Ever since we moved to Nottingham, we said that we were going to take advantage of the fact that we’re in a part of the country that is so easy to get to landmark destinations. I wouldn’t say there’s much here in Nottingham, but it’s not too much effort to get to places where there are great attractions for kids.
Thankfully, over the past couple of years, a lot of the reasons we’ve ventured to a lot of these fun places has been because blog opportunities have come our way. While we were closing in on the end of lockdown, we just couldn’t wait to break out and get anywhere – so much so that we decided that we had to tick off some boxes that we would have done summer (if it wasn’t for that whole wedding situation we found ourselves in).
On the very week that they announced that outdoor attractions were reopening, we booked two different trips on consecutive Friday: one to go to Twycross Zoo (a personal favourite from my younger years) and West Midland Safari (somewhere that I never even seriously thought about going to until we were housebound for three whole months).
Going to Twycross with a 3.5-year-old and then-nearly-2-year old was predictably as fun as it was challenging. The place is just perfect. Other than the lack of rhinos on the day that we went, we couldn’t have been happier. It’s a place filled with endless surprises, with all the different animals and sections there for you to explore.
We went on a day when the rain had made its presence known; filling the place with puddles at every turn (which at times were more entertaining than the abundance of primates and whatnot). Thankfully, they went in their all-in-ones and boots, so we were prepared for all that was thrown our way. 
The safari was a different story in terms of the weather. It was a proper nice hot day, which required ice cream and cool refreshments. It was the perfect conditions to get all of the animals out and animated while we drove around. We got our rhino fix, and got to see plenty more animals that myself, Hollie and the kids have never seen in-person before. 
As it’s so close, it’s very likely that we’re going to find ourselves at Twycross many more times in the future. West Midland Safari Park is amazing and, although it takes quite a bit longer to get to from us, deserves just as many future visits too.