Yesterday Kate @ Kate Takes 5 admitted that she now has a cleaner. I read her post with interest as today we employed one of our own. Today, after 6 months of having the babies’ home, we have finally interviewed … Continue reading
29/3/2010
Today I was very excited when I collected the post to see a letter from The Aspinall Foundation. I thought that they had read the review below and sent me a free pass for the safari truck at Port Lympne, but no, it was something even better than that. They are improving entry prices for everyone!!
Now, anyone who buys a full price ticket at Port Lympne will be able to come back to the park for a whole year at no extra cost! How good is that?
So now David and I have a choice.
We can keep our annual pass which now includes free safari or exchange our passes for passports which do not include the safari and so we would get £30 in gift vouchers. We have not yet decided what to do as it will depend on whether or not the passport is an open ticket meaning that anyone can use it not just David or I. We have decided that we will return to Port Lympne for Mothers Day and go on the safari and talk to the staff there to help us make up our minds.
I am so glad that Port Lympne have made this change and I am certain that lots of local people will now visit the park and support the conservation work ongoing there more frequently as it is now more affordable for families.
You can find out more about the chane here
and I will write a full review including the safari after our Mothers’ Day visit. Hurrah!
Original Review dated 27th March 2011
For Christmas David and I were lucky enough to be given annual passes for Port Lympne Wild Animal Park. So far we have been three times and today was definitely the best. The sun was shining and the animals were out and playing. We had a lovely walk around the park with our giant double buggy. It was a great afternoon.
Port Lympne is near Hythe on the Kent Coast. When walking around the park you can see the sea in the distance. Hythe is just 20 minutes from our house and so to receive an annual pass for the zoo was just such a fantastic present. We hoped that they would be open tickets like the ones given at Leeds Castle but at Port Lympne each ticket can only be used by one person and there is a photograph attached to each card to ensure that they are used properly. As a local girl I found this disappointing as I was hoping to go there lots throughout the season with different companions as it is so good for young children and double buggies! But alas that is not to be so David and I will just use our tickets as often as we can. Port Lympne will lose out on the refreshment money that we would have spent with other guests.
Port Lympne is on a hilly site and so the paths are quite steep in places. The park is well signposted so that you know where to go to see the animals that you want to see. There are also specific signed routes for buggies and these are wide enough for a double. Dotted around the park there are various places to get refreshments and there are also toilets and baby change facilities.
Today we found a new area with a cafe, an outdoor classroom area and a play area. If you look through the gallery below you will see that I viewed this facility very much with my teacher hat on as it would be perfect for a school trip. The children could eat in the classroom area, the adults in the bandstand which would also enable them to clearly view children on the play equipment. It seemed to me very well thought out with schools or large groups in mind.
Port Lympne is a great place for a picnic and again there are lots of perfect spots dotted around the grounds some with spectacular views over the downs to the sea.
As well as places to get food and drink you can also play in different play areas around the site. This again has been well thought out so that families can sit at regular intervals for a break from the animals to let off some steam. I think that this is really important for a family day out to have opportunities to let the children, and sometimes the adults, play.
Today we saw lots of animals including the elephants, two terrific tigers, some playful lion cubs and a beautiful baby rhino. The gorillas are a highlight at Port Lympne and so are the giraffes. I was very sad not to be able to see the giraffes today as they can only be seen if you take a trip on the safari lorry. We were a bit late arriving today but also the safari is not included in our annual pass and so we would have to pay extra for this. I was very disappointed that for £100 we did not even get one complimentary safari ride throughout our year of membership. This is a real shame as it is only on the safari that some of the main animals can be seen and you also miss the Reptile House and a lovely cafe with viewing platform over the safari plains. I think that annual pass holders should be able to also use the safari facility to ensure that they are able to make full use of the park.
The safari is something that again has been well thought out and they have a buggy park where you can leave your buggy under cover whilst you are on the trip.
