On our second day there Jane and me travelled to meet up with my daughter Natalie and her family and together we went to the West Midlands Safari Park at Bewdley, near Kidderminster.  This was my first visit to this safari park and I was impressed by the shear quantity of animals living in as near to wild conditions as is possible I guess.

Each group of animals, e.g lions, elephants, rhinos, wild dogs, hyenas, giraffes, etc., etc., live in segragated enclosures separated by a double gated system which you drive through from one area to the next thus preventing the animals from escaping.

Natalie's two children had a great time in the theme park before the drive round the park although they weren't so keen to hand feed the animals that wander amongst the cars, with the pellets they had bought.  I must admit it was a strange sensation as I tried it on a couple of occasions with the Eland.

Interestingly, the park was founded by Chipperfields Circus boss Jimmy Chipperfield and opened on 17th April 1973 and at the time hosted a few ex-circus animals (it had animals like rhinoceroses, elephants, ostriches, zebras, giraffes, camels, wildebeest, baboons, lions, tigers, bears & wolves, according to a video from the 1970's.  This was a time when it was becoming less acceptable to house animals in circus cages and as performing acts.  The park was officially opened by actress Sophia Loren at Spring Grove House, previously the family home of the Webb family, which was incorporated into the park and used as a cafeteria.

The park was, however, owned by Hardwicke Companies Incorporated, which already had a game park in Montreal, and who invested a total of £500,000 in the project.

The early days were mayhem, especially as they had over 100 baboons that kept escaping often by crawling under slow moving cars as they were leaving (no double gates then).  One of the gamekeepers who worked there, Bob Lawrence, reported in the Express "It was mad, they were all over the place, there were 130 of them.  They were in the roads holding up the traffic, they were in people's gardens, they were everywhere.  They came back with a lot of souvenirs – washing off people's lines and things like that.  They were very good at dismantling people's cars, but they are not so good at putting them back together again" he joked.  He said that "While some people went out with guns trying to round the primates up, it ultimately came down to simply waiting for them to return.  We put out some big bowls of fruit, and they all returned."

In 1978 a sea lion show was brought to Bewdley from the South of France, and for many years it was one of the most popular attractions during the summer months.  In the same year, the final stage of the Lombard RAC Rally was held around the grounds of the park, with the unforgettable sight of cars hurtling through the mud at high speeds around the animal reserves.  While the drive-through monkey jungle was popular with children, the mischievous creatures proved too hot to handle.  In 1990 a monkey nicknamed 'The Artful Dodger' escaped from his enclosure, and was at large for 17 days before being captured in Bridgnorth.  A monkey hotline was set up for locals to report any sightings and finally they had to go.

Today, there are more than 1,600 animals, with hippos, white lions and cheetahs among the big attractions.  The park includes the UK's largest lemur exhibit, as well as the country's only drive-through wild dog and Indian rhino reserves.  The focus is very much on conservation now.  The park was bought by the Looping Group (French) who also own other theme parks, aquariums, water parks and wildlife parks across Europe.