Skip to main content

Edinburgh - Edinburgh Zoo

Edinburgh Zoo is a short bus ride from Princes Street. We arrived nice and early in order to maximise our animal-seeing time. Admittance is £16.50 for adults. There are plenty of animals to see, although sadly we didn’t get to see all of them! The orangutan enclosure was closed for medical reasons and the Sumatran tiger was hiding from us!
20150711_100714
Zebras
20150711_094432
Koala Bear
Edinburgh Zoo is the only zoo in the UK which plays host to koala bears and giant pandas. There are currently four koalas.
Hello Tian Tian
Hello Tian Tian
20150711_111528
Tian TIan with her bamboo
It was recently revealed in the news that Tian Tian is pregnant, so the zoo had warned that visitors might not be able to see her. However, Yang Guang will be encouraged to come out for regular feedings. For the pandas, you have to book a viewing slot. During our viewing slot (about 11am), Tian Tian was sat with her back to the visitors eating bamboo. She reached to the side table for more bamboo, nearly losing her balance in the process. Eventually, she walked over to the side table and laid down, greeting the visitors with a happy face…and eating more bamboo, of course.
Yang Guang, on the other hand, was sleeping in the mini shed. He was very well hidden and didn’t come out.
20150711_104615
Asiatic Lions
20150711_110512
Penguins enjoying the sun!
Other highlights include the Asiatic Lions and Penguin Rock.
I would advise buying your tickets online as the queues were quite long when we arrived. Another tip is to go later on in the day – when we walked around in the early morning, many of the animals were not visible yet (because they are sleeping?). You can see more animals from the early afternoon, and there are a lot to see here!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Edinburgh - National Museum of Scotland

The National Museum of Scotland is a vast building filled with exhibitions and displays covering nature, history, art, literature and science. There are also sections dedicated to Scottish history and culture. There is so much to see, I could possibly see one spending the entire day here! Another bonus is that it is free admittance. We were only here for a few hours, so unfortunately we didn’t get to see everything. My particular favourites were seeing the displays on different world cultures, natural history and the environment and the pivotal role Scotland has played in popular culture and art through the ages.

Bideford Christmas Lights Switch On 2016

On Sunday December 4th, Bideford Quayside was closed for the Christmas Lights Switch On event. Due to work, I wasn’t able to see the lights switch on, but I visited the fair beforehand. It was very cold but that didn’t stop the many visitors from getting into the Christmas spirit! There was an opportunity to have a “steam train” ride around the town and free reindeer antlers and Santa hats were being given away for free! There were lots of rides, hot food stalls and games. We won a teddy! There was also live music playing from the stage. Well known characters, including Batman, Peppa Pig and one crazy looking Pikachu walked around greeting everyone. It wouldn’t be Christmas without a few reindeers! They attracted a big crowd and mostly did some eating. The event closed with some spectacular fireworks from the riverside.

Edinburgh - Eteaket Tea Room and Ibis Hotel

We arrived on a Thursday afternoon. Luckily for us, the sun was shining as we made our way to the Eteaket tea room on Frederick Street. Eteaket is famed for its teas, and they supply many local restaurants and other cafes. The tea room itself is quite spacious and full of customers, which shows how popular it is. As well as teas, light lunches and afternoon teas are also on the menu; something to suit any occasion. I opted for a high tea, with Royal Earl Grey tea. The high tea is priced at £8.45 and includes half a sandwich of your choice (I had Scottish Ham and Cheddar Cheese), scone (fruit or plain) and a mini cake (I think I had lemon cake). Tea is also included. Eteaket uses loose leaf tea, good quality and better tasting. The waitress also brough a mini timer. When the sands run out, the tea has brewed for long enough and is ready to drink after you remove the filter. What a beautiful cup of tea! The food was tasty and filling too, making it a great value high tea...