It's like we have never been away

In her weekly column, Maddie Grigg shares tales from her life in rural Dorset ...

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IT'S been lovely to catch up with family and friends back in Lush Places. It's like we have never been away.

The main reason for our visit was to celebrate grandson Rex's first birthday.

We missed his party by five hours, but we have him pretty much to ourselves when we join Number One Son, his partner and the birthday boy at a local wildlife park, just over the border in Devon.

We meet in the car park, and adjust Rexy Boy's hat and top up his sun cream before putting him in his pushchair.

I can't resist a quick squeeze of those chubby little feet.

It's what grandmothers do.

Rex has been here before. You can tell by the look on his face how excited he is to be back!

The park was created on a dairy farm by a couple looking to diversify.

They still have the farm, but they now have a small, family-friendly zoo.

It's a great place to trundle around and meet exotic birds, zebras and llamas.