For those of us in the region who woke up to a blanket of snow today, it was nothing new. For the lions and other exotic animals who inhabited County Durham's Lambton Pleasure Park 45 years ago, it would have been very much a novel experience.
Our photographs captured by a Chronicle photographer in January 1978 show lions and zebras, naturally accustomed to the climate and habitat of Africa, enduring a cold winter in North East England.
During the 1970s, the popular visitor attraction in Chester-le-Street brought the call of the wild to the plains of County Durham. Opening in the grounds of Lambton Castle in July 1972, Lambton Lion Park became an instant hit and the destination for countless thousands of family outings and school trips during the decade.
