous rodents described as a cross between a guinea pig and hippopotamus) with it's very cute month old twins Pippin and Merry. A quick detour through the reptile house before arriving back at the meeting up point just in time to have an ice cream before boarding the coaches bound for home. A quiet drive back with happy and exhausted children with only 1 falling asleep!