A BLOGGING COME BACK WITH BLAIR DRUMMOND SAFARI PARK

You know those bloggers who just disappear without a trace? The ones who just go quiet with no real warning? Want to know what is even more annoying than those bloggers? 

The ones who suddenly make a reappearance because they got offered a freebie, a PR sample or a sponsored anchor link…

WELL HELLO THERE I HAVE MISSED YOU ALL SO MUCH.

*ducks*

But the truth is I have been thinking about blogging again for a while. I kinda left ya’ll high and dry back before Christmas to be honest. Talking about how great life was then all of a sudden NOTHING. Silence. Nada. No follow up. And we always need a sequel don’t we? Unless you are Donnie Darko or True Detective Season One - you guys really didn't need a follow up. But yeah I kinda disappeared for a bit. Again. No annual recaps on the year gone by at New Year, no pathetic promises of resolutions that we all knew I wouldn't keep. No 600 word piece on the perils of dating. I'm not dating. Completely out of choice. But more on that later…  So yeah I went quiet basically because I have been doing lots of work on myself lately. In that really wanky, ‘self-care’, yawn, eye roll, it’s getting a bit boring and blasé now kind of way that every nutritional advisor, life coach, mindfulness guru and every other health focussed tosser continues to extol the virtue of and ram down our throats at every available opportunity. But it’s all working splendidly if I am honest. Again, more on that later…

But what has happened over the past three months is that I have collated quite a few ideas for some blogposts. Some ideas jotted down in that dog eared little notebook I carry around everywhere with me (that also contains a note of all the words I hear in a week that I don’t understand so I can google them and then use them to impress people I don't like in conversations later) and others written into the notes section of my iPhone as I fly between work appointments & Brownies drop offs. Amongst these blog post ideas includes how I finally seem to have beaten the chronic insomnia that has haunted me for the past three years (without pharmaceuticals, who knew), my thoughts on why it’s the cleverer people in life who always seem to suffer the worst with mental health issues (wee bit deep and angsty but I promise not to keep you too long) and finally some of the many ways I have been looking after myself a little bit better.

 Spoiler: it doesn’t involve bubble baths and the headspace app. 

Soz.

Anyway back to the blog post in question. Which is this one. What finally jolted me back into the bloggosphere (sorry I absolutely hate that word too), was the recent offer of a family pass to Blair Drummond Safari Park. As a Mum who likes to get out and about at the weekends (with a daughter who would much rather spend hers in Silverburn flexing her mothers credit card), I am always looking for new things to do with Ava that don’t involve a man made village of corporate capitalism. And as there are only so many castles one can visit without said daughter faking her own disappearance, this grabbed me as the perfect day out. It also happened to coincide with when I had my Mum over staying with us and when Ava was having a friend over to play anyway. 

So one very rainy Saturday (we never thought the weather thing through), the four of us headed off to Blair Drummond for the day.The safari park are currently running something called their Big Spring Fling for the Easter Holidays which includes loads of fun added extras and things to do including a 3D movie showing, a special Easter hunt (with a treat at the end), a magician and puppeteer and loads more. And thank goodness they were because I’m not going to lie guys - we might have picked the rainiest day of the calendar year to take our little road trip…

As we had been invited to also try lunch in the restaurant, we decided upon arrival to eat first in the vain hope that the rain might go off. It didn't. However the food, I can confirm, was great. Ava and her sidekick tucked into a culinary feast of chicken nuggets and chips (one day I will blackmail that kid into eating a vegetable), followed by giant chocolate cookies while my Mum enjoyed a pretty tasty looking Steak Pie with chips. Being of the slightly more health conscious variety (only compared to my daughter), I was looking for something a little lighter and thankfully they did not disappoint. I spotted a roasted veg & hoummous salad served with oatcakes which was genuinely delicious and easily staved off any hunger pangs of mine until dinner. It also managed to keep me away from the homemade cakes which I have to admit looked quite frankly amazing.

After lunch we made our way out to the amusement rides conveniently located near the entrance. We had originally been planning on hitting up the new Mini Landrover Rides (which sounded loads of fun) but unfortunately they hadn’t arrived yet (due at the end of this month though so make sure not to miss them on your visit). So Ava and her pal settled for a go on the dodgems and the teacups. The adrenaline junkies fully satiated in their hedonistic thirst for adventure, we adults grabbed a couple of cappuccinos from the coffee stand and then we all headed off to take a wander through the Pets Farm. Where we managed to sneak a peek at the likes of pigs, ducks and what is genuinely the biggest turkey I have ever set my eyes on. Utterly terrifying. I’m not kidding. Even more so than the tiger we managed to catch a tiny glimpse of from the viewing platform. Same goes for the giraffes - we only got a glimpse of these guys also thanks to the rubbish weather. My advice is to definitely watch the weather reports wisely before you book a day trip here - quite a lot of the animals were basically hiding.

And quite rightly so in my opinion. If you want to see a dangerous animal then just stick me outside in the pouring rain for twenty minutes. 

With the rain now starting to drip down the backs of our necks, we made a quick pitstop to see the meerkats and penguins (which the girls absolutely loved) before admitting defeat and retiring back to the cafe so we could watch (through the window) two absolute nutters spend a good thirty minutes running around the massive adventure play park in the pouring rain. It appears this outdoor adventure play area, complete with massive pirate ship, is super fun regardless of the weather. So there you go. After running off some steam, and literally omitting some, we then made our way to the elephant and rhino enclosures, where thanks to being indoors (they do also have the option of an outdoor enclosure but appeared to hate the rain just as much as I do), we were able to get up close (but not too close) and personal with both animals.. We even managed to catch one of the Meet the Keeper talks which the kids and adults all found pretty interesting. 

Next up we headed to watch a fantastic sea lion display it’s talents while being rewarded with loads of fish in an indoor arena before heading to the comfort of the marquee where the kids were able to colour in while enjoying a brilliant magic and puppet show. By this point my wet feet were starting to feel a little numb and knowing fine well how long my kid would want to spend perusing the gift shop before we made our final exit, we decided to call it a day and head to the main attraction - the safari park. But we did miss a whole heap of brilliant stuff that I wish my body temperature had been more durable for - including a boat trip to Chimp Island (we’ve done this before and it’s great fun), a birds of prey centre, a massive Flying Fox, Lemur Land (also done before and so much fun) and the pedal boats. There really is so much to do in one day in this incredible place, even when the sun isn’t shining, so if you do end up finding yourself here in the rain then don’t despair too much, just get yourselves to all the indoor activities.

After suitable wares were purchased in the gift shop (matching name necklaces and notebooks - god I miss being seven), we headed back to the car to heat up, thaw out and hit the heady heights of the drive through safari park. Now I’m not going to lie, this is not my usual type of drive through - but I can confirm it was heaps more fun than a Cheeseburger Happy Meal with 6 chicken nuggets (I'm a creature of habit) or a venti skinny latte. Driving slowly through the park we managed to spot loads of fantastic animals including monkeys, lions (watching them play like regular house cats will never not trip me out), zebra and bison. I think the constant squeals and shrieks emanating from the backseat pretty much said it all...

Even in the pouring rain the girls had a fantastic time. And despite being a little soggy I really enjoyed myself too. With the sun shining this place would be the perfect family day out. And even when it isn’t, there’s still enough going on inside to make it a worthwhile venture.

You can find more information on Blair Drummond Safari Park on their website or follow them on their Facebook page. If you have time, their Big Spring Fling Event will also be running until April 14th.

Just take your waterproofs.

We were invited as a guest of Blair Drummond Safari Park. You can read more about my disclosure policy here.