UK Tourist & Leisure Attractions - Kent

Port Lympne Animal Park is down in the south of Kent, near Hythe.  It's home to some 70 species spread throughout 600 acres divided into four zones.  So then, where to go first!

Basecamp seemed a good start with a coffee in the café and a quick look at the Snow leopards here, just some of the 650 rare and endangered animals in the wildlife park.  Then we headed off to...

...the Primate Trail and these Guinea baboons didn't fail to impress as they monkeyed around their huge enclosure at Port Lympne.  Further on and...

...hang on, what are these Diana monkeys up to?  Photo tip: get up close to wire fenced cages to knock the fencing out of focus (but not too close!).

The animals had some massive enclosures at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, but the inmates seemed rather shy.  The park was not very busy on the weekday of our visit, apart from the dreaded school parties!  We sure did some...

...walking through the various zones.  In Carnivore Territory we encountered this lazy looking lynx; other species in this area along Bison Walk at Port Lympne included the Pallas cat and European bison, now pretty much extinct in the wild.

The highlight of our visit to Port Lympne Wild Animal Park had to be the safari truck ride which ran at regular intervals throughout the day and was included in the not inconsiderable £23.95 adult entry price (we used supermarket reward tokens).

The safari truck bumped slowly along the tracks through the African Experience and gave us some wonderful close-up views of elephants, rhinos and zebras, however taking a steady photo from the jarring truck proved troublesome!  We continued...

...along and stopped when some giraffes crossed its path.  What gloriously gracious creatures they are.

For more on Port Lympne and other Kent attractions please see our tourist resources.

The safari truck stopped mid-way where there are visitor facilities and the meerkats to observe; these two meerkats seemed to be having a bit of a spat.  Also at the Serengeti stop was the tropical Discovery Zone with lizards and snakes!

Returning to Basecamp, the final area for us at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park were the wolves, tigers and lions; here we encountered a member of the education team, the only time we did all day.  And this guy is a Barbary lion which is now sadly extinct in the wild.  Port Lympne is run by the Aspinall Foundation.

Oo-er, it looked like Mike was expecting WWIII with all that camo clobber on, hey, we were only doing a country walk in Kent taking in parts of the North Downs Way and Pilgrims Way!  It was our second car-free day as the route started just up from our Hollingbourne holiday cottage.  So, onwards and...

...upwards, then before long time to pause for breath, find a geocache, and take in the view over the Kent countryside from the North Downs Way here.  We spotted many fine old oast houses down towards Broad Street below.  We often take...

...a picnic on our all-day walks so we're not reliant on getting to a pub or café for lunch.  Good job too as Mike had underestimated our timings again (he blamed the navigation app on his smartphone).  This idyllic Kent spot was just off the Pilgrims Way.

Presently we arrived at the pub at Thurnham (the Black Horse) which was right on the Pilgrims Way.  Boy, did we need a drink and we're happy to report that the first pint didn't touch the sides - nor did the second - on what was a rather hot day!  Kent's known as the...

...Garden of England due to its association with hop growing used in Mike's favorite tipple, beer.  Here's an oast house we passed near the Pilgrims Way used previously for drying (kilning) the hops; many oast houses are house conversions now.  We walked...

...on through the Kent countryside as we had a table booked at the Dirty Habit, our lovely local pub in Hollingbourne just a short stroll away from our Kent holiday cottage.  Here we...

...enjoyed a delicious meal washed down by some local Kent beer!  Nice and relaxing after a rather strenuous day's walking in the Garden of England and a fitting end to our endearing Kent holiday.