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Published: September 14th 2014
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Woolly was looking a little jaded following the birthday celebrations of the night before. Woolly says – She can talk! With copious cups of tea and coffee consumed I hustled Jo and daughter Zoe outside to meet up with friend Daisy, who was joining us for our adventure. I had been looking forward to this outing for weeks and having begged and pleaded with my big brown eyes Jo had finally succumbed to my charms and said she would take me to Dudley Zoo. We’re going to the zoo tomorrow, the zoo tomorrow…….. He is hard to resist sometimes and although I’m not a lover of zoo’s it was the first time since our Safari in Portugal last year that the mammoth would see some animals. Woolly says – Even better than the animals is the castle. I had been reading up on the motte and bailey construction which was completed in 1070 by Ansculf of Picardy. The building of the castle started the lineage of the Lords of Dudley who later took the title of the Duke of Northumberland, I think they must have had their geography wrong as I’m sure
Dudley is nowhere near Northumberland! In 1552 the then Lord of Dudley became Lord Protector, and was one of the men who tried to change the rights of succession when he encouraged the dying Edward VI to void the rights of princesses Mary and Elizabeth to the throne and put his cousin, Lady Jane Grey next in line. On August 11 1575, Queen Elizabeth I visited Dudley Castle and a decade later the site was surveyed as a possible residence for the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots.
During the Civil War Dudley Castle was garrisoned by royalist troops. It was besieged in 1644 and 1646 and surrendered on May 13, 1646. The following year, by order of Parliament, the keep, gatehouse and sections of the curtain wall were slighted. On July 24, 1750 a fire, which raged for three days, swept through gutting the once-magnificent palace. Dudley Castle was then allowed to settle into the role of romantic ruin. In the late 1800s and early 20th century fetes drew crowds into the courtyards and in May 1937 the Earl of Dudley opened Dudley Zoological Society. Armed with his knowledge Woolly was first through the gates and already padding towards the flamingos.
Woolly says – The women had all stopped, sighing with exasperation I plodded back to them to find them debating the need to go on the chair lift. I looked upwards and watched the chairs moving high high up above me, Jo looked a little green and was slowly shaking her head, I would sacrifice myself to stay with her while daughter Zoe and Daisy were swept away from us, really, the things I have to do. Being sensible I nudged Jo and we set off to start the tour. Pretty pink flamingos were standing elegantly on one leg, I tried to copy them but found I kept falling over so gave it up as a bad job. As we wandered past cages with fluffy owls and chimps picking at each other’s fleas I spotted a sign for red Panda’s, I dashed over and peered through the barrier, I peered harder and scrutinised the pen but still couldn’t spot one, maybe they were on holiday! They weren’t the only ones, the lynx was missing in action as were the lions, trying to curb his disappointment we headed to the giraffes. Woolly says – I do like giraffes, the have such a gentle look about them although daughter Zoe and friend Daisy seemed to think the baby one was cuter than me! Next came the orang a tangs, a huge one was sat looking at the crowds around him, he looked incredibly grumpy and swatted the baby orang a tang as it fly past him on the overhead rope, maybe he’d had a rough night! The baby seemed to be everywhere, I even checked to make sure there was only one as he tumbled and leapt around the enclosure entertaining everyone with his antics. As we approached the tiger I took a step back, he was looking straight at me and licking his lips, not a good sign, I pushed Jo forward to take a picture and scurried away towards the sea lion who was swimming lengths of its pool. Being the eagle eyed Mammoth that I am I spied a place for snacks and without further ado I ushered the humans inside and sorted out my elevenses. With Woolly’s stomach filled we walked on, he spent the next ten minutes penguin spotting and even though I warned him not to lean over the Perspex wall he nearly ended up as an exhibit himself.
Woolly says – I think they tried to push me in really! The meerkats were busy posing for their pictures, I struck up my best pose and waited for the crowds to start snapping me but nobody seemed to notice my presence even when I shouted and jumped up and down, you just can’t find the fans these days. At last we arrived at the Castle Keep and dragging the girls behind me I clambered up the steep stone steps to peek out of the defences and take in the view of Dudley far below us. As we made our way into the courtyard area I found myself feeling a little despondent, the castle really wasn’t that brilliant and there was no information, so I was very pleased to be able to share my superior knowledge with Jo and the females. In 1552 the then Lord of Dudley became Lord Protector, and was one of the men who tried to change the rights of succession when he encouraged the dying Edward VI to void the rights of princesses Mary and
Elizabeth to the throne and put his cousin, Lady Jane Grey next in line. On August 11 1575, Queen Elizabeth I visited Dudley Castle and a decade later the site was surveyed as a possible residence for the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots.
During the Civil War Dudley Castle was garrisoned by royalist troops. It was besieged in 1644 and 1646 and surrendered on May 13, 1646. The following year, by order of Parliament, the keep, gatehouse and sections of the curtain wall were slighted. On July 24, 1750 a fire, which raged for three days, swept through gutting the once-magnificent palace. Dudley Castle was then allowed to settle into the role of romantic ruin. In the late 1800s and early 20th century fetes drew crowds into the courtyards and in May 1937 the Earl of Dudley opened Dudley Zoological Society. The building really didn’t look like a castle but the pantry and the kitchens gave an idea of how life would have been during the olden days and the size of the below stairs. Woolly says – With the history part completed I followed the path out and spotted a sign for lemurs.
It always surprises me the speed he can move at when he wants to, leaving a trail of dust behind him we eventually found him happily oohing and arring over the dozing animals. Woolly says – I was watching their tails which they had wrapped round themselves, I tried doing that with my own tail but it didn’t seem to work, I wonder if you can get tail extensions. We seemed to find ourselves back at the bottom of the hill before I knew it and much to my delight I spotted the camels who looked most content in their shady area. I checked the map and realised that we only had monkey trail left to see so ensuring that the slow coaches were behind me I went into the tropical environment. As I turned a corner I came across a tiny spider monkey, he was cute, nearly as cute as me! I went over for a chat and found that he had some snacks, it would have been rude not to help him eat them! With the usual gift shop and it’s highly expensive cuddly toys we took the mammoth by the paw and headed back for the day.
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
What a coincidence...
we are going to the zoo tomorrow also. We are celebrating my grandson's fourth birthday. We will have a picnic with cake.