10.05.2018

On Tuesday, Pal and I set off for Preston to enjoy a two-night stay at Stanley Villa Farm camping. I’ve never been glamping before and to be honest, it has been a good fifteen years or so since I last went camping!

Staying in a little glamping pod was a first for both of us, and to make it even more special, it was actually the first time we have been away somewhere just the two of us. We have been on holiday together before, but this was the first time we were going to be just the two of us.

It took us a while to get to the site because we got our timing wrong and ended up in rush-hour traffic around Manchester – not fun! But once we arrived, we were really happy.

The sun was shining and the site looked beautiful against the sunset. There were only around 10-15 ‘pods’ and there was a lodge nearby with toilets, showers and a common room area. Alongside the pods there was a lovely lake where you could do some fishing or just enjoy walking around the edge and taking in the view.

I’ve always loved being in nature, so it was really refreshing to be in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by wildlife and beautiful sites. I barely touched my phone, which is rare for me! During our stay, I only saw two other people on the site, it felt like we were the only ones there most of the time.

We didn’t do too much on that first night because we arrived at dinner time and we were quite tired (or in my case, slightly cranky) from the long drive. We found a nice Indian restaurant nearby and ate until we were stuffed, then we had a little walk around the lake because the sun was still setting and we couldn’t waste the nice weather!

The next day we were up early and ready to go. We had to make an unscheduled stop at the supermarket because someone had forgotten to pack his coat! But after that, we headed straight to Blackpool Zoo. I’ve never been before, and it has been a long time since I’ve visited a zoo.

It was so much bigger than I expected it to be. After half an hour of looking around we got out the map and were surprised to see that we hadn’t even seen a quarter of the exhibits! We ended up spending about three and a half hours at the zoo, taking a good look at all the different animals.

*Scroll down for LOTS of zoo pictures – I’ll meet you at the end!*

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Which photo was your favourite? I love the meerkat picture because, well, just look at that face! I also really like the sleeping white guinea pig. I see a lot of guinea pigs at work, but it was really nice to see them in a more natural environment, and they all looked really happy.
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Once we had seen all there was to see at the zoo, we headed to Blackpool beach to visit the Sealife Centre. I really like Sealife centres because they always put a lot of thought into their displays, and I also really like the music they play in the displays. It makes everything seem really magical.

Unfortunately, my camera wasn’t very good in the low light of the aquarium, and using the flash was obviously not an option! There probably is a way to get better pictures in aquariums, but I haven’t figured it out yet! It was nice to not have to think about taking photographs though, and instead I just got lost in the displays and really enjoyed watching the fish going about their lives.

We listened to one of the many talks they had scheduled. The man was very informative and we learned a lot about the different fish and their odd names. For example, one of the biggest fish in the tank was called Gary, and I found this more amusing than I should have! Good old Gary!

We headed back to the pod for a quick rest and a freshen-up before heading out for dinner. After a lot of walking around and driving, we slept pretty well that night!

This morning we headed back early because the cats were waiting to be let out. They didn’t even say hello when we opened the door, and Lily actually ran straight past us and into the garden! Holly who?

We had a lovely time and if you’ve never done anything like this then I would highly recommend it! It’s a good opportunity to really get away from it all and just relax.

-Holly

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