Yorkshire Wildlife Park is offering one of the most unique staycation opportunities going this summer and it’s certainly not for the faint-hearted.
It’s no secret that staycations are on the up this year due to the number of overseas travel restrictions currently in place amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and that camping in the countryside is filling that holiday hole for many Brits, but how does pitching your tent up beside a pride of lions sound?
Yes, we’re not kidding – camping next to lions is a thing and the pleasure is all yours from just £50 a night.
The popular walk-through wildlife adventure park – Yorkshire Wildlife Park (YWP), based in Doncaster – is home to the ‘Roar and Snore’ camping experience and it’s exactly what the name suggests.
According to the YWP website, Roar and Snore camping is a chance to “experience a traditional wild camping escape in the heart of nature… where campers of all ages can enjoy an unforgettable fun family night (or two) under the stars.”
Whilst “traditional” isn’t the first word that springs to mind when we think of this, we’re definitely intrigued.
We are pleased to announce our new Roar & Snore Campsite!?️ Experience a traditional camping escape at Yorkshire Wildlife Park!? Where campers of all ages can enjoy a family night under the stars⛺ ? Find out more and book your camping pitch now at-https://t.co/WP4ro8IwcQpic.twitter.com/KlbZF4RPuc
— Yorkshire Wildlife Park ? (@YorkshireWP) July 11, 2020
This new camping option at YWP includes a 10m x 15m socially-distanced camping pitch, which is enough for one large tent or two smaller tents, and allows access to on-site washrooms and shower facilities. Guests are able to camp just next to the entrance of the park and if they’re lucky enough, will even get to hear the lions roaring in the morning from inside their tents.
On-site food facilities are available, including a pizzeria with pizza, beer and wine, and a breakfast wagon is on hand to serve up some good grub in the morning.
Campers will have to pre-book their pitch and take their own tents too, but do note that Roar and Snore experience is for tent camping only as Yorkshire Wildlife Park is unable to accommodate caravans and camper vans/motorhomes at this time.
While tickets to the park are not included in the Roar and Snore rates, families will get discounted deals to enter the attraction, and if you fancy some alone time with the animals, you can even book an out-of-hours Safari tour too, which will take place an hour before or after the park opens.
How ace is that?
Yorkshire Wildlife Park
Camping pitches are available for up to six people per pitch, with tickets starting from just £50 per night and any additional nights costing an extra £40.
Tickets for Roar and Snore camping are available from Wednesday 22nd July – Monday 31st August.
Reduced-rate day tickets for the park will then cost £15.50 for kids and £19.50 for adults.
If this sounds right up your street, then you can book your Roar and Snore camping experience here, and for more information, visit the Yorkshire Wildlife Park website here.
What's On
Aitch is playing a huge hometown set at The Warehouse Project
Danny Jones
Aitch has booked another massive hometown slot as the Moston-born rapper will be playing none other than the home of clubbing here in Manchester: The Warehouse Project.
Joining the WHP25 programme, which is already stacked right up until New Year’s Eve, the 25-year-old is the latest rapper to take on the famous club venue, following the likes of Little Simz and Loyle Carner, who played the event series back in October.
Aitch‘s new album, 4 – which denotes the number of studio LPs he’s made to date and acts as a nod to the M4 postcode – was released on June 20 and has already proved popular with fans.
Having just played Parklife as well as a secret set at Glastonbury this year, he’s already performed most of his biggest slots for the year, but the ever-rising local rapper thought he’d given Manchester another big gig and one more chance to see him live in 2025.
As an increasingly popular main event act across the UK, a headline show at Warehouse Project is nothing short of a massive deal for any artist, let alone a Manc.
The date itself will see him see him performing songs from the new record, which is his second to hit the top 10, as well as a selection of multiple platinum-selling hits.
Sharing details of early access tickets on Instagram stories shortly after the announcement, the UK hip-hop and grime star reminded fans: “This is the only chance to see me shut this sh*t down this year!!!”
It’s actually his only major domestic show in full stop, so if you’re a die-hard fan of Harrison Armstrong and his music, you really don’t want to miss this one.
He’s not the only big name coming to Mayfield this season either.
WHP25 /// FISHER – TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Don’t miss out on what’s set to be an unmissable night – packed with infectious energy from beginning to end – as he takes over Depot Mayfield alongside a lineup coming very soon.
Featured Images — Jahnay Tennai (supplied)/Aitch (via TikTok)
What's On
‘Dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture goes on public display in Greater Manchester after fears it was lost
Emily Sergeant
A long-lost masterpiece of Victorian silverwork has been saved and is now on display to the public in Greater Manchester.
Anyone taking a trip over to the National Trust’s historic Dunham Massey property, on the border of Greater Manchester into Cheshire, this summer will get to see the ‘dazzling’ sculpture called Stags in Bradgate Park – which was commissioned by a former owner in a defiant gesture to the society that shunned him.
The dramatic sculpture of two rutting Red Deer stags, commissioned in 1855 by George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford, was said to be an ‘act of love and rebellion’.
It also serves as a symbol of ‘locking horns’ with the society that ostracised him over his marriage to a woman considered ‘beneath him’.
“This isn’t just silver – it’s a story,” says James Rothwell, who is the National Trust‘s curator for decorative arts.
“A story of a man who fell in love with a woman that society deemed unworthy. When the Earl married Catherine Cox, whose colourful past was said to have included performing in a circus, Victorian high society was scandalised. Even Queen Victoria shunned the couple at the opera and local gentry at the horse races in Cheshire turned their backs on them.”
Modelled by Alfred Brown and crafted by royal goldsmiths Hunt & Roskell, Stags in Bradgate Park is a meticulously-detailed depiction of nature, and was considered a ‘sensation’ in its day.
Showing the rutting deer positioned on a rocky outcrop with gnarled hollow oaks, it graced the pages of the Illustrated London News, was exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862, and at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867 – both of which were events that drew millions of visitors.
A ‘dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture has gone on public display in Greater Manchester / Credit: Joe Wainwright | James Dobson (via Supplied)
The silver centrepiece was the celebrity art of its time, paraded through streets and admired by the public like no other.
Gradually over the years, some of the Earl of Stamford’s silver collection has been re-acquired for Dunham Massey, and this particular world-renowned sculpture, thought to be lost for decades and feared to have been melted down, has miraculously survived with its ‘dramatic’ central component being all that is left.
“The sculpture is not only a technical marvel, with its lifelike depiction of Bradgate Park’s rugged landscape and wildlife, but also a dramatic human story key to the history of Dunham Massey,” added Emma Campagnaro, who is the Property Curator at Dunham Massey.
Emily Sergeant -
16th July 2020 
