I did it, guys; after seven months of never-ending confinement, I finally left the house a few Fridays ago for a socially-distanced trip to The Cotswold Wildlife Park with my sister and brother-in-law.
It was probably a bit ambitious for my first venture out of bed in months, (I think all the pulled muscles in my legs the next day and for the week that followed would have agreed), but hey, what's life without a little challenge?
We'd been planning a trip to our local wildlife park for a while as we like to fit in at least one visit a year and hadn't been since last summer. I felt that it would be ideal for a day out during the pandemic as it would be easy to distance from people with so much open space, and was reassured knowing they had additional measures in place to keep visitors safe. So, once I felt up to it, we booked our tickets, and off we went the following day, armed with our face masks, and enough anti-bacterial hand gel to sink a ship.
One thing to be aware of is that you can't currently buy tickets at The Cotswold Wildlife Park on arrival. You need to book your tickets online from their website the day before you wish to visit, as visitor numbers are restricted to help with social distancing. While a minor inconvenience, the good thing about this is admission is cheaper online, so they're saving you money as well as looking out for your safety. All we had to do was quote our order number on arrival, so the process is quick and super easy, with no contact involved to exchange money for tickets.
We arrived at the wildlife park around 11am, parked, collected a mobility scooter we'd reserved, and headed across to The Walled Gardens to begin our usual route around the park. We almost always start our visits here, and take an anti-clockwise route around the park, starting with the smaller animals and working our way up to the show-stoppers like the rhinos and giraffes. It's the best way to see everything, IMO.
As we were walking around, I was surprised to see how busy it was for a weekday. I've been on weekdays during term time before and have only passed a handful of people, but this time, there were people everywhere. Not as busy as the school holidays, but still lively. I guess it shows that there are still a lot of people out of work looking for different ways to fill their time.
I'm not going to lie, the crowds did make me feel a little anxious, especially as nobody was wearing a face mask outdoors. However, there was plenty of space to keep a two metre distance, and for the most part, everyone was being respectful of the rule outdoors, keeping apart at enclosures, and patiently stepping back to allow others to pass when needed.
It was naturally busiest in the more enclosed areas of the park, like The Walled Gardens, farmyard, and around by the lake, but in between, there were times when we had nobody near us and we were able to enjoy everything at our own pace without worrying about distancing.
One couple didn't get the memo, though, and were on my sister's heels the whole way through the reptile houses. They were at least wearing face coverings as they were mandatory indoors, but it takes a special kind of asshole to invade your personal space during a pandemic. It made my sister really uncomfortable, and we couldn't even move away from them since it was a one-way system, she was using a mobility scooter, and we were trying to distance from the people in front of us. I'm annoyed again just thinking about it. The least anybody should be doing if they go out during a pandemic is keeping two metres apart from other people. Why are some people incapable of following rules and showing a little consideration?? Are they ignorant or just stupid?
I didn't enjoy being near people at all (well, it was my first time out of the house since before the pandemic), but after a while, I became more comfortable with it, and began to relax.
We had such a lovely time wandering around seeing all the animals and plants, from the tamarins to the lions. I particularly enjoyed seeing the new rhino calf, who was only about six weeks old and the cutest thing on four legs, and loved seeing the three new additions to the giraffe herd. All five were happily running around their paddock together and it was really lovely to see such happy animals.
The tapirs and capybaras were as cute as ever, and there was a tiny wallaby joey hopping about that I wanted to smuggle home.
We were all fascinated by the pelicans on the lake, and also made friends with a friendly little robin who came and sat beside us when we were having a rest on some benches. He was so tame, I think he would have eaten from our hands if we'd had anything to give him.
As you'd expect, several exhibits were closed to comply with Covid regulations and keep everyone safe, but we didn't feel like it affected our day out at all. There was still plenty to see and do, and we enjoyed our visit as much as any of our past visits, pre-Covid. They'd done well to keep things as normal as possible under unprecedented circumstances.
At the time of our visit, most of the indoor and enclosed exhibits, like the tropical house, walk-through Madagascar lemur exhibit, and bat house were closed, as was the restaurant and children's playground. The indoor reptile houses and children's farmyard were still open, though, and there was a new bat exhibit in one of the reptile houses so you can still see some bats, including their new hammer-headed bats. While the restaurant is closed, you can still buy drinks and snacks from the kiosks around the park, but if you'd rather bring in a picnic, you can still do that, too. There are plenty of wooden benches and picnic tables spaced out around the grounds where you can eat and rest. I made use of many of them to be able to make it around the park in one piece with my chronic pain, and have lived to tell the tale.
If you're anxious about visiting during the pandemic, don't be; The Cotswold Wildlife Park has good measures in place to help keep their visitors safe. They've added extra anti-bac stations around the park, introduced a one-way system through the woodland area from the tapirs to the lake, and have restricted visitor numbers to help with social distancing. There are cute signs reminding you to keep two metres (or ten penguins) apart from each other by telling you how many animals make up a two metre distance, and animal talks have also been suspended to stop people congregating in crowds. Masks have to be worn in indoor areas. and you have to queue to enter the gift shop, which is currently only open from 1-4pm. The park has taken the Corona Virus restriction seriously, and it's been really well organised to keep people safe, and still provide an enjoyable visit. It was really reassuring and helped us feel safe, without spoiling or inconveniencing our visit.
We had a fantastic time, and it was so good to be out in the fresh air after spending seven months indoors. I missed the outdoors even more than I realised. Being around nature and animals for a few hours definitely did my mental health some good, and it was great to catch up with my sister and BIL, who I hadn't seen since Christmas, in our of our favourite places. We got to see so many weird and wonderful animals from anacondas to zebras, and interesting plants like climbing kiwis and carnivorous pitcher plants in a safe, relaxing environment so we came away happy. We're now thinking of buying season tickets so we can visit more regularly, and support our local zoo. We only live a few miles away, so it's something we'd likely get good use from during the pandemic. I don't feel comfortable with the idea of going shopping, eating at restaurants, or going to the cinema just yet, but I can totally get on board with more trips to the zoo. Cute animals, cool plants, fresh air, good company... what more do you need? (Except maybe a cheeky ice cream)?
I personally think it's more important than ever to support our (good) zoos right now. Many were hit hard financially when they were forced to close during lockdown, and are still struggling since they aren't able to open to full capacity. Zoos rely on visitors to be able to feed and care for their animals, many of which are endangered and close to extinction. If you want your favourite zoos and wildlife parks to survive the pandemic, pay them a socially-distanced visit, adopt an animal, or shop from their online gift shops. Find out if there are other ways to donate. Every visit or purchase will help make a difference.
I'd recommend a day out at The Cotswold Wildlife Park to any animal lover looking for a fun and safe day out during the pandemic. It's a great place to visit for people of all ages, with so much to see and do, despite Covid restrictions, I promise you won't be disappointed, and will love the place as much as we do. Just remember to book your tickets online the day before your visit or you won't get in!
Would you visit a zoo during the pandemic? Have you visited one lately?
