New baby animals for the New Year!

Crealy is looking more magical than ever with a covering of sparkling snow, you really should come and have a look while you can as the snow won't last forever! We're open from Thursdays to Sundays with all the indoor attractions, and outdoor adventures .



With winter well and truly underway everyone needs an extra cuddle to warm up. We've got the best winter warm-up cuddles in the county at Crealy at the moment, with the cutest and fluffiest baby animals including African Pygmy goat kids, guinea pig babies, rabbit kittens and free-range piglets running here, there and everywhere! You can even enter competitions to name them, so get your thinking caps on.



January is New Babies Month and is the perfect time to introduce your younger children to animal handling as the baby animals are just the right size for little hands!



Remember - if you're on Facebook we'd love you to be our friend so you can tell us what you think after a visit, or make suggestions and of course, you'll get to hear all the latest news and about offers exclusive to Facebook.



See you soon,



Angela x

Have a Great Christmas and New Year!

Last minute availability - a whole Farmhouse for the last week of the Christmas holidays!

The beautiful 5 star Trelow Barton at Cornwall's Crealy is unexpectedly available from the 2nd January! Usually £950, the property is yours for a short break for just £400 midweek or £500 for a long weekend - or a week from just £750 - saving you hundreds of pounds. Only about a tenner a person per night - for five star luxury including hot tub. Hurry - at this rate these last minute holidays won't last long.

My family loves staying at Cornwall's Crealy. Just a few minutes' drive from the beach, with amazing onsite fishing for huge carp, walking and cycling. Even Cornwall's Crealy indoor play and famous heavy horses on site to. Christmas and the New Year in Cornwall are both extra special with a delicious meal at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Cornwall, nearby. Loads of tempting choices - and if you're in Cornwall this week, enjoy £15 off dinner this Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th December when you mention the "Fifteen Christmas Present to You" advert when you book.

Cornwall's Crealy reopens on the 27th March 2010 but some on site amenties including the Dragon Kingdom play zone, the Children's Village and Playhouse are open exclusively for guests staying on site. Plus the whole estate to explore. And of course, staying at Crealy you also get your own real live pony to love during your holiday.

Want some theme-park fun during the Christmas hols? Devon's Crealy is open with reduced ticket prices from just £6.95 - opening dates are 17th-23rd Dec, 27th-31st Dec and 2nd-3rd Jan so hope to see you playing in the Park . We're closed 24th-26th Dec and 1st Jan, which is when all us Rangers spend time with our own families.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Angela x

Happy St George's Day from Crealy!

We had such fun celebrating our national day. Here's a pic of our famous Head of Grounds, John Murphy - our very own dragon slayer!

Did you know that St George is actually also, among others, the Patron Saint of China, Ethiopia, Greece, Portugal, Russia - and Scouting? It is also widely believed that he never set foot in England during his lifetime (ca. 275-281 - April 23, 303). St George is often depicted slaying a dragon and riding a white horse and there is usually the inclusion of the St George's Cross on his armour or shield.

The Greek tradition says that the Saint was born to Christian parents, in Turkey. His father died fighting for his faith and whilst still a child, George fled with his mother to Palestine. Growing up in Palestine exposed George to the Roman culture and he eventually joined the Roman army. At the outbreak of the Roman Emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians, George declared himself a Christian. For his faith he was sentenced to death. In true Roman fashion George was subjected to grisly tortures, all of which he miraculously survived. By making the sign of the cross George apparently caused all the statues of the gods to fall at his feet. This miracle persuaded the Empress Alexandra to convert to Christianity. This conversion proved too much for Diocletian, Alexandra was sentenced to death. George was decapitated. The date was 23 April AD 303.

In the Latin version of the story, the Emperor Diocletian has become Dacian, the Emperor of the Persians. George is similarly tortured, but his miraculous survival results in the conversion to Christianity of more than 40,000 people. George is put to death by Dacian, but Dacian himself dies, when a whirlwind of fire carries him off.

Whatever actually happened, in AD 494, Pope Gelasius declared him a Saint.

The alternative English version which appeared by the seventeenth century has St George's birthplace as Coventry! George's father is Lord Albert, an English peer and George's birth takes place at Caludan Castle in Wyken, Coventry. As a young man George travels to Egypt and slaughters a dragon whilst rescuing a princess. In some versions he marries the princess and they return to Coventry. They have three sons, one of whom becomes Guy of Warwick.

George's dragon slaying days continue after his wife dies. He journeys to Jerusalem and on his return slays another dragon. This particular slaying takes place on Dunsmore Heath in Warwickshire. The adventure proved fatal with the story going that the vast amount of poison thrown upon him by the beast "so infected his vital spitals that............he died".

A second story has George coming back from his travels to save the people of Coventry from a great Dragon; in this battle George sustained severe injuries from which he died and was buried in state in Coventry.

Processions to celebrate his life and legendary adventures were conducted every year around the city of Coventry. They were later taken over by the Lady Godiva procession, but a figure representing Saint George invariably appears before the Lady.

Wouldn't it be great to celebrate St George's Day every year, with a day off school and work added on to the end of the Easter holidays? We have fewer national holidays than many countries, after all.

Angela x

What a wonderful Easter we're enjoying. Devon and Cornwall are in bud with the cherry and hawthorn trees flowering, primroses, daffodils and new lambs.

The giant Easter Chickens have been busy, hiding their Easter eggs all over the Parks for our four day EasterFest. Dora the Explorer and Diego visited both Parks and found lots of chocolate eggs to take home. They say they'll be back again next year!

The unpredictable sunshine and showers of April are a good example of how precious is our family time. Life is so full at Crealy - there's always so much going on, from the new Go WILD! playzone at Devon's Crealy to the arrival of delicious, fairtrade Pura coffee, hosting a Ball for HospiceCare in May to opening the new Reception and Giftshop at Cornwall's Crealy at the beginning of this month.

And while I blinked, two of my own children are grown up - Sam married his sweetheart Charlotte this spring and James left for a year's travelling around Australia. When Crealy opened, they were my chief testers at three and one years old. Now Ed, Tim and Amy take up the mantle - alongside the Crealy Creators, Crealy's Children's Board - with welcome contributions from everyone who plays at Crealy!

Happy Easter everybunny.

Angela x

Winter at Crealy

Winter at Crealy always starts with a bang, as we pack away the summer fun and start on all the exciting projects we've been putting off till after the October halfterm. Many of the ponies come inside during the coldest nights and days; some youngsters go off to new homes now they are weaned and looking for families of their own. The maintenance and grounds team start refurbishing and building new fun. Most of all, we enjoy having more time to talk to you when you visit. Some days, you can almost have your very own adventure park as Crealy becomes very personal in these quieter weeks.

We had brilliant fun during PumpkinFest and during the first HallowScream UK - it was great to treat grown-ups to their very own entertainment - so many said that they hadn't been since they were children and have asked us to do it again next year. Wait and see if we do... sign up to be a maximum fun person (it's free) and you'll be the first to know.

Crealy is a great escape from the rest of the world and we've decided to make it even more so - by giving free return visits for a whole week, whenever you visit this winter. So you can visit on a Sunday and return again all week and on the Saturday too!

I do hope you can make the most of winter with us.

Hoping to see you soon,
Angela x