Stroke of Luck

March In Pembrokeshire

I've just come back from a long weekend in the country. Bluestone in Pembrokeshire National Park to be precise. It's was a beautiful, indulgent weekend and the weather shone on us the whole time. I attempted archery (turns out I'm not very good), cycled (which I haven't done in almost 20 years and it turns out, I'm not very good!), and spent far too much time lounging in outdoor hot tubs (at which, i'm awesome). Absolute bliss. The highlight of the holiday however came on the last day . . .

We decided to visit Manor House Wildlife Park which was bought a couple of years ago by interior designer Anna Ryder Richardson and while it's very much a work in progress it's a beautiful place and is aiming (and succeeding from what I saw) to be an eco-friendly conservation park.

The park is pretty special because you get to stroke animals. I'm a big fan of stroking stuff so I was in my element. Things I got to stroke include: Wallabys, blind albino wallabys, the weirdest looking chickens I've ever seen & a variety of goats. All good stuff!

 

The highlight however was when Anna Ryder Richardson drove past in a Jeep, stopped and informed us that one of the camels had just gone into labour. We ran down to the camel field and got to watch the whole birth. It was rather remarkable. 

We witnessed the birth, the first very wobbly steps and it's many failed attempts at feeding. I'd also like to add that we would have missed the whole thing had Anna Ryder Richardson not stopped to tell us as we had already been to see the camels. An incredible holiday and an incredible experience.

Alas it's back to reality now and with that work. Still, I have some great things lined up in this coming week so hopefully reality won't hit me too hard.