Gloucester cathedral

Had a good night's sleep in the hotel and a bit of a lie in. We went for a quick walk around Gloucester Quays and did a bit of shopping and then went onto the Cathedral. It really is such a beautiful place and the staff are so welcoming. We paid for a photo pass and enjoyed escaping from the cold and snow showers by wandering around the cathedral. 

We went out for another walk (via a very nice yarn shop) and then came back to have lunch in the cathedral cafe. 

Walked back to the hotel via the river and then watched a bit of the rugby in the hotel room before getting kitted up for our owl evening. We found every bit of warm clothing we had with us and set off. 

The evening was well organised and we got a tour of the owl enclosures in the dark with a knowledgeable guide. Lots of the owls were hooting at eachother and some were already incubating eggs. 

After the tour we went inside for mulled wine and a veggie burger (the meat eaters had a hog roast). There were two flying displays, one outside and one inside. One outside flyer had to be excused as it was resting after having a tick removed from beneath its eye. The snowy owl and barn owl were great. The indoor displays were good too - a tawny owl, a boreal owl and another small owl (can't remember which). The whole evening was good fun and the owner of the centre is just fantastic to listen to. 

Back to the hotel for a drink and to get warm. We were a bit surprised when the door opened with keycard and another guest came in - he was equally surprised as he'd just been allocated our room. It was not the best-organised Travel lodge!

The extra photo is the snowy owl - it was very hard to take any decent pictures and I didn't want to get distracted.