According to the forecast, weather today should mirror yesterday's, sunny and warm, although it feels quite chilly to me at this ridiculous time of the morning.
Whilst on the subject of wildlife ( zoo ) I should confirm the midland/northern canals boast large numbers of herons who seem oblivious to passing boats and/or urban living. Similarly we have seen far more kingfishers who also tend to hang around longer than their southern counterparts. We have seen several mink and a few cormorants. Buzzards appear to be very common.
Something else that appears to be common up here but I had not seen "in the flesh" before is the Airbus A320 Guppy, a bulbous transport plane developed to deliver airbus parts manufactured around the World for fitting together in France. Exciting stuff ( for me at least ).
Chester zoo has similarities to Howletts and Port Lympne in the way they were started, eccentric owners with unorthodox ideas on keeping, breeding and exhibiting species. Chester was the first bar - less animal collection ( I hate the word zoo ).
Two locals gave us conflicting advice on the quickest way from canal to zoo, by road or bridle-path.
Needless to say we chose the wrong advice and had to retrace our steps,which was less than good news as the zoo is atop a huge hill. For your information the bridle path is the best choice.
Zoo entry is far from cheap but you get a free map, designed by Picassozz in abstract I think. It is practically impossible to find anything, least of all the monorail station. We opted to get lost on foot at no extra cost, thank you very much.
Plus points are the fruit bat jungle, the elephant paddock and the large aviary. The rest I found disappointing to be honest, but I am judging it against Howletts and Port Lympne, who not only breed endangered species but also repatriate them, which is fairly unique. The Chester chimp and orang enclosures are clinical and unadventurous for the inmates. Chester facilities for humans are superior, but so what.
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