Hello Wanderer UK

day out to... Port Lympne Reserve

Recently I wrote about returning to Howletts for the first time in ages, at the moment they are offering discount entry to the sister park - so this Friday we went for a visit. Port Lympne Reserve is over 600 acres of land, and ticket includes free safari and access to the dinosaur forest. As part of the Aspinall Foundation, Port Lympne also focus on the breeding and rehabilitation of endangered animals back into the wild - with successful breeding programs with their giraffes, rhinos and gorillas. As a nice little bonus compared to Howletts you can also holiday within the park with lots of different glamping choices available - brings back happy memories of my staycation at Pinewood.

The safari journey takes about an hour and takes you past rhinos and spectated bear - then through the Asian experience where you will find different types of deer and water buffalo. On to the main African experience where you find the giraffe (which I may be a little obsessed with - especially the babies) but also zebra, antelope, ostrich and much more. There is amazing views from the top of the hill looking all over Kent. The bonus is you can go on the safari as many times as you like! and as the animals roam free you never know what you will see.

Before getting the chance to jump off the truck and explore carnivore territory to see cats great and small, check out the dinosaur forest where you can learn all about the Jurassic period and see the t-rex tower over you. With a lovely walk, you can then head to the Primate trail to see all the cute monkeys and the talented gorillas with their new baby arrival. There is cafes and even a restaurant on site, as well as plenty of seating for you to take a picnic with you to enjoy and 2 small play areas for young children at basecamp and carnivore territory. I would say it takes about 4-5 hours to explore everything at a slow pace and stop off for lunch as well.

General Information

Opening Times - Open everyday apart from Christmas
Winter 25 Oct to 28 Mar - 9.30am to 5pm (last admission 2.30pm)
Summer 25 Mar to 24 Oct - 9.30am to 6pm (last admission 3.30pm)

Location - Hythe, Kent CT21 4LR

Prices - (these are on the day prices, book online to save 20%)
Adult - £25.00
Child - £21.00
Family (2A + 2C) - £82.00
- Memberships also available.

To find out more visit - www.aspinallfoundation.org/port-lympne/
Why not give them a follow on twitter or facebook

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, by Chloe

Why Every Home Should Have A Home Office

If you have a spare room, you may have been wondering what exactly you should be doing with it. You might be thinking about a guest room, but they’re not all that practical if you rarely have guests around. It can seem like a bit of a waste using a room solely as storage. If you’re looking for a solution, then how about creating a home office? Even if you don’t work from often, it can do plenty for you. Here’s why you should consider it.

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Most homes don’t have a space for serious business

You might not work from home, but how often do you take your home with you? How often do you have to sit down to fill in forms or to talk about serious matters on the phone? If you have kids, then how often do they need to do homework? If you don’t have a home office, then you know how distracting it can be to try and get that done in a more general living space. Especially for the kids, trying to do homework in the open or in their bedroom creates the opportunity for them to have their attention snagged elsewhere, risking their education. A home office gives you the space to focus when you need to without having to leave the home.

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It’s the perfect place to keep all the essential bits and bobs

That office can also easily double as a place to keep a ton of things important to home life. It might just be the only kind of room in the home where a filing cabinet actually suits its place. Bills, tax documents, service agreements, benefit receipts, school and medical records. They all need to find a place and one overstuffed file under the bed isn’t going to make it work. What about all the resources that tend to get lost around the house? Stationery, crafts materials, bits and bobs like nail clippers, scissors, glue, measuring tape. They all need a place if you don’t want to have to spend half-an-hour looking for them every time you need them. The home office provides the perfect organized space to suit those needs.

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More and more people are working from home

Hear us out, here. You might not be starting your own business or working from home just yet, but the chances are that someone in the family is going to at some point in the future. Last year, there were 1.5 million people working from home in the country. That number is set to grow as well as more people turn to freelancing and more businesses start to make remote working a core of their model. Creating an environment ready fit for that possibility is going to make acclimating to such an arrangement a lot easier.

A home office gives a real purpose to space you haven’t been using, and not just one purpose, either. It creates the environment that most homes are missing, an environment free from distraction to help everyone concentrate when work needs to be done.

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, by Chloe

How Do You Find The Look Of A Room?

The empty room. It’s a daunting sight and a real challenge to any home owner. You might initially think how excited you are to work with a blank canvas, but the truth is that it can be a lot harder than you initially imagine. If you’re wondering where to go from, we’re going to help you find a few starting points that can help you build a look.

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Think thematically

Perhaps one of the easiest ways to put together the look of a room is to look at the overall trending styles at the moment. Whether you want the rustic look, the contemporary style or a more minimalist approach to your décor, there are plenty of guides that can help you nail it. It might seem a little limiting in some respects, but if you’re completely stuck on where to start for a look of your own, they can be helpful guidelines to follow along.

Pick a piece you love

Maybe you already have something in the room or something you want to put in there. It might be a piece of modern art as the main part of a feature wall for the room. It might be a plush burgundy sofa that will be one of the main parts of the room. Use the pre-existing items to extrapolate a style. For instance, you can use that piece of art to decide an overall aesthetic, such as sleek, modern furniture to go with a piece of pop art. Or you can use the sofa as the basis for a whole colour scheme.

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Start with the essentials

Perhaps you have some functional needs that you want the room to be able to adhere to. If you want wooden flooring in the room, then that can serve as a basis to build up from. There are plenty of different directions to go in from those essentials, too. From wooden flooring, for instance, you can decide on a clean, sleek, minimalist modern look or you can contrast it with rugs and plush furniture to get a bit more hygge in the home.

Consider what’s available to you

Flooring serves as a good example of a functional choice you make that later helps you decide which direction to take your décor in. However, there might be some properties of the room that force you to think a bit more practically about those choices, too. For instance, let’s consider the rooms that get only a little natural night. Adding some extra lighting is going to be a start, but that room is always going to have a darker feel to it unless you open it up more. So, for a darker room, consider fitting colours, such as a strong plum. You can use lighter colours, but they’re better off in warmer tones so the space doesn’t look too cold.

In future, if you’re a home décor aficionado, it’s a good idea to keep a mood board for future potential room makeovers. Using Pinterest, you can easy piece together the difference pieces of inspiration you spot here and there so you always have plenty to go back on.

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, by Chloe

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day out to... Port Lympne Reserve

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How Do You Find The Look Of A Room?

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