Reviews

Making Trips So Much Easier With Micro Trike Review

- cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

Jess is like any two year old who is closer to three she wants to be able to walk however, this is not always possible.  Regular Jess will have a tantrum if we have to put her in the pram now she claims she wants to be a big girl. Recently we were lucky to be sent a micro trike to test out and promote.

Micro trike is something which we had so many questions about from people when we have been out and about with it.  I think this is because it is so much different from a normal toddler trike this does not have pedals like a standard trike would have.  Instead, it has a parent handle and you push your child like you would in a buggy and this is without the battle of them not wanting to go into the buggy. The Micro Trike is suitable from 18 months and up to a maximum weight of 20kg which is great. However, I know Jess is close to this weight so may only be able to use it for a few more months maximum a year.

The micro trike is something which we have taken on the nursery run when we want to get there fast. To be honest, we have been using it every day since we got it, Jess has been around outlets, shops and even Ikea on it.  One of the bonuses is that it is so light so if Jess wants to get off the micro trike she can and we can either continue to push it until she wants to get back on or carry it. It does fold flat which is always a bonus one less bulky thing to carry. Also, this is good for storage as space when you have children can be golden ours lives in either the footwell of the set we do not use in the car or in the boot depending on how full the boot is.

The trike is so simple to put up and down all you need to do is one movement to push the seat to flatten, in order for your child to be able to sit on it. Then you have to extend the one-handed push handle one of the benefits of this been one handed is you still have on arm free. We have found it actually makes me walk to nursery a lot quicker because I can swing my arms.  You could use the extra arm for carrying shopping bags or holding your child’s hand when they are not on it.

The push handle on the micro trike can be adjusted if you need it to be meaning different heights could push it.  The footrest for the child can also be adapted however, this is something which we have not yet had to do with Jess.

We now have tantrums is we do not use the trike it is so easy to push just glides.  It really is so easy to manoeuvre you just need to be careful if there are holes in the path not to get the small wheels caught. This has happened a couple of times to use and Jess has gone over the handlebars. I know I should really have the harness on but Jess wants to be a big girl and get on and off when she pleases.  I will warn you as well about going on and off the pavement this can be a bit of a hassle and something you need to take care of doing.

Micro Trike claim that this could replace your buggy, for us it has at the moment but I do not think I will be in any rush to sell the buggy. The reason behind this yes at the moment we have had a lot of nice weather, however, when it changes there is no protection from the elements for your child.  There is also the fact if your child does fall asleep a lot this is not really possible on this trike, we try and avoid using it when Jess is really tired.

Where can you purchase?

Micro Trikes can be purchased on Amazon for £80 and come in a range of 4 colours, Black , White, Pink, and Blue.  I would recommend them and can see them been very popular in the next couple of months to a year, if the amount of people who have asked me about it purchase one.

Do you have a micro trike if so what are your thoughts on it?

Charlotte xx

We were gifted this Micro Trike but I was not required to write about it, I just wanted to share our thoughts as we are really impressed.

Review: Hopster TV & Learning App

- cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

There is a time when Jess wants a little bit of time when she has quiet time. Sometimes she will use YouTube but that does mean that she can access anything because I do not have any parental control on the app. However, recently we were contacted by Hopster who is a learning and TV app for children who are between the ages of 2-5 years.

Screen time has allowed Jess to be able to learn a lot of her numbers and colours . It also gives me a break when maybe she has been a little bit full on and I do not want her to push me too much or the fact that I need to do something which means she needs to actually entertain herself.  Hopster is also a great app to download if you happen to be traveling this is something which Jess used so much when we used to commute.

We have been using Hopster for a couple of months now this has allowed us to form actual opinions.  We have used previous apps in the past, however, even when you have paid for them we have noticed that it has still had adverts.  This is something which you do not have on Hopster it is 100% advert free this does mean that Jess that on the app rather than actually getting on something else which causes her to get annoyed.

The app is far from basic they have so much on it including

  • Shows
  • Music
  • Books
  • Games
  • Create
  • Plus a themed area which changes regularly

The shows can be downloaded which means there is no need to use up your data when you out and about. This is something which I love because there is nothing worse than having no data left.  The choices of shows on there include Pingu, Ben and Holly, Thomas and also Fireman Sam.  I have actually downloaded some of them to my phone so that when Jess is losing her mind and needs to wait for something such as food I can give her this to ease the meltdown. I think there are around 800 shows which means that Jess should not get bored of the same episodes.

