End of Season Farewell!

It's that time of year again..... when all of us here at Gypsy Wood Park get a bit sad. Woody's told us he doesn't want the fun to end, and all the animals will miss their friends. But, it's time they all had some time to chill-ax over the winter months.

 

Gypsy Wood Park will be closing this Sunday (16th September). Our staff, and our animals will all have a well deserved break, with plenty of relaxation and rolling! Some of our animals, like LaLa and Dinky the ponies, have gone away to school over the winter. They need some lessons in riding so that they are all ready and prepared for next year's rides. They can't wait to be fully qualified ponies!!

 

So, a big, big thank you to everyone who came to see us this year. We loved every minute, and we hope you did too. And of course, let's not forget to say a big cheer for our fabulous team of staff who make Gypsy Wood Park the magical place it is - thanks so much to you all for your hard work and dedication this year!

 

And, last, but definitely not least, a big shout-out for all the amazing animals who fill Gypsy Wood with their fun, love and frolics.

 

So bye for now from all of us. We can't wait to see you again next year. We're open on the 23rd March 2013. See you sooooooooooon!!

 

 

 

Woody's Fancy Dress Party 2