I'm not a huge fan of wildlife parks. In general the enclosures are too small and whilst I'm all for conservation sometimes I struggle to see past the vulture that can't fly because its aviary roof is too low or the wolves that can't run as a pack unless they create a relay team taking individual legs of the perimeter fence. Despite my aversion to zoos and safari parks I seem to be a regular visitor - at least annually - mainly due to my 8 year old wanting to be the next Steve Backshall.
A trip to the Cotswolds Wildlife Park did little to change my opinion with the exception of the rhinoceros area which was large, well designed and contained a male, two females and a seven week old calf. We sat with our sandwiches in the gardens overlooking their paddock and watched them lie in the sun. Thrilling. Actually it was pretty relaxing until the male began to show more of his impressive physique than we had expected so we decided to make a move. Careful what you wish for.
Having paid the £40 entry fee we spent a not insignificant amount of time discussing these herbaceous borders; which flowers we liked, what would work in our garden and how the simple colour scheme worked so well.
Several miles up the road is a National Trust property which I'm sure has stunning gardens and as members we could have visited for free - or at least reduced our average trip price from £90 to £45 - we would however have missed the horny rhino.
