About a month ago I posted that my boyfriend bought us both tickets to Chester Zoo for my 25th birthday. Well I was counting down the days, minutes and seconds and I was not disappointed - it was the most amazing day! However, we were only one of a handful of couples there without children. I would highly recommend going if you were considering it, as it was possibly the best gift I have ever received. It was amazing value for money as we were there from 12 noon until we got kicked out at closing time at 6pm! And we weren't dawdling around. We managed to get around really easily without having to use a map. The enclosures for all of the animals were huge - my favourite being the large bat cave where bats are flying freely around all of the visitors. Also, I have to say the facilities were excellent. There were tonnes of places to eat - there were little coffee huts which sold an array of hot & cold drinks and snacks such as crisps and hot dogs every 50 yards or so. Then there were ice cream stands probably every 100 yards and seated cafes probably every 300 yards - so you were never left searching for anywhere to eat or drink. And at the other end of the park there is an eatery that serves everything you can imagine - burgers, fish and chips, pasta, salads, sandwiches, anything you would want - great if you're needing to please a large group of people. And the fact that there were so many places meant that there was never much of a queue. My advice to anyone going would defiantly be to; wear flat shoes as you will be doing tonnes of walking, and wear layers of comfortable, loose fitting clothing. Most of the indoor enclosures are uncomfortably warm - whilst on that note, make sure you always have a bottle of water with you.

Then after our very tiring day, my boyfriend had organised for us to stay at a gorgeous local hotel, sitting right on the border to Wales. This was an amazing idea as we had such an exhausting day that we were able to just come back and chill out. The hotel was also a spa and restaurant, so we didn't have to go far for anything we needed and we even had a time for some pampering.