The books section is one which we love this is because Jess loves books and not always been at home means reading can be hard.  There are some of our favourite stories on the app including the tiger who came to tea which is one that I have loved since my own childhood.  There are also a number of books which I have not heard of on the app because it is always amazing to be able to find more books. Again there is such a good selection which means your child can not get bored with the books.

Painting is something which Jess adores but she is only able to do at nursery. This is because we do not have the space to be able to paint when we are at Daddy’s I can not wait till we can craft at the new house.  Jess for sure loves to be able to paint and create artwork on Hopster regular I find Jess has saved pictures onto my camera roll. She even has used it in the car when I do not want Jess to nap because the trip is not too far. I think that this is great should you not be able to do traditional arts and crafts.

I have had a lot of fun on the games with Jess. A couple of our favourites on Hopster include the app where you have to collect the flies and feed them to the frog. I know this is one which Jess enjoys playing on as well. I know that another game which Jess loves on the game is the alphabet hotel which is where you have find the same letter as your playing on, trace the letter and make words using the letter. This is something which Jess can spend hours playing on and I think this is the way she has learned a lot of the alphabet along with attending nursery. I am glad to see that over the time which we have been using Hopster Jess’s knowledge has increased and I do put this down to the fact that she has been playing games which are educational.

Hopster is available via a paid subscription for £3.99 a month, £19.99 for 6 months or £34.99 for 12 months. There is no contract and you can cancel the subscription at any point. You do get 1 month free trail which means that you can see if the app is for you before forking out anymore for it.  Personally I feel for the amount of quality content and the variety you get, the prices are great value for money. Once subscribed you can then access Hopster on multiple devices. This is something which I need to do but it on Joe’s phone so I do not always lose my phone to Jess.

Have you used Hopster with your child? If so what did you think?

 

Charlotte xxx

We were given a subscription to Hopster in exchange for review, however, all thoughts as my own.

Review: Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Movie

- cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

 

A couple of weekends ago now you may remember that we took Jess to the cinema for the first time. We actually went to see Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Movie. As a result of my blog and all you amazing people reading we was allowed to got to the preview of the film. This means that I can give you my thoughts on this film and tell you weather it is worth spending some time going to see Thomas & Friends.

Plot

When a mischievous little racing car called Ace passes through the isle of Sodor on his way around the world. Thomas is inspired to embark on his own ambitious trip. Travelling full steam ahead across five continents.  Thomas discovers magnificent new sights and experiences exciting places and cultures. Along the way, he makes friends with an inspiring and fun Kenyan engine called Nia. With so much for Thomas to learn about the world, will Nia be successful in teaching him a lesson about the true meaning of friendship? Featuring a world of wonder, curiosity and amazing animal friends, join Thomas on an epic adventure, fulfilling his dream of seeing the world!

My Thoughts

It was great to see Thomas explore another island apart from Sodor, for sure he does see a lot of the world. Which shows little people who are watching that if you put your mind to it when you are older you can explore the world. This means that you will experience new cultures just like you see within the film.

Thomas gets to visit 5 continents which you see some of the cultures from the countries which he does actually get to visit on his travels. The main one which we do get to see is Africa this is where Thomas does actually meet his friend Nia she does teach us some elements of the culture. We also do also see Asia a little bit with Thomas going to see China however, we do not see the cities like you might think you would we see the mountains which have snow on instead.  South America we see in lot of detail however, this is just typical Amazon however ,this may make some children want to help save the planet so we do not damage areas which we saw Thomas visit in the film.

One element which I think this film should have done better is make us see elements of different cultures from the continents which I think they did well in.  I think that they could have also made sure that they did more of North America because there was only a short period of time spent there as well as Europe which they did actually fly through. This may have helped other children to see the cultures which may be different to theirs through Thomas.

This film also has a nice message that you can not do everything on your own sometimes you do have to ask your friends for help. You should not be afraid to have to ask your friends for some help in order to be able to achieve something which you want. This is something which Thomas learns throughout the film and he also sees who is actually his friend.

