Highland Wildlife Park

 So we had a day to fill on Tuesday while we were away last week (originally intended for a shopping trip to Inverness which we did on Monday because of our changed lunch/afternoon plans.) The OH suggested a trip to the Highland Wildlife Park which I thought was a good idea so off we went.  

It was a bitter sweet trip in some ways as the one and only other time we had been there we had given a lift to a friend who lived in Wick and we had met up with a family of mutual friends from |Cornwall. The friend from Wick has since died, far too young, of oesophageal cancer  and it was impossible not to think about him at various times during the day. 

That aside we had a wonderful time. The weather wasn't great and it was February and not a school holiday which kept the numbers down and as a lot of the animals there are from northern Europe or the mountains of varying parts of Asia they show to more advantage when  the weather is cooler. 

When we were there before we hadn't had time to do the drive through part, but we did that this time - twice in fact, once when we first arrived and then again just before we left. That bit wasn't brilliant for taking photos although here's one of some  przewalksi horses getting chummy with the car in front - there were lots of them and they were having great fun licking the slat off the cars as they drove around! 

The walk around bit was much more successful for photograph taking.

arctic fox

snow leopard

eagle owl

chief wolf...

....and pack

I don't have photos of the Amur tigers who stayed resolutely too far away, or the Scottish wildcats or the wolverine, but we saw lots of all of them. The catering was a (deep) disappointment sadly, - when did everything suddenly have to be Biscoff flavoured for goodness sake?) but the shop was very lovely. I never expect much from Zoo shops as they tend to be full of tat, but this one certainly wasn't and we came away with various bits and pieces; , most of them, unusually,  for us rather than other people. 

And it was the Highlights Concert inn the evening of which more anon.