What Sophie Said

We stumbled across Paradise Wildlife Park by accident. A brown sign at the side of the road en route to a weekend getaway said it was only a couple of hours away. Reviews online told us it was a great day out. We booked tickets online, and headed towards the park on a sunny Saturday morning. It's a trip to the zoo, but on a smaller scale. It has animals from big cats to wolves, zebras to snakes, and you feel so close to all of them. The way the enclosures were built meant many didn't seem like 'enclosures' at all, and the staff all over the park were clearly so passionate about the animals they looked after. The first thing we went to was a talk on red pandas, who were just beautiful and the keeper seemed almost giddy with excitement as he told us about the species, their lives in the wild, and what is being done to protect them. The big cats were so regal-looking, and high up walkways allowed you to walk around and look down into the enclosures...

A few weeks ago, I had one of my very favourite weekends in a long time. The setting was Hertfordshire, activities included the Harry Potter Studio Tour and a wildlife park, and the sun had got its hat on. The venue was De Vere Theobalds Park Hotel, in Cheshunt, and that's what I'm writing about today. The approach was beautiful, with a long tree-lined drive leading up to a building which looked almost castle-like. It was a beautiful building, and set in lush, green grounds. The one thing I will say, which was a recurring theme, is the whole hotel needs a little bit of love. It was one of those places which feels like it maybe looked incredible 10 years ago, but little details are being ignored. Take the room, for example. The bed was big and comfy, it had all the usual comforts, but there were marks on the bedhead and around the TV that just made it all look a bit worn. There was also a tear in one of the towels in the bathroom, which I wasn't too impressed...