Overall

I think this film was good and Jess did actually enjoy the film and since she has spoken to me about when she went to see Thomas at the cinema.  However, I do think that 80 minutes running time is a long time for children who this film is aimed at to sit.  This means that on top of the adverts and trailers could be way too long, I think this could be one of the reasons why the ending to me seemed very rushed

Will you be going to see Thomas this summer?

 

Charlotte xxx

We were gifted tickets to go and see Thomas

Book Review- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

- cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

Recently a book I have heard a lot about is Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine this is one which I have seen in a number of people’s favourites. I saw it in my friend Hayley’s June favourites when Joe wanted me to order a book off amazon which I noticed was in the the 2 books for £7 offer I knew it was fate. I had to order this book and I can not say that this is something I regret I actually managed to complete this book in about 6 hours for sure it was a page turner.

Blurb

Eleanor Oliphant has learned how to survive – but not how to live

She leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend. Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything.

One simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself.

Now she must learn how to navigate the world that everyone else seems to take for granted – whilst searching for the courage to face the dark corners she’s avoided all her life.

Change can be good. Change can be bad. But surely any change is better than… fine?

Thoughts

Well as a I stated this is a book which I really could not put down due to the fact that I did manage to read it so quickly. It had me gripped I needed to know what happened to Eleanor this was not a typical book which I would read. Usually I read a lot of romance kind of stories however, this is a book to some element which I could actually relate to.

The main character of the story is Eleanor who is a 30 year old who has been working the same job since finishing university. She also speaks to Mummy on the phone once a week and drinks two liters of vodka every weekend.  We soon realise that she is awkward when it comes to social encounters and she has a reliance on alcohol because this is the way in which she buries her feelings and past grievances.. This book for sure highlights the fact that there are people who are struggling with loneliness, alcoholism and depression.

Eleanor does has never been loved we find out that she has received third degree burns as a child which has result in a scar on her face. Since the age of 10 years old she has been in the foster care system and society has kept her fed, clothed and educated but never fully loved.  Even the relationship which she has with her mum is hurtful and abusive.

This makes you think about the relationships in your life,it show you the highs, the bad and the medium. This story really makes you realise how valuable one friend can be. Eleanor had been stuck in ways she didn’t even have the eyes to see how abusive her mum was been to her let alone done anything about it.

For sure this is a book which I would recommend people reading this summer.I could not put it down and it is rare for me to actually be able to finish a book in the same day as I start reading it.  Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine is scheduled to come out as a film I can not wait to see how this book gets portrayed as a film.

 

Have you read this book? If so what did you think?

 

Charlotte xxx

 

Review- My Personalised Case

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Taking photo is something which has been a passion of mine since I have had Jess. I must have over 2000 pictures of her if not more, however, displaying them is something which I fail to do but then I remembered that I could have a personalised phone case with one of my images.  I thought this was a subtle way of having Jess with me at all times.

Phone cases  protect your phone from drops and knocks now and they are a good way of showing your personality and art work. I used to change my phone case a lot but I think I have only had 1 in the last 18 months since I got my iPhone 7.

I have never had a personalised phone case before I have always had just a bog standard one from either the high street or Amazon.  It is now so easy to be able to have anything personalised I have done it for members of my family a gift.  A personalised case is something which I can see me purchasing for my family this year because they always have their phones on them and want to protect them from breaking.

When I found My Personalised Case I could not believe how cheap they were because I know when you start customizing items it can become very expensive. However, the one which I have actually only come in at around the £12 mark which is not going to break the bank and is considerably lower than some of them which I have had in the past.  I decided to choose the full hard case because this would give my phone more protection when either me or Jess drop it.

I found the website so easy to use and could customise my design as much as I wanted. Sometimes I have found it very hard to be able to get what I want when I have a vision in my head.  All you have to do is choose the phone or tablet which you want the case for. There are so many different types including Samsung and Apple you are sure to find the phone you are looking for.  They also have a number of styles which you can have for example silicon, hand shell, and even wallet options.

When personalising the case you can either add one photo or several and make a collage and even add text like I have chosen to do.  For sure you can have a lot of fun playing around with the site but it is so simple when I had finalised my design all I had to do is add payment and shipping details, this was the most simple part of creating my personalised phone case.

