We had a Crealy great day! (Crealy Adventure Park)

Name: purplelynne

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Product:	Crealy Adventure Park
Date:	03/12/05 (882 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A great day out for all ages

Disadvantages: Closes very early

When we went to Cornwall in May 2004 we visited Crealy in St Issey, which is very close to Newquay. We wanted an attraction which would be great for the kids, relatively cheap and one which provided indoor activities due to the good old British wet weather.

We discovered Crealy when looking through a pile of leaflets advertising theme parks and attractions throughout Cornwall. Crealy seemed like the obvious choice as it covered all of the criteria we were looking for.

Crealy is located very close to Newquay and can be reached easily from the A30. It took us about an hour to get there from Looe, where we were staying, which is not bad going, as we also had three bored, screaming children sitting in the back seat shouting: “Are we there yet?” in a Bart Simpsonesque way every 200 yards!

Once we reached Crealy Park on the A39 we located the huge sign advertising the attraction, we turned left and followed what seemed like an endless road until we reached the park. I even found myself shouting ‘are we there yet!’ because it felt a little like being in a loop either that or acting out a scene from Groundhog Day.

The site has ample parking; we managed to find a space in the overflow car park which is a huge field. The ground was a bit bumpy, but by then we were all desperate to get out of the car and stretch our legs.

There are three booths, which you have to go through to pay, which may get very busy in the height of the season. However, we sailed through pretty quickly. The girl on the till was very polite and helpful and the park offers you the Cashback service when you pay. This proved to be very advantageous, as I had forgotten to visit a cash machine before we left that morning. I would not have been very popular otherwise with the constant demand for drinks and ice cream – and that was just my partner!

So, what is Crealy exactly?
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Crealy is an adventure park which has sites in both Devon and Cornwall. The Cornwall Crealy was previously known as Shires, and I believe it has had a bit of a revamp recently. The park has six realms which I will go into more detail later, which each has a different theme. It is set in 100 acres of ground which is very beautiful. On top of a nearby hill you can see a wind farm, which was a new experience for me. They looked very graceful blowing in the gentle breeze; it made me wonder why so many people object to them.

As well as the different realms at the park, there are also several lakes complete with ‘working’ fish which you can feed (for a small fee of course!), as well as ducks and a few swans. There are also plenty of small walks which you can do if you have the time. Unfortunately we did not; all of our time was spent following the children around as they went from one ride or adventure to the next! I seemed to spend most of my day holding shoes and coats while they zoomed down slides and climbed obstacles.

Enchanted Realm
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The first realm which we encountered is the Enchanted Realm which is located very close to the reception area. We headed to the Dragon Kingdom and Café as soon as we arrived. The weather was not brilliant; dark skies and ominous clouds threatening rain, so this seemed like the easiest choice to make. Actually, it wasn’t really an option for me, as the kids flew off in this direction even before I had put my cash card back into my purse! Oh well, this was their day after all.

Inside the Dragon Kingdom is a huge indoor play area. We were immediately surrounded by slides, soft play cubes/shapes, tunnels, mazes, ball pools, nets, ladders and pulleys. We lost the children in this area for about an hour, which was great! We relaxed in the café connected to the kingdom, where you can sit and eat while watching the kids have fun. This was a great invention, although the seats were not the most comfortable, and are probably designed for you to eat and go, allowing the next customer to take your place and spend their money! I would love to go to a kids indoor play area which has comfy sofas a little like the ones in Starbucks, where you can sit and sip frothy cappuccino’s instead of a tasteless coffee masquerading as a cappuccino in a paper cup!

There is also a huge shoe storage area, where you can park your smelly trainers for a few hours. Great unless some child accidentally picks up the wrong shoes!

The café inside the Dragon Kingdom sells an assortment of fast food, such as burgers, hot dogs and chips. All the usual fare you find at these sort of places. Price wise they are not overly expensive, but are more so than say Macdonald’s. As stated previously, I tasted one of Crealy’s cappucino’s and was disappointed as always when I try a fast food coffee. They also sell fizzy drinks and bottled water (approximately £1.20 for a bottle).

For younger children they have an Enchanted Forest. This is also located indoors and is opposite the Dragon Kingdom. There are an assortment of glass exhibitions, playing soft, gentle music. Inside each is an array of creatures such as artificial mice and badgers, telling stories (I think – I didn’t stay in there long enough as I was dragged out by my 9 year old! Far too babyish!).

Also quickly bypassed was the Children’s village, which is definitely aimed at younger kids. There are several child size buildings were little ones can wander around, plus smaller scale slides and swings.

Animal Realm
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Next up is the Animal Realm which is a bit stinky! Inside ‘MacDonald’s’ farm you can hold a rabbit or stroke a pig. The park has animal wranglers, clearly identified with the words – animal wranglers (clever that!) on their sweatshirts. There are daily ‘shows’ where you can watch the baby goats being fed or hold baby chicks and guinea pigs.

The animal realm also houses the majestic Shire horses. Inside the stables you can look at baby foals and the huge Shire horses as they relax. Remember to pack a peg though, as the smell is pretty strong!

This realm has a number of wash basins and signs encouraging you to wash your hands after handling the animals. You can also buy food to feed some of the animals and adopt a creature if you feel the need.

Heritage Realm
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This is a realm that we did not explore as much as I would have liked. This was mainly down to time constrictions, but also because the children had such a good time at some of the other realms, we missed most of the attractions here.

The Heritage realm has a Silver Mine museum which houses various displays, a water wheel and blacksmith forge. There is also the Waterwheel Restaurant where you can go if you want to eat something other than burgers and chips. I hear that they do wicked cream teas there!

The gift shop is also located in this area. I found this shop to be quite reasonably priced compared to other gift shops connected to theme parks. The shop sells an assortment of tacky gifts, postcards, toys and sweets, nothing new or groundbreaking there then! I brought two boxes of Cornish Fudge for 99p each, a bargain you may think, but it was pretty revolting – cheap and very sugary, but great for a gift for someone! Aren’t I generous!

Natural Realm
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The Natural Realm is basically an area where you can take a walk or relax and have a picnic. It has a large lake called the Silver Mine Lake which houses many fish, ducks and other creatures. Trees surround the lake and you can take a stroll around this area while watching the wildlife. This is an ideal ‘attraction’ for families who have older children who can explore the realms on their own, while their parents soak up the beautiful countryside. According to the Crealy leaflet they give you on entry to the park, you can see views of Padstow harbour, although we did not have time to see if this was the case.

There is also the Safari Train which takes visitors on a tour of the park. You can embark the ‘train’ at various stops and get off when you want. We did not go on this attraction as the weather was lovely by the afternoon, and we did not want to be cooped up in a hot, stuffy ‘train’.

Wild Water Realm
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This was a firm favourite with my two stepsons as they love some of the faster rides. However, my 9 year old son was bored by this area, as he is petrified of fast rides which he cannot control, so unfortunately he was left holding the coats, bags and leftover picnic! So, I would recommend this realm for older children who like a bit of an adventure and have a strong stomach!

There are three main attractions in this realm. The first is the Viking Warrior Pirate Ship which is a large swing style ship which goes backwards and forwards, quite fast. Don’t attempt this ride if you have just eaten, however, it is pretty gentle in comparison to other theme park rides such as Alton Towers and Chessington.

I really enjoyed the Thunder Falls log flume, but beware – you will get wet! My jeans were soaked by the time the ride finished, but dried really quickly in the hot sun. Queues for this ride were a lot bigger than the Warrior ride, but the wait of 25 minutes (I timed it especially for this review – how sad am I?) was worth it.

The final ride is called the Raging Rivers, which consists of two very big slides, one straight the other bumpy. You travel down these slides in dingy style boats, along a cascade of water. There was also a bit of a queue for these rides, but they moved quite fast. You can get quite wet on this ride as well.

Adventure Realm
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This was definitely my favourite realm, and really brought out the inner child in me! It is also the largest realm with about nine separate areas. I loved the Haunted House. You enter the large, barn type building in two ways. If you take the right hand door you enter a hallway, painted black and white. You walk down the corridor and it slowly starts to get smaller and smaller, a la Alice in Wonderland! The left doorway is the boring way in, no description needed.

Inside the Haunted House is a large maze style system which has slides, ball pools and tunnels, similar to the Dragon Kingdom but in the dark! I thought this was a brilliant idea, however, your eyes do become accustomed to the light eventually and it doesn’t seem so dark.

One of the slides is a large sheer drop slide. You have to sit on the edge and slowly let yourself go. You drop a few feet before your bottom touches the plastic. I had to give this one a go, but it took me about 5 minutes to pluck up the courage – then there was no stopping me. My son took a little longer, and became quite angry with himself for not having the courage to go down it. There is a similar slide in a play zone on the Isle of Wight, where we live, and he has never even tried to go down it before. However, he dragged me up a few times so we could go together, but chickened out at the last minute (along with quite a few adults who did not feel brave enough). Eventually though he landed with a smooth glide at the bottom of the slide to lots of cheers of well done. After that we couldn’t tear him away!

The realm also has Aerial Glides and Walkways, which can be described a huge covered slides, tunnels, ropes to climb and sheer drop slides. A large octopus called Ollie sits close by, where you can slide down his eight tentacles!

A fortress allows the children to run around and dream of medieval adventures, while climbing rope ladders and running up and down turrets. The Crazy House holds a giant ball pool where you could easily lose a child amongst the thousands of plastic balls! Inside the Crazy house is what could be described as a hamster run, which is a huge maze only children, or really small adults, can clamber about until they find the exit.

Also in this area is a sand play area for younger children and another inside zone just with slides.

Special events
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The park also caters for birthday parties and has special events throughout the year at Easter and during October, when you can join in with the Halloween themed activities, such as apple bobbing and face painting.

Opening times
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Crealy park is open from 1st April to 31st October from 10am to 5pm. This was one of the disadvantages for me. I think the park should be open to at least 6pm, as we really had so much more to see, but had to vacate the park at 5pm. We easily spent 5 hours at the park without even thinking about it. The time flew by so quickly, and everyone was disappointed to leave as we all felt we needed longer – I don’t often say that about noisy theme parks!

Prices
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In the summer prices are £7.95 per person unless, like us there are more than 4 in your group, it is then reduced to £7.70 per person.

Senior citizens will expect to pay £5.20 while smaller kids under 90cm will have to fork out absolutely zilch!

You can also buy a membership for £29.95 for the year.

In the winter, Crealy have special rates which are a lot cheaper than the summer prices.

Overall conclusion
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We all had a wonderful time at Crealy and did not want to leave. Once I had experienced the thrill the sheer drop slides held, I wanted to try out more, but we did not have the time. I would definitely recommend getting there early to maintain full advantage of the park’s facilities.

I found the staff to be really friendly and helpful and the whole day will stay with me for a long time. My son will also remember that day for a long time too, as it was the day he conquered a big fear of his – to go down that slide – and I was very proud of him for achieving what he so desperately wanted to do.

I would recommend Crealy to families with children between the ages of 3 and 15. Younger than that, and I think they may struggle to find things to do, and older than 15 will incite cries of boredom.

Other information
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Crealy Adventure Park
St Issey
Newquay
Cornwall
PL27 7RA

01395 233200

www.crealy.co.uk

Crealy was also recognised as the Cornish Tourist Board's 'Top Tourist Attraction of the Year' in 2004. If I’m ever in Cornwall again, I will definitely go back for a second visit.

Thanks for reading – have a great day out!

Summary: A great day out for all ages, with plenty to do and see