Whipsnade v. Woburn - which is best (and most effortless)?

[MuffinMclay]

Looking for something to do with ds (20 months) tomorrow for 2/3 hours, not all day.

Whipsnade seems to have more to see, but I'm wondering if it involves too much walking (for me, 34 weeks pg, aching limbs ).

I'm wondering how much a small child will really see from a car window at Woburn though (it is more of a drive though place, I think).

You can take cars into Whipsnade too.Theres little stops round so you can park up and wander for a bit.

To save your aching pg limbs

Whipsnade definitely, there's a little train and a double decker bus so you don't need to walk if you're not up to it. Woburn is much more drive through and not as interactive. Whipsnade has the best elephant show and enclosure and you get up to the glass with the tigers (have a fabulous picture of the tiger cub trying to paw me and my umbrella through the glass).

Whipsnade is set on beautiful hills (particularly where the penguins are) so the views and tranquility are fabulous.

We had all year tickets last year and went about 8 times for picnics.

Whipsnade it is then! I'm thinking that I could take a book and sit in a cafe if I've had enough, leaving dh and ds to trek around looking at animals.

MM - if you fancy some company, we have no plans for tomorrow, and would happily pop to Whipsnade for a bit (have annual passes).

Should point out that most (poss all) of the demonstrations aren't on at the moment, and the train doesn't run at this time of year either, but you do get to take your car in at no extra cost at this time of year, so can drive or walk as you please once inside.

CSWS - sorry, I've only just seen your post. I'm feeling a bit out of sorts today, so dh and ds have gone to Whipsnade on their own.

Oh dear - hope you brighten up with the break. We're not v organised so not sure we'll make it before this afternoon anyway. Will keep an eye out for ds if we do go though!

We've moved dd to a bed (she fell off top of cot on Christmas day), so are not getting a lot of sleep at the moment . Has that got easier with ds yet?

Easier, but still plenty of room for improvement. We have a great performance getting him to bed in the evenings (taking up to 1.5 hours at its worst). He thinks that getting out of bed and trotting downstairs is a wonderful game. We are now just sending him straight back, with firm voices, no kisses or cuddles, to make it as dull as possible, and that seems to be working a bit better (famous last words).

For daytime naps I have to sit with him until he falls asleep, and the same if he wakes in the night (3 hours the other night ), otherwise he just starts screaming or getting out of bed.

The stairgate across the door was hopeless. He just opens it or applies brute force to push it over.

And in the mornings I used to leave him in his cot to play for as long as possible, and now he is out of bed and ready to start the day.

I think that Christmas and the excitement of having dh around has made it harder though. He can hear noise and fun going on around him.

Hope you find/found something fun to do today.

We're taking a long time to get to sleep too, and she wakes at the drop of a hat and takes ages to resettle too. Plus she gets up the second she wakes in the morning, instead of drifting back off for another hour. Dh spent half of last night sleeping on her floor, which seems to be the only way she'll settle. We're both knackered!

The stair gate on her door is pretty sturdy though, so she stands clutching it and screaming and jumping up and down angrily if we leave her!

You should be glad you didn't meet up with us today (we did go to Whipsnade for a couple of hours this afternoon) - we suspect that dd may be coming down with chickenpox . Will know for sure in the morning I guess.

Hope your day of rest did you some good.