On a glorious day in June my husband, son and I went along to Old Down Country Park, near Thornbury, Bristol.

We were amazed at the amount to see and do there. Dexter played in the park for ages whilst we soaked up the lovely sun and quaint surroundings. We took along a picnic however, that was soon exchanged when we visited the café that offered a full range of freshly made cakes and sandwiches. We enjoyed sandwiches and a pot of tea whilst Dexter tucked into an ice cream which we learnt was sourced locally from a farm in the area.

Surrounding the beautiful Victorian walled garden, and what we thought was the only children’s park were Pot Belly Pigs (my husbands favorite) Ducks & Chickens in their own happy enclosure, apparently providing excellent free range eggs which are for sale. Within the walled Garden is not only where hog roasts are held but in season you can even pick your own fruit and vegetables or for the more energetic (I was more than happy to sit and relax) you can have a game of croquet on the lawn.

We noticed other visitors walking past us and disappearing…. So we decided to be nosey and investigate. To our absolute amazement, the small narrow walk way opened up to acres of fields that were home to even more animals, some of which were very unusual. Dexter thought the Lamas were extremely funny and was very excited at the Reindeer not having seen them before and he even asked if he could copy the larger Vietnamese Pot Belly Pigs whilst they wallowed in the mud. He soon changed his mind when he caught sight of the huge adventure playground, we couldn’t get him away. (not that we had to, or wanted to rush anywhere as the Park stays open until 7.00pm)