Trip

Posted by Glyn Wade

And lo the club didst visit thee zoo in thee parishe of Chester.

And lo the lord didth sendeth extra animalia in the forme of ye cats and ye dogs that he didst send down with furyous venom throughoutst the day without hardlee stopping for paws (sic).

Fortunately there are things to do indoors at Chester Zoo but of course these were filled with parents dragging their kids around, one of whom I did actually see licking the windows in the Realm of the Red Ape. No wonder it was so difficult to shoot through the glass!

There is a new area at Chester Zoo and it does look very promising. Promising because it’s open….but it isn’t….fully. The boats are open to the aforementioned elements and our accompanying guide apologised as the animals may be inside and hence not visible. And then there were enclosures where the animals hadn’t moved in yet.

So, after a sodden trip round, we had seen a grand total of….wait for it….NO animals! It’s a good job it doesn’t cost extra and it will be great on a nice day when everything is finished but….on Sunday….it just got us even wetter.

None of the inclement weather stopped us though and we did have a great day out. Through steamed up lenses when we entered anywhere dry, we even managed to take some pictures too. Outdoor ones had a bit of added atmosphere with rain slatting down across the frame and with various animals sheltering, it gave a different perspective than usual.

See how we can even put a positive slant on rainus horribilus!

There are plenty of animals at Chester Zoo and Claire particularly enjoyed the longest species of snake….not! Hayley, can you nab it and bring it to Willfield one day? I suspect the other end would still be in the zoo though……

Seeing lions having a bit of a snarling match was good as, in this country, by the time you get to see them they’ve usually zonked out for the day. By comparison the tigers were quite rude as only one was visible, in the distance, indoors, behind glass, facing the other way.

Anyway, here are some pictures of animals that were a bit more helpful for us photographers: