Nick Clegg's election campaign went from the sublime to the ridiculous today, as he travelled from a meeting with the Queen to a hedgehog sanctuary in Solihull. The Lib Dem leader was introduced to Humpty, a hedgehog with a head injury which means he keeps walking round in circles. Mr Clegg was told the animals have a lifespan of just five years, which he might be able to relate to as his party face the prospect of being booted out of government for the first time since 2010. Scroll down for video . Nick Clegg and Lib Dem candidate Lorely Burt were introduced to Humpty, a hedgehog with a head injury which means he keeps walking round in circles . Mr Clegg donned his wellies for a yomp around Parkridge Centre, part of the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust in Solihull. The election campaign officially got underway when David Cameron to tell the Queen that Parliament has been dissolved. Mr Clegg then made his own trip to the Palace for a separate private audience - as Lord President of the Privy Council he has an obligation to do so. He then headed to the Midlands for what was billed as a campaign visit on the NHS, in a seat the Lib Dems are fighting to hold. But he donned his wellies for a yomp around Parkridge Centre, part of the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust in Solihull. Humpty the hedgehog got his name after falling off a wall and suffering head injuries. Mr Clegg, who last week revealed his dream to make wildlife documentaries, spoke to children about a new scheme to protect hedgehogs. They were introduced to Humpty, a hedgehog with a head injury which means he keeps walking round in circles. Mr Clegg insisted that his 'plucky party' can defy the polls and declared the era of single-party politics is over . Later he insisted that his 'plucky party' can defy the polls and declared the era of single-party politics is over. The Lib Dem leader said that in the '50 or 60' seats where his party had an MP or an effective presence on the ground they were doing far better than opinion polls suggested. On a visit to Solihull, a knife-edge marginal with a Lib Dem majority of just 175, he said people would hear his party's side of the story during the campaign. On a visit to the Brueton Park nature reserve in the constituency, the first stop of the campaign tour, Mr Clegg insisted his 'plucky party' could defy the polls. He said: 'What you have got to ask is how are we doing in those 50, 60 seats where we have MPs, we have campaigners, we have councillors. 'There, the picture is completely different to the national snapshot polls because there people hear the LIberal Democrat side of the story - which is one we are very proud of - which is about a plucky party stepping up to the plate back in May 2010 when the country desperately needed it.' Deputy PM Nick Clegg left Downing Street shortly after Mr Cameron before his own meeting with the Queen . The mud-soaked visit to the Midlands was a long way from his final visit to Buckingham Palace. Speaking before visiting the Queen this morning, Mr Clegg told reporters: 'It is my view that the era of single-party government is now over in British politics.' He said the Tory/Lib Dem coalition formed in 2010 was a 'historic government' which was formed at a time of 'national economic emergency' and had got the economy growing again. 'About the very last thing the country now needs is a lurch to the left or the right and yet that is exactly what the Conservative and Labour parties are now threatening,' said the Liberal Democrat leader.
Lib Dem leader starts the day meeting the Queen at Buckingham Palace . Later hits the campaign trail at a hedgehog sanctuary in Solihull . Nick Clegg insists his 'plucky party' can defy the polls on May 7 .