End-of-year excursion to Blair Drummond Safari Park

FHS English Teacher, Mr Stewart, reports on the whole school, end-of-year trip to Blair Drummond Safari Park

Following a year of restricted opportunities, we finally managed a whole school outing to Blair Drummond Safari Park on June 9th.

By 9:15am all boys and staff were ready to depart, armed with snacks, drinks and Mr Melville in charge of the money.  The weather was overcast but a few staff and pupils were optimistic, having decided upon shorts, t-shirt and sunglasses.

The journey through was so uneventful that one of the boys remarked “I’m disappointed by the lack of cows in the fields.”  Despite the earlier optimism regarding the weather, it started drizzling as we neared the Park.

Tickets sorted, we drove into the “wild”, stopping to see a rhino at close quarters. Some of the boys noticed a sign that read if the rhino starts walking towards you, you should drive away slowly.

This caused a bit of a panic in the Juniors’ car as the rhino started to walk towards them and their car couldn’t go forward due to the car in front of them not moving! They were very relieved when the rhino changed direction!

We moved on, deciding that our vehicles would be no match for it, and headed for the safety of the lions. Some were sensibly sheltering under trees while others showed they were true Scottish lions as they braved the drizzle.  We continued our drive through the animal reserves, seeing bison, antelope, monkeys and camels before stopping for a snack in the car park.  It was at this point we realised this was Scottish drizzle; the kind that soaks you right through! 

Undeterred by the weather, the boys headed off to enjoy the park.  Some opted for some “teacher bashing” on the dodgems, delighting in bumping into each other but mostly bumping into Mr Stewart.  The mighty fort adventure playground was enjoyed by all and the paddle boats were also a great, if wet, success.

Although there were certain areas of the animal park not open due to Covid restrictions, there were still lots of animals to see, ranging from giraffes, elephants, penguins and monkeys, to more domesticated animals in the petting zoo.  Dinosaurs roared and moved, delighting the boys as they moved round the Dinosaur Safari.

By 12:30pm the weather had improved and the boys dried out over lunch. They were able to pick from food stalls selling pizzas, burgers, wraps and sandwiches and they also had the opportunity to sit down in the restaurant to choose from the menu there.

To finish off the day, the boys had ice cream cones or ice lollies before heading back to school in extremely quiet cars! Overall, it was an excellent day, with the boys representing themselves, the school and their families well.