I seem to remember that my case arrived within 3 days which was amazing as you never want to have to wait.  When I got my hands on it I realised how hard wearing the case is and it seems like it is made to a high quality. There is no chance of my phone falling out of my phone case or it breaking which is something you want from a phone case.

I have had my phone case on for a month now  I wanted to give it a real test. My phone has been dropped several times due to me and Jess. I can not feel any scratches which have occurred as a result of the drops which is amazing as usually, I can on phone cases.   Jess loves getting hold of my phone and saying Mummy it’s me.

Conclusion

The quality of these cases are amazing and I would recommend them to anyone who is looking for a personalised case you can make your own phone case so easy and stand out. They are so cheap compared to others on the market and you are not compromising on the quality. This for sure is a company who I would recommend if you are looking for a personalised phone case I know when I upgrade in November I will be purchasing another one

What photo or design would you get if you got a personalised case

Charlotte xx

This post includes a PR sample however, all views are my own

Book Review- Wilde Like Me

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Recently when I was feeling under the weather and browsing Morrison’s I remembered that Louise Pentland’s book was now available in paperback, I managed to be able to get in store there and then because I had only heard good things about it from those who had read it include Emily who states it is her favourite book at the moment. I was skeptical about this book as it is a youtuber book but to be honest I forgot about that when I was reading the book and my review is on the book not Louise.

Blurb

Meet Robin Wilde! You’ll make a friend for life and she’ll take you on a journey you’ll never forget …

Single mum Robin Wilde adores her six-year-old daughter and loves her job as a make up artist’s assistant. She has a wonderful best friend and an auntie who is bonkers, yes, but loves her to the moon and back.

But Robin has a secret. Behind the mask she carefully applies every day, things just feel … grey. And lonely. She struggles to fit in with the school mum crew. Online dating is totally despair-inducing, and she worries every day about raising her little girl with self-confidence, courage and joy.

What Robin longs for is someone (over the age of six) to share with – someone who’s always on her team.

After 4 years (2 months, and 15 days!) of single-mum-dom, it’s time for Robin Wilde to Change. Her. Life.

Exciting new opportunities are about to come Robin’s way … Perhaps a man, perhaps the chance of a lifetime …

What will Robin do with the possibilities she creates for herself? And what potential will she unlock if she takes the leap?

My Thoughts 

Well I managed to read all of this book in three days which I think says something that I could not put this book down. I was hooked I needed to know what happened to Robin and Lyla along with the rest of the characters.

This story really showed all the ups and downs in life. It didn’t sugar coat anything. Sometimes life sucks and you let it get you down for a bit, but then you have to get back up and move on. I should know because times at the moment have not been amazing.  I loved Robin’s journey through this whole book, how in the beginning she was on the look out for someone else to come in and fix things and how through out the book she found herself and found out that she was and will always be able to fix shit for herself. This is something which I know I have to do and this is for sure something which I could relate to.

I loved the characters. I loved Robin and her little girl Lyla. I loved how female driven this book was there was not a knight in shining amour needed at all in this book. We have so many wonderful and different woman in this book. I love the different relationships Robin has with all of them. Women supporting each other through all the ups and downs in ones life. I LOVED IT.

The book had a really good ending and would have been fine as a stand alone. But knowing, that there will be a second book, I can’t wait to get back to these characters again. I am glad I have waited to read it as I only have about  6 weeks to wait till I can read the second  Cause even though, Robin and Lyla are a amazing team on their own, I kinda wanna see how things turn out with the man who she is interested in at the end of the book.

Conclusion

Just because this is a youtuber book does not mean that it is going to be poor for me it was a page turner I lost hours within this book. I could not put it down always wanting more from the characters that much that within 10 minutes of finishing this book I had preordered the second book. I think that we all could take something from the book whether it is how amazing single mums are, how friends are always there for us and also how we feel like we don’t belong somewhere when we actually do.

Have you read this book if so what are you thoughts?

Charlotte x

 

Review- Appy Kids Co Drinks

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Jess recently has become obsessed with the gruffolo which really hard because of the fact that you struggle to find much with this on it when it is not Christmas time. However, recently we were contacted by the lovely people at Appy Drinks Co asking use if we would like to try some of their drinks. One of them included the Gruffolo, Matilda and a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

If you have not heard of Appy Drinks Co they are a company who are on a mission to create healthy drinks which are affordable for children. To make children want to do to drink this they have used well-known characters to encourage children to do drink these instead of wanting fizzy or unhealthy drinks. Jess when she is at home usually has a small amount of no-added sugar cordial into her water which she loves but when we are not at home she ends up having to drink fruit shoots when she is travelling or on a day out.