Port Lympne has so much to offer all the family and they do amazing work in conserving and protecting endangered species. It is a tremendous treat for all the family and if you do live locally then I think that the annual pass is well worthwhile though you may want to ask for one free go on the safari!!
Here are some photos from our day.
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Dear Mum
I am writing to wish you a very happy birthday. I hope that the weather is being kind to you back in Spain. Here it is a balmy and sunny 15 degrees. Esther and William are having their morning nap and then we are going to have a play and some lunch before I take them out for a long walk in the springtime for their lunch time nap.
We are missing you very much. It is only now that you are gone that I realise just how much you did for us in the three weeks you were with us.
Now I am back to unloading the dishwasher, tidying up after 6 meal times a day, loading and unloading the washing machine, sorting the clothes, sweeping the floors, playing with the litle ones. You helped with all of this and it feelslike a mamoth task now that you are gone.
I have no one to talk to or share things with throughout the day, no one to just be here keeping companiable silence and enduring the songs of the jungle gym, and those flowers!!!
We loved having you here with us. I loved the company, even if I did not show it all the time. I loved the freedom that you gave me as I was able to get out and go places with Esther and William, rather than being stuck home alone. I wish I had made more of that opportunity. I wish I had been nicer to you, made the most of having you here. You know that I am bad at that x
Esther and William are missing you. They miss your funny voices, your energetic play and the faces that you pulled. They miss being picked up whenever they cry and not having to wait their turn for their Mummy’s attention.
I wish you could be here all the time.
As always your birthday card is late but is on its way and is sent with heartfelt thanks, love and gratitiude for being a wonderful Mum and Nanny. Thank you for making us laugh and making us smile. Thank you for coming when we needed you. Thank you x
We are counting down the days til July now.
We love you and miss you so so much.
Here are some photos from your stay x
If children live with encouragement,
They learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance,
They learn to be patient.
If children live with praise,
They learn to appreciate.
If children live with acceptance,
They learn to love.
If children live with approval,
They learn to like themselves.
If children live with honesty,
They learn truthfulness.
If children live with security,
They learn to have faith in themselves and others.
If children live with friendliness,
They learn the world is a nice place in which to live.
Copyright © 1972/1975 by Dorothy Law Nolte
As soon as I saw the brief for this week’s The Gallery I thought of this poem that I have displayed on my classrom door and in my home. It is a reminder that children learn what they live, education is about so much more than what is taught and learned in schools. Education is about family, community, experience, exploration and reflection.
I have always loved learning. I consider myself well educated, academically, socially and personally. I enjoy education.
The pictures I have chosen to share show me getting to grips with guiding something that played a huge part in my early years and a community that helped me learn who I was and who I wanted to be. This experience, the explorations, the people provided me with the values discussed in the poem that I used to start this post.
Children learn what they live, all life is an education, we are all learning all of the time.
What a great theme for The Gallery. Hop on over to Tara’s blog to see what other people have made of education this week.
Today I am starting the Photo 365 Challenge. I know that it is usual to start this in January but I am in need of a new challenge and photography is something that I long to be better at so this seemed the right way to go. I am going to try hard to take good, different photos and improve my skills and my blog in the process.
To start the challenge I am going to introduce two young models who I think will feature quite heavily in my photos to come. My very nearly 8 month old twins, Esther and William.
Esther and William were born at 27 weeks and 3 days gestation on 24th July 2010. In 8 months they have come on in leaps and bounds. At their corrected age of very nearly 5 months they are rolling at will and caterpillar crawling around the floor. They can sit independently for a few seconds a a time and have in the last few days developed a love of bubbles and balloons. They are becoming quite chatty in their funny little way though it is hard to make out separate sounds when they have all of their fingers stuffed in their mouths!! Poor teething babies! I hope to get lots of improving shots of them as they change and grow.
I hope you will stick with me throughout the challenge.
Here is Photo 001
Introducing Esther and William to 365