Friday 17th June

We all met up as we arrived at the Barn in the beautiful Cotswolds, we set out to explore our new home for the week. We all unpacked and got to know each other during our welcome meeting, and we enjoyed our first meal together to round off a busy day of travelling. We headed to our rooms to get a well-earned rest, excited for our fun week ahead!

Saturday 18th June

Our first full day and we took a trip to The Butts Farm Rare Breeds Centre to see all the animals and birds. We had a chance to groom the donkeys while we were there, it was such a cool experience! A goat also tried to eat someone’s coat! It was nice to see all the breeds they keep at the centre and a good, fun day was had by all.

Sunday 19th June

Today we travelled a short journey to visit Crocodiles of the World. It was extremely exciting to see all the crocodiles jumping for the food as the keeper fed them. Their mouths were wide open and we could see they had huge teeth! Some loved seeing the crocodiles whilst others preferred the monkeys at the zoo. We learned so much about all the animals, we all came away with some fun facts to bring back home with us!  

Monday 20th June

We travelled to The Safari Park today by minibus and stayed inside while we drove around looking at the animals. The giraffes managed to block the road, so we sat and watched them. They walked so elegantly; it was amazing to see them so close! After seeing all the lovely animals, we parked up and walked around the zoo and amusement section. There was a ghost train ride and a chance to play on slot machines and have a go at winning a key ring. It was our best day so far!

Tuesday 21st June

We had a really enjoyable day at the Birdland Park & Gardens today. We all had the chance to pet a penguin, who swam up to us and allowed us to stroke his back. It was a first for everyone! We managed to see the keeper who fed the penguins while giving us lots of facts about them. We saw colourful flamingos and went on an ‘Out of Africa’ walk. There were also models of dinosaurs, and we explored the forest whilst learning about their history.

Wednesday 22nd June

What a lovely day we had today. We arrived in time to see the newly born piglets; they were only hours old! They were unbelievably cute; it was so lovely to meet them all. There was a chance to have a tractor ride around the farm and we gave the goats some food. We had a very interesting walk around with Jasmine who told us all about the baby goats.

Thursday 23rd June

We went to visit the city of Gloucester today and visited the Cathedral there. We saw the cloisters that were used in the making of the Harry Potter films. We had the chance to dress up in period costumes at the cathedral. We also completed a large jigsaw of a stain glass window. We were incredibly lucky to see a rare wedding taking place. We had the chance to do some shopping and bought some souvenirs and gifts. Later once back we made a start on our packing. We all got dressed up and enjoyed a night out together at The Catherine Wheel Pub. It was a lovely meal and we had a fun time.

Friday 24th June

The end of our holiday and we were homeward bound. We gathered our things and set off, although we were sad to leave, we have all had a wonderful time and want to come back to see more of the Cotswolds.