Saturday
We had a very lazy start to the day and then headed over to Easton Farm Park. The farmer's market was on between 9am and 1pm so we had a wander round there first, buying some delicious mini cupcakes for me & the children to enjoy. We spent 4 pleasant hours at the farm looking at the animals and the children had a couple of rides in the barrel bugs. There were also pony rides, a small Thomas train and a pony & cart ride but we didn't go on these. We took a picnic and had lunch by the river. There was a cafe there but we thought we'd keep costs down by taking our own food. There have been a couple of additions since we last visited over a year ago. There is a pen with some miniature spotted ponies and goats and you can get in with them. Molly and Charlie loved this as they both like horses and loved being able to coach them. After lunch the children went on the (very busy) playarea for a short time and then we had an ice cream from the shop. It was nice, but we were plagued by wasps, which is unfortunately a common problem this summer.

Sunday
I didn't feel very well so we had a quiet morning at home. Molly went to a birthday party in the afternoon and after that Nigel and the children went out to eat with his family so I had a couple of hours resting at home.

Monday
Today we went to Banham Zoo. We had a great time here and let the children lead us. We covered most of the park except the birds of prey as neither children wanted to see them. Since we last went there is a new enclosure and house for the giraffes. You can walk up at their head height and get really close, despite the rocks preventing the giraffe from getting right up to the walkway. For an extra fee they have limited availability for feeding the giraffes with a keeper. Had we have known about it when we came in I may have booked this as giraffes are my favourite animal. Molly and Charlie were most impressed with the horses, penguins and tigers. The tigers were sleeping up close to the glass of the enclosure and it's wonderful being in such close proximity to them. Charlie was eager to go on the road train and as it was quiet we went on twice. Sadly it was very difficult to hear the driver's commentary around the zoo on both trips.

We took a picnic and there were plenty of places to eat. There was a canopied area by the restaurant which is handy if it's raining. We sat there for our ice creams but soon moved on as yet again were soon surrounded by wasps. Ice creams and drinks there were not expensive and a quick glance at the food menu showed it to also be reasonably priced.

One downside was that we only saw 2 blocks of toilets in the entire zoo, which can cause a problem when your child needs the toilet and you're the other end of the park. The facilities were very clean but the zoo could have perhaps done with one more block.

Quite shrewdly, we thought, to exit the zoo you had to go through the shop which is full of tempting delights, especially for children! Luckily our two didn't want for much and they always take some pocket money with them when we go out.

We're off to Norfolk tomorrow for 3 days and we have lots planned. The one thing I think we're all looking forward to is Bewilderwood, near Wroxham. It's a forest with treehouses, zip wires, jungle bridges, boat trips and more. It sounds like just the thing for me & Nigel to act like big kids (oh, and Molly and Charlie hould enjoy it too obviously!!) http://www.bewilderwood.co.uk/Default.aspx We've never been but have heard lots of good things about it and read lots of encouraging reviews online.