Wild Place Project 5k fun run

Wild Place Project is a subsidiary of the Bristol Zoological Gardens and opened its doors to the public in 2013.  With a particular stress on preserving endangered habitats, there are several species to see from wolves to okapi, and lots of playgrounds dotted along the way for younger children.  It also boasts themed walks, climbing walls and other outdoor activities.
Wild Place Project isn't as well known as the zoo, but it's worth a visit especially as it's just half the price of the latter.

Wild Place Project is currently raising funds to build a new enclosure so they can house giraffes.  To this end, this year they hosted their first 5k run.  I signed up as it's not often you get an opportunity to go for a run around a zoo!  Registering for the run included entry for 3 guests, so my parents came up and enjoyed the attraction too.

I haven't run a race since before I had Rowan, so I thought 5k would be a nice return to running (especially since I don't get time to train - I think I've been running twice in the last month).
The start of the run took us past the wolves.  They were running up and down the length of their enclosure watching the runners with interest.  Wolves are my favourite animal, so this was undoubtedly the best bit of the run for me!  The wolves were probably responding to a predatory instinct, but it was still exciting to see them up close.
The route then took us down a muddy track as the gradient dropped.  Downhill is a good thing when running, but only on the return journey!  I remember thinking that facing the uphill section would really bite when we reached it, and I wasn't wrong!  I ended up walking a few sections as the terrain was so muddy I think I would have ended up sprawled over the ground if I ran it (plus, I was tired at that point).

It was a tough run, more cross-country than I was expecting.  But there was a nice sense of comradery among the runners.

This was a nice if misleadingly hard run.  I would definitely do it again though.

 At the finishing line

Whilst I was running Rowan spent his time obsessively on the bouncy castle.  Gareth did get a couple of photos of him, but they are bit blurry:

Boing!

After the run we had a pleasant walk around some of the site.  The meerkats were particularly endearing, and seemed very curious when people were around their enclosure.  Rowan seemed quite taken with them too, as you could get right up close to them.

Contented meerkats

There were lots of points of interest throughout the site, which was marvelous for maintaining an easily distracted toddler's attention.

Rowan loved this zebra jeep. He wasn't as impressed with

the real zebras. The zoologist in me weeps a little. 

 

 Terrifying driving - he's not even

watching the road!

 

 Big game

Mum and Dad mid-stroll

Mothering Sunday

I indulged in a lie-in this morning, being woken at 8:30am for breakfast and coffee in bed.  Rowan threw a bunch of pretty flowers at me, and then climbed onto the bed.  He chose my breakfast, which was ably conveyed by Gareth.  So I 'enjoyed' a bowl of Cookie Crunch cereal (a treat Gareth let Rowan put in the shopping trolley when I wasn't looking) and conducted some impressive acrobatics to drink my coffee without scalding the toddler! It was a lovely* surprise and Rowan looked very pleased with his efforts. As he should be.  Gareth told me that he had tried to persuade Rowan that maybe I'd prefer poached eggs on toast, but Rowan was adamant that I was having Cookie Crunch!

We made a last minute decision to drive down to Plymouth to visit our Mums, so had a minor rush to load the car and go.  Rowan promptly fell asleep, so he was fairly refreshed by the time we got there (usually he waits until we are ten minutes away from anywhere we are going, then falls asleep).
Fortunately, Rowan's great grandmothers were visiting my Mother-in-law (Lynn) so he got to see them too.

Nanny Gwen, Grandma and Great-Grandma Barbara

 Four generations

We had a lovely lunch with everyone, and then released Rowan into the garden to let out some pent up energy.  He was particularly fond of filling the watering can up and emptying it over the grass. 

We then went to my parents' house and spent a couple of hours chatting, and trying to prevent Rowan trashing their home (two dog bowls were the total causalities this visit).  Rowan had his dinner, and was kept quiet with a bag of crisps - we generally limit them at home, so on the rare occasions he has access to a whole bag he remains silent in case someone realises and takes them away.
Rowan adores dogs, but doesn't quite understand that not all dogs adore him!  The expression on Molly's face (below) pretty much sums up their relationship at present.

 "Go home, ugly bald puppy"

The handsome, photogenic Flash

 Nanny and Grandad. This was the best photo I could get at

this point. Rowan was very tired, and not going to 

comply for a photo shoot!

I felt bad that we didn't stay very long, but it was a spur of the moment decision.  Hopefully we can catch up again soon!


* I mistyped and wrote 'lively' at first. Either word works!

A visit from Nanny and Grandad

My parents came up to visit us but they could only stay for the day since they had left their dogs at home.  Rowan is fond of their Yorkshire terrier, Molly, but the feeling isn't mutual.  Molly is 10 years old and would rather be left alone thank you very much. Since Rowan is too young to understand the concept of someone not wanting him in their face, my parents are sticking to day visits until he's a little older. Rowan is generally good with dogs but can be over-exuberant when he is over-tired (or simply showing off).
Mum and Dad kindly took us out for a pub meal. It was a really nice afternoon out, and Rowan was generally well behaved. There was some of the usual toddler throwing things on the floor that inevitably accompanies public outings, but overall I was proud of how he conducted himself. He occupied himself playing with ice cubes, completely ignoring the paper and crayons that were specifically for him.  However, if my Mum had brought her walking stick I expect Rowan would have invested all his time trying to get at it!

After a treat of brownie and ice-cream for pudding, Rowan had a lot of sugar to burn off. Fortunately, Grandad was an obliging accomplice to this veritable maelstrom and swiftly became Rowan's best buddy!  He even demanded Grandad at bath time, and told me to go away (usually it's a battle letting anyone else do the bath time routine in place of me).  He then insisted Grandad read him his story.

I'm glad all Rowan's grandparents live reasonably close.  It can be a bit challenging to visit in a day as it's a fair amount of driving but he's lucky that he gets to see them all regularly.

Rowan playing in the park outside the pub

Gareth told him we were leaving now. Rowan

wasn't on board with this suggestion 

 Fun with Nanny and Grandad!

 Grandad holding Rowan still for a photo -

the boy can't keep still!