Dudley Zoo
Yesterday we enjoyed another lovely day out in the sunshine.
For the first Monday of the school holidays, Rachel joined Jack and I on his nursery trip to Dudley Zoo.
Following a dodgy weekend weather-wise, we were pleasantly surprised that the forecast was sun, sun, sun.
I didn’t quite believe it, as we have been so lucky recently with our days out, so dressed myself in what I deemed appropriate – jeans, t-shirt and hoodie. I wish I had trusted my initial instincts and gone with the shorts but never mind!
We met with the other parents and children, as well as the nursery assistants and those that were due to be at the nursery on that day, in the car park of the local pub at 9.30am.
Once everyone was finally settled onto the two coaches we set off.
The journey was fairly uneventful and we arrived there in pretty good time.
On arrival we all signed in together and then went our separate ways.
Dudley Zoo is built into the hillside where the old castle was. Not much of the original castle remains but the castle keep is there and some of the walls and rooms remain.
So Rachel, Jack and I headed straight up the hill, stopping to look at some of the animals on the way and then we climbed to the top of the castle keep.
The kids loved looking down at the view – I was a bit more terrified.
After climbing back down the spiral stone staircase – slowly – we went to see some of the monkeys, before joining up again with the rest of the group for our picnic lunch.
Next we had a look around some of the other animal enclosures. We walked through the Lemur trail and got up close with some of them. This was great until they started to shout at each other. Boy they can make a lot of noise for such small mammals and Jack was terrified!
We found a couple of play areas, by the lion enclosure – where we saw a lioness stretched out in the shade keeping cool, and by the petting zoo.
Then I finally gave in and we made it back down the hill, past the camels, to the zoo amusements by the entrance.
Each ride had to be paid for with 1 or 2 tokens. 1 token was £1 but for £10 you could get 15.
They enjoyed a ride on the swings, a look through the crooked cottage, the bouncy slide and trampoline and then with our last 3 tokens we all went on the pirate ship.(a bit of a tight squeeze for me but the children loved it!)
We stopped for some refreshments and then waited for the little train to take us back up to the top again. Why we hadn’t done this earlier I do not know!
We had another look inside the castle grounds and found a door that led into some of the rooms and was full of displays and models of how it used to look. The children were a bit too young to totally appreciate this, but it was nice and cool compared to the outside heat!
Then we went and found the humboldt penguins and sat down and watched the Go Live! bird show. Finally as we made our way back down the hill t the entrance, we found the giraffes, tigers and brown bears.
Back down at the bottom we settled down with candy necklaces and juice and waited for the others to join us before heading home.
All in all, we had a super day out and I would definitely recommend it as there was so much to do and see for all ages – although a lot of the paths are quite steep so it is probably not really suitable to those with difficulty walking.
July 25, 2014 @ 8:46 am
Oh it was lovely reading this. I used to live in Dudley and regularly visited. It got quite run down for a while but it sounds like it is back in good condition and perfect for a day out. I have pushed double buggies up those hills!
July 25, 2014 @ 9:15 am
The hills are a killer! So glad we have ditched the buggies! Its not up to Twycross standards, but its not run down.xx
July 25, 2014 @ 12:36 pm
I love Dudley Zoo, live quite close by so try to go once a year, the castle ruins seem to be almost as much fun for my little boy.
#PoCoLo
July 25, 2014 @ 4:53 pm
Yes my two loved climbing the keep. No fear. Me not so much!!x
July 26, 2014 @ 12:40 am
Looks like a fun place and they have so much to see and things to do. Sadly we are far from this place as it would have been nice to visit =) #pocolo
July 26, 2014 @ 8:34 am
It was great as there was loads to do for the kids. But I am sure there are similar places near to where you live?xx
July 26, 2014 @ 8:32 am
Dudley Zoo sounds a lot like Belfast Zoo here, built into the side of a mountain. It’s a job and a half to walk up but the kids love it, lol! x
July 26, 2014 @ 8:54 am
Yes thank goodness they have the little train as by the end of the day I was exhausted from walking up and down – goodness only knows how my little man had coped (well I do know – he whined a lot and made me carry him 😉 )xx
July 26, 2014 @ 9:54 am
Was born and raised in the Black Country and am ashamed to say I never visited Dudley Zoo in the 23 years I was there. You have inspired me to go and take my girls at some point.
#CountryKids
July 26, 2014 @ 10:07 am
The castle is lovely, really worth a look. :-)xx
July 26, 2014 @ 9:57 pm
What a lovely place to visit!! Sounds like a lot of fun! x
July 26, 2014 @ 10:07 pm
It was a lovely day out. Thanks for reading.x
July 26, 2014 @ 11:04 pm
What a wonderful day and great to hear that the weather was good too. I love the look on their little faces, they look so happy. Thank you for linking to PoCoLo 🙂 x
July 27, 2014 @ 10:08 am
They had a great time! They are always happiest when they are out!xx
July 27, 2014 @ 10:06 am
Castle ruins and a zoo too – great fun for a day out. It looks like you had a wonderful time and I love the photo of the children’s faces on the pirate boat ride. Thanks for linking up and sharing with Country Kids.
July 27, 2014 @ 10:07 am
Thank you! They loved the pirate boat ride!!:-)x