They come in a range of flavours we were kindly sent the orange and carrot, mixed berries and also an orange. I was actually worried that Jess was not going to enjoy the gruffolo ones due to the fact that they were the orange and carrot. However, I can report that she really did end up loving them because they were the ones which she ran out of first. This reminds me I need to order her some. I have actually tried some of the juice and can admit that it is very nice to be honest I thought that they would be weak and not full of flavour. I for sure can see why Jess really enjoys them.

They come in cartoons which means that they are very easy to be able to put in the bag when you are going on days out or if you are like us we do have some in the boot of the car. However, we need to make sure that we open the for Jess because she can’t actually open them by herself because it is a little bit tricky to pierce the pouches with the straw even for me.

The Appy Kids Co drinks are available to buy from Tesco, B&M,  Wholesale Foods Market, Spar and Poundland. If you are like me and like to shop online you can actually purchase them from Amazon as well there even on Prime which means that you do not have to wait.  For 24 of the 200ml cartoons they are between £15 and £24 depending n the flavour and the pouches which they also do are around £18 for 40 on amazon.

Overall Thoughts

I’m really pleased with these drinks! They taste nice and Jess seems to enjoy them a lot too. Appy Kids Co have a huge range of juice drinks available and you can find where to buy them here, and they’re all healthy. These drinks are perfect for the whole family and I would definitely buy them myself in the future.

 

Have you tried these drink?, If so what were your thoughts

Charlotte xxx

Disclaimer: We received products for the purposed of this post. All opinions are our own. 

 

Vintage Inns – The Three Cups – Stamford Bridge Food Review

- cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

A few months ago now after a day at the beach, we were heading back towards York in need of food. When we drove through a village called Stamford Bridge which is close to York. I think we had a couple of moments to have a look at the menu before they stopped serving food as it was around 9 pm. The food which we choose was of a very high standard that we decided that we would return in the future.

A couple of weeks ago now we actually made the returning visit. As we were child free for the night and looking for somewhere to have some high-quality food and we knew this is something which would find at the three cups in Stamford Bridge. As you can see from the menu they do have a vast array of food which you can choose from. All which is cooked fresh when you order as you would expect. One thing which I would state is the food is not that expensive I think for a two-course meal for two it came to around £40 this included drinks.

I choose to have the pate as a starter which is something that I am highly fond of anyway. It came with a small amount of toasted bread which of course was delicious I managed to spread it over the bread. However as with pate when you have eaten it you walkways wish there was more this something which I really enjoy. This for sure is something which I would have again if I returned I think it might have been what I had on my initial visit as well.

My partner, on the other hand, a prawn cocktail which is something that I am not a huge fan of anyway. However, this did make me jealous because I think for sure I could have had this. It looked like it had the right amount of sauce this is something which I find rare when you order a prawn cocktail as usually, you get either a large number of prawns and a lack of sauce or the other way around. This is for sure one which he would recommend as it is the second time he has had this meal when we have dined at this pub. I think if we returned it may be something which I order because of how nice it does look which say a lot because I really do like the pate.

Burgers are something which a lot of restaurants/pubs serve, however, it can be hard to find one which is of high quality with succulent meat. This is for sure something which you can find at the three cups as you see the size of the burgers are large enough that they should fill you up. For example my partner who can eat so much found this filling even if I did steal his onion ring which was amazing as it was made with proper onion which means that it was so fresh. I think I could just have consumed a bowl of them on there own and not even been sorry. I think that this is something which most people would enjoy no matter if they are a picky eater or not.

Me on the other hand fancied something different this is why I choose the salmon as it is a dish which I do not have often. This came with potatoes and vegetables and a lovely source which for the life of me I can not remember what it was at all. This is something which I would recommend because of you are someone like me who does not always want something so filling like a burger, of course this is a little bit more of a healthy option. I think this for sure is something which I which I would have again in the future should I be returning to this restaurant. We can not comment on the drinks because of the fact that the fact that we both had a pint of coke.

