Day 301 - October 27th

Today we visited Batemans Brewery at Salem Bridge in Wainfleet.

Batemans was founded in 1874 by George Bateman, a local farmer and the brewery has since passed through four generations of the Bateman family.

We were able to go on a brewery tour of the old and new brew house.

At the end we were shown the traditional metal kegs which are sent out to the pubs, etc and also new plastic recyclable kegs which are set to replace the metal kegs.

Today was our last full day in Lincolnshire. Tomorrow we return home. Good bye Lincolnshire, its been a good week. 

Day 300 - October 26th

Today we visited Lincolnshire Wildlife Park. The Lincolnshire Wildlife Park, previously known as The Parrot Zoo, is Europe's only dedicated Parrot Sanctuary.  There are lots of animals to see including tigers, meerkats, lemurs, tapir. otters and reindeer but the real stars are the 100s of rescued parrots and parakeets.

There is a large walk-through aviary where visitors can get up close and personal with some of the birds.

I'm not sure if it was the colour of my coat but at one point I had three birds on me feeding from an apple core.

As well as birds in the walk-through aviary there were other birds which were happy to eat peanuts from our hands through the bars of their cages.

It was quite sad to see so many birds that had been abandoned or given up by their owners but it was also heartwarming to know that the Lincolnshire Wildlife Park has taken them in and will ensure they live out the rest of their lives in a safe and happy environment.

Day 299 - October 25th

Having discovered two more Crazy Golf courses in Skegness the other day, we have decided it is our mission to try them all, so today we played the 'Jolly Roger - Treasure Trail' course. It was a lovely sunny day and quite warm in the sunshine.

At the end of the game anyone who 'fired the cannon' by getting their ball into a certain hole, won a free game. I won a free game.

We decided to retire to a nearby cafe overlooking the seafront for a drink and to add up the scores.

Who'd have thought that when Lara added up the scores she would find that we had all drawn!

Having won a free game, we decided to take advantage and play the 'Jolly Roger - Skull Trail' course.

Before returning to the cottage we took a ride on the Big Wheel where we got a spectacular view of the beach and surrounding area.

Day 298 - October 24th

Today we visited Skegness Aquarium. The Aquarium only opened last year and we really enjoyed our visit. We've been to several other Aquariums / Sea Life Centers over the years but the Skegness Aquarium is unique in that daily feeding sessions take place in the large tank.

It was fascinating to see the divers hand feeding the fish, sharks and rays,

Lara would have loved to have enjoyed the 'Dive Experiences' which the Aquarium offers but it was not to be on this occasion and so she had to make do with viewing the fish from a plastic dome in one of the smaller tanks.

I tried to photograph some fo the exotic fish but this wasn't easy.

Day 297 - October 23rd

Today we visited Natureland Seal Sanctuary at Skegness.

Natureland is dedicated to treating and returning seals to their natural habitat. Every year, particularly during the breeding season, seal pups are washed up on the beaches around Skegness, abandoned or separated from their mothers. The lucky ones are bought to Natureland where they are cared for until they are fit enough to be returned to the sea. Today there were four baby seals in the rearing pool.

As well as the baby seals, Natureland also has a small group of older seals which for one reason or another can't be released back in the wild. One was particularly interested in Lara.

As well as the seals, Natureland has other creatures. It has a pond of huge Koi Carp.

There were various reptiles ans lizards in the tropical house.

As it was late in the season, there were fewer tropical butterflies than would normally be seen in the walk through greenhouse of Mediterranean plants, but we still spotted quite a few. 

The Penguins were sunning themselves.

 the Goats.....

.... and Alpacas were happy to be fed.

For the record, Alpacas spit! Luckily they didn't spit at us but that was only because we anticipated what was about to happen and got out of the way in time!

As well as visiting Natureland today, we also had TWO games of Crazy Golf. We discovered there are at least three Crazy Golf courses in Skegness and felt it only right that we should try them all.

Course No 1 was only 9 holes long - Lara one this game.

Course No 2 was 18 holes long - Wayne and I jointly won this game.

We still have to play Course No 3 to see who is this weeks outright winner.