When  the girls spotted a sleeping lion lying really close to them on a day out to Chessington World of Adventures last weekend, they were amazed, excited and delighted. To be honest they were also a little bit noisy and actually woke the lion up:

It was very obvious that he wasn’t impressed with their chitter chatter and squeals of excitement. He opened his eyes and just started at them. Then he let out these low roar sounds that sounded a bit like unimpressed groans…a little bit like Mummy when she wants to stick her fingers in her ears and say “for goodness sake will you all just shut up”. Of course it goes without saying Mummy never actually says that out loud (she writes as she splutters into her coffee):

Anyway, nobody said anything to the girls but they just seemed to know that they had woken the lion up and that he was less than than impressed (a bit like daddy when they wake him up at the weekend). They also seemed to know that he just wanted to go back to sleep to finish his nap. So they did what I would do them…they just ssshhhed him back to sleep again. Honestly I wish I had videoed it as it was so cute and I can honestly say I have never seen anything like it before. Zoo keepers in the making?

This was just one of the exciting things to happen to us on our day out to Chessington Zoo last weekend.

We have been dying to go to Chessington for a while now and had planned to go at some point this year and stay overnight. The hotels look amazing with a sleeping area for parents and another for up to three children. However, when the girls decided last weekend was definitely the time to go, there were of course no rooms left for two adults and three children and we do hate to be split up. We really do need to start being less impulsive and booking ahead!!! Well the girls couldn’t wait any longer so we decided to go anyway and just enjoy a Zoo day:

Leaving it to the last minute and being out of season meant tickets were pretty cheap at £11 each (well cheap for 1 but as always multiply it by 5 and it soon adds up). For that you get to explore the Zoo and Sealife Centre but the theme park rides are closed. To be honest that suited us perfectly as it was the animals the girls wanted to see:

It really was a lovely way to spend the day even if it was a bit cold. Top tips would be to wrap up warm, get there early to avoid any  queues to get in and to use the website to plan your day. That way you won’t miss any feeding times or shows you might want to see. The tigers feeding time was a bit special for us and something we just happened to stumble upon. Even better there weren’t even other people around at that moment. It wasn’t special because’t you could watch them eating (i’m vegetarian) but more because you got to see them so close up. Not lying down or pacing, they were busy and interested:

Here’s a few of our lovely photos:

Highlights for the girls were Rosie having her fingernails cleaned by a squid and seeing the animals they did close up. The downside about the cold was that a lot of animals were hiding away. We didn’t blame them for wanting to snuggle up in warm beds but the girls had been excited about seeing zebras and giraffes so were very sad they missed them both. Well they saw a zebras bottom as it hurried inside but i’m not sure that counts. We will have to go back just to see them I think!

Overall the only thing we would have changed apart from seeing more animals was the parking fee. Really? When you pay out for tickets, food and drinks and everything else, not only is it a complete faff but paying for parking on the way out just makes you feel like you are bing ripped off. Or is that just us?

Next time we would definitely love to stay over though. The hotels look fantastic as does the glampoing.

Karen x