Conclusion

This for sure is a place which we would visit again due to the fact that we have had great service both times we have been. The food had been of amazing quality which made up really want to go back I think there is still so much which I still want to try on the menu.  This means that I am going to have to go back there I think this meal actually only cost us around the £40 mark and this was for drinks and a two course meal. I know that the vintage inn is a chain so I might have to visit some of the other branches.

Have you been to a Vintage Inn for food?

Charlotte xx

Days Out- Yorkshire Wildlife Park Review

- Charlotte Leave a comment

Recently we visited Yorkshire Wildlife Park for Jess’s second birthday because of the fact she loves animals and we wanted to do something special for her because it is not every day you turn two after all. The wildlife park, if you are not familiar with the wildlife park, is in Doncaster it is close to the airport actually which means that it is only about an hour from us. It has taken me till now to actually visit and it has been open 8 years. The park is home to around 400 animals which means there is plenty to see we spent around 6 hours at the park which is amazing because it was not very busy due to the fact we visited on a Friday in September. I feel like we got our monies worth because it only cost us £17 each and Jess was free because she is still under 3.

The first animals which we saw on our trip was the baboons which had me in stitches because they were all been cheeky one kept shaking the house which you can see some of them sat on before another one decided that they wanted to mount and try and make babies with another one in front of the other baboons. The park seems to have a fair amount of them as this is only a selection of the species somewhere actually sat near the window just chilling as you can see there are some small ones which are either clinging onto their mum or dad which I think is adore able it is a shame I could not get a closer picture of them.

The camels were one of the most unsociable animals when we visited they wanted to keep their distance from us, however, one of the reasons why this may have occurred could have because it was actually very windy and they wanted to shelter from this element. One of them, when we were watching them, has a constant itch and was scratching against the gate which made me think he was doing it so that we would stay and watch them. There was a number of camels as you can see around 5 in the picture here and there was more inside the barn. You can say for sure the camels are not going to get lonely at all.
Giraffe’s if you have read my Chester Zoo review you will know are one of my favourite animals so when we saw them walk this close to us it was actually amazing. When I took this picture someone had paid to do the feed the animal experience and this Giraffe was walking towards them to get the food it was at this point that Jess said Mr Giraffe go get tea she didn’t want him to miss food which I thought was adorable. I am surprised that she was not scared by the size of them actually but this was not something which bothered her I think she loved seeing the 4 of them and they have a huge enclosure which they share with other animals such as Zebras and Emus all which can be found in similar parts of Africa so would share their habitat in the wild.

The Lemur enclosure is one of those which is very special and different at the YWP because of the fact you are allowed to walk through their enclosure so you can see them swinging and jumping through the trees. This does mean that sometimes it can be hard to see the lemurs  because they do seem to be able to blend in with their background however, we were lucky I think they were just about to be fed when we walked through because as you can see they are all chilling on the roof so I would say they were waiting to be fed as there was a keeper close to them.  This is another species which YWP have a lot of.

Leopards apparently are an animal which you are not likely to see close up should the park be busy because they are shy animals which means that they are more likely to be hiding at the back of the enclosure, however, as I mentioned before it was pretty quiet the day we managed to visit which means that the leopard came up very close. This was one of the animals which Jess was very interested in we actually had to carry her away from it because of the fact we could see the giraffe’s getting fed just around the corner from this. I think one of the reasons why she liked it is because of the fact that you do not see a lot of Leopards and because of the colour she could see it pretty clearly.
The lLionshave a huge enclosure I think it is something like 8 acres which is the size of the complete zoo which they were rescued from in Romania. If you do not know the story of their rescue I suggest you google it but it is a sad one so you might have to have the tissues at the ready. I think if I remember correctly the wildlife park still have something like 8 lions we actually got to hear the male one roar which did actually scare Jess because of the fact that is was so loud so this is something to keep in mind if you are taking a young child. I love how their enclosure seems to have different areas so they do not have to be on top of each other as you can see these two males are chilling out having a nap in the yorkshire sun.
I think one of the cutest pictures which I took on the day was this of the two giant otters having a cuddle and trying to nap because it is one of the natural things and I feel like we were very lucky to see this because it was so quiet. I think this is something which I would be like if I was an otter because of the fact that I am a chilled out animal. YWP only has two giant otters which are something which I would like to see an increase because these animals actually are very cute and one which I would like to see stay around for a while rather than become even more rare than they are currently.
                                      
Another animal which the wildlife park is home to is the painted dogs which I did not realise had been renamed from wild fogs so that they were more PR friendly as a blogger this is something which amuses me because even animals want to be PR friendly. There was a hell of a lot of painted dogs at YWP I think they at the time we visited were split into male and females I guess this was something to do with breeding. We spend a short while watching them and actually could hear some sqeals from a hole which the males seem interested in so I am wondering whether they actually had some pups at the time and this is why they were been a little bit secretive. I might have to visit again soon to have a look and see if they do actually have pups. As you can see the animals do get pretty close as a fan of animals this is amazing because I love being able to see them close up as long as they have enough room and the enclosures are not too small I can promise you this is not a problem here.
Polar Bears are something which you can only see at YWP I do not think there is anywhere else in the UK where you can see polar bears which meant that this trip was even more special because it was doing something which you can not usually do at any other zoo/wildlife park. WPD is home to 4 polar bears as you can see two of them they are pretty chilled out animals however, they did end up play fighting I did manage to capture this if you visit my facebook page www.facebook.com/cupsofcharlotte you can watch it as well. There was actually a lady who said that she would love to have one as a pet but I think they are a little bit fierce for that and soon would eat you out of house and home because for Tea they eat 40KG of Beef as well as eggs and carrots on the side. They are currently expanding their enclosure which hopefully will mean in the future there may be more polar bears for us to visit
Rhinos if you remember from my post of Chester was one of Jess’s favouite animals when we visited this time she was shouting Rhino all the way around the park because we had been telling her that we were going to take her to see them for her birthday if she was a lucky girl.  The wildlife park is home to two rhinos which if I seem to be remembering correctly were actually white rhinos however, I could be wrong. I found it funny how they had the tyres as well as traffic cones in their enclosure so it means that they could have a lot of fun. Due to the fact that this is one of Jess’s favouite animal we did spend a little bit of time watching them because of the fact she did not want to leave them.
When you visit the wildlife park you do actually get a leaflet which tells you when the keepers are going to do a talk so we was near the tigers when they was meant to be one however, the keeper arrived and we did not realise that you had to ask them questions unlike Chester where they speak to the people around so this is something to note if you are planning a visit. There were 3 tigers I think it was at the wildlife park and we again were lucky that they had just been fed so it meant that they were pretty chilled and actually wanted to pose for pictures for us. They have a beautiful enclosure which you are on a platform looking over them which means that it feels more natural as there is not a lot of steel fences so you feel like they are less caged if you know what I mean.
Jess wanted a break from seeing the animals because it does get hard work so we did visit one of the outdoor play parks and had a lot of fun. My favouite element of the play part was this bit with the sand which you got in a scooper and then had to winch up and they pour down steel slides and this one had a windmill which is spun. This is not something which I have seen before and for sure was a hit with Jess as she was on it for a fair amount of time. I think even Daddy was enjoying it just look at the concentration on his face. This is something which when it is warm I could see a child playing at for a long period of time because I know for sure we all enjoyed it.
I will say if you are going to visit the wildlife when it is not peak season like we did be aware some of the cafe’s and food outlets will be close. I think when we went there was only around two or three food outlets open. We did choose to eat because when you have a toddler they cannot last all day without been fed so we stopped and made her a meal box which she got 5 items for £5 this included a sandwich, drink ,jelly, fruit and sweets. This did see a little bit expensive however, this was something which we was willing to pay because we did not want a grumpy Jess on her birthday. Me and Joe managed to get a panini, bag of crisps and a drink which actually was around the £7 mark I think it was so if it is a nice day you might want to take some food with you are it is pricey more so if there is a few of you. However, as a treat, this is not something which bothered us too much.
Overall we had a great day at Yorkshire wildlife park I sure that this is a place which I will end up visiting again in the future because of the fact that it is not that far for us to travel. It is actually our local wildlife park I think and I want to see the polar bears again because they were super cute I really hope maybe in the future they can get more and maybe breed some because they would be super cute. I would recommend visiting if you are not looking for somewhere huge like a zoo but somewhere which still has rare animals.
Have you visited Yorkshire Wildlife Park?
Charlotte x