We recently spent the weekend at Crealy Adventure Park and Resort near Exeter. Nestled in 100 acres of countryside, and with 60 rides and attractions on offer, it’s often referred to as Devon’s Biggest Day Out. We were glamping at Crealy Meadows so we got an initial taste of the park on the Friday evening. Looking round out of hours pleased six year old POD no end, you can just imagine how excited she was. We grabbed a bite to eat, checked out the evening entertainment and visited a few of the park’s animals as the sun set too.
Crealy Adventure Park is designed for all ages and there’s something for everyone with activities indoors and out. One of POD’s favourite rides was The Jolly Roger which is a rocking and spinning pirate ship. She’s not been on a ride like this before so her expressions were priceless as we spun in different directions. She wanted another go on the ride straightaway! The Jolly Roger is new to Crealy along with Junior Driving School which is also excellent fun.
Junior Driving School puts kids (over 90cm and under 140cm) in the driving seat with an adult passenger only permitted to give instruction. It’s made even more entertaining as the track includes traffic lights, signs and there are roundabouts to navigate around. It was an interesting experience at first but it didn’t take POD long to perfect her driving skills. Children aged eight and over can whizz about on the Power Pedals ride with the thrilling Grand Prix electric karts for older kids and adults.
Dino Jeeps was another laugh inducing ride. Again POD took to the driving seat as we headed round a winding track on the hunt for dinosaurs. She’s huge dinosaur fan so being able to name them as we passed pleased her greatly. There was a dino roar at the end that surprised her somewhat but that’s all part of the fun isn’t it?
She’s always been a fan of carousels so it was a given she’d want to have a go on the Victorian Carousel at Crealy Adventure Park. We went on together so we shared a carriage rather than taking to a horse. I left her to it on The Flying Machine swing and watched her relish being in the air, waving as she went. The nearby Honey Swing is lower so a more laid back affair. There are some great play areas to explore too, POD particularly enjoyed Pirates Revenge and Fort Crealy – each of which could have kept her entertained for hours.
There’s some good old family fun to be had on the Safari Express where we got to see a range of animals before having a meal at Blackbeard’s Family Buffet which is new to the park. POD was tall enough for the Maximum Rollercoaster but we decided to save this and the adrenalin-fuelled Twister for our next visit. We were at Crealy over a changeable weekend weather-wise with monsoon-like rain typically appearing at the most inconvenient time!
On the subject of water, the wet rides at Crealy Adventure Park are superb. There’s the Vortex which has three slides and is the World’s first water coaster, the Tidal Wave Log Flume and Aqua Blasters which are boats with water cannons! Crealy also has a Soak Zone for the warm days with fountains and jets to run through. Not far from there is the Wilderness area which is excellent. There’s a wonky walkway, river run and great tree houses to discover.
Crealy has a really lovely family feel to it with attractions that cater for all. If it does rain, there’s plenty to do inside at the Lost World of Atlantis. For the small ones, there’s the Blue Lagoon, Buddy Bear’s Kingdom and Super Subs to discover with the Shark Bay rollercoaster and Dolphin Drop for the older and more adventurous. The Adventure Zone is home to walkways, climbing nets and rope swings along with a giant slide. There’s a food court nearby which is of course a blessing.
Just outside but also undercover is the Animal Kingdom where we got to see goats, pigs, donkeys, guinea pigs, rabbits, monkeys and reptiles. You can also have a close encounter with a bug – POD got to see a particularly lively stick insect (who knew they were so speedy!) and a giant snail. Animal Land was a huge hit as we got to see wallabies, emus, goats and donkeys in the great outdoors. We visited during the day but also on both the evenings at Crealy because it was so peaceful. In the main part of the park was Meerkat Manor and we saw a couple of tortoises close-up too.
There are a range of live entertainment options at Crealy with evening entertainment inside by the Adventure Zone and shows at The Plaza Stage during the day. We got to see a Buddy Bear show which was excellent and POD enjoyed going on stage afterwards. It was lashing it down with rain through much of the show but we were well prepared and had glorious weather for Pop in the Park the following day. Pop in the Park is a live music show, supported by a local radio station, which comprises of tribute acts. We got to see Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry (POD’s expression when she thought it was THE Katy Perry was a picture!) and Little Mix. They were all excellent although Ed Sheeran was my stand out favourite – superb voice. Everyone had the best time blowing bubbles as they watched the show. It put the smile back on POD’s face after she’s slapped a wasp onto her cheek rather than flicking it away. She didn’t get stung thankfully but whatever it was did cause a reaction when it scratched her so we got taken to First Aid. The chap we saw was excellent and we were swiftly on our way – an ice-cream purchased en route.
We really wanted to see the High Dive Show as we’d spotted a couple of the divers during our time at Crealy but it started after we left. It sees the troupe perform complicated dives from way up high into a small pool below so we’ll definitely catch that next time we’re at Crealy. We’re already itching for a return visit, especially as we had one family member missing, as we had the most wonderful fun-filled weekend. If you’ve not been to Crealy before, do make sure you get yourself down there – it’s a very different theme park experience and we loved it.
Disclaimer: We spent the weekend at Crealy Adventure Park, staying in Crealy Meadows. For more information, check out the Crealy Adventure Park website. Opinions are as always our own.
