Crealy great fun!

I had been promising my 10-year-old son Sam a trip to Devon’s Crealy Great Adventure Park as soon as the wet weather disappeared. So, with the promise of a dry weekend on the cards and with the recent opening of new attraction The Lost World of Atlantis, last weekend was the perfect time to head for Devon’s greatest adventure park!

Sam and I have been fairly regular visitors to Crealy over the years and it never fails to amaze me how much the park grows each year.

This year is certainly no exception as Crealy is celebrating its 25th birthday, and to mark the anniversary have invested £1 million in new rides and attractions.  

The first of the new attractions which opened in February is The Lost World of Atlantis.  Work is in progress on the further four rides and attractions which will open between now and May, in time for the start of the main season.

Sam invited his friend Alistair (11) to come along with us for the day and both boys had an absolutely fabulous time.

They couldn’t wait to visit The Lost World of Atlantis and were not disappointed, it truly is an amazing underwater adventure. The ocean is brilliantly brought to life with stunning seascapes, life-sized sea creatures and statues. Atlantis offers something for children of all ages - for the older kids there’s the brand new Shark Bay rollercoaster, which Sam and Alistair loved, and for the younger children there’s Netptune’s Sea Cups, the Dolphin Drop and Super Subs rides. In the Blue Lagoon play area younger ocean explorers can climb through the fishing nets and coral tunnels to explore the bubbly ball pool. 

Sam and Alistair, of course, made full use of the rest of the park making sure they had a zoom around on Maximus the park’s famous rollercoaster and pretended they were pirates aboard the Flying Dutchman.  The Last Frontier outdoor play area is always massive fun with its slides, scramble nets and of course the heart-stopping Dead Man’s Drop – it’s exhausting just watching! The boys were disappointed that the Tidal Wave log flume and the Aqua Blaster bumper boats weren’t open, but they’re “main season” rides, so won’t be open until 4 April. 

The Adventure Zone indoor play area has loads to keep the children amused with bumpy slides, mega drop sides, climbing nets and rope swings to list just a few and adults can keep an eye on the kids while relaxing in the Sandcastle Family Beach Bar.

Of course, a visit to Crealy isn’t complete until you’ve said hello to the animals that reside there – the meerkats are good fun to watch, you can feed the greedy goats, get up close to the horses, ponies, Guinea pigs and rabbits – the boys were allowed to hold one of the rabbits which they enjoyed.

There are plenty of places to buy food and drink around the park, including a new snack bar in Atlantis, but what’s nice is that there’s no pressure to buy food on site. There is ample space outside for a picnic and it’s lovely down by the lake on a warm day – but if the weather’s not so good nobody minds you using the tables and chairs inside for your own indoor picnic. But if you do want to purchase food there it’s certainly not overpriced.

The whole park is extremely well organised, all areas are kept clean and tidy and the staff are friendly and very helpful. The park certainly deserves the awards it's recently won.

All in all Crealy is a fantastic, great value for money day out for all ages, whatever the weather. And with more than 60 attractions and rides available it pays to arrive early to cram in as much as possible. Sam, Alistair and even I can’t wait to return to Devon’s Crealy to see the new attractions which will be opening soon!

Devon’s Crealy Great Adventure Park is open every day from 10am-5pm. Visit their website www.crealy.co.uk/Devon for lots more information about the park, all the latest news and interactive maps. Book tickets online and you can save up to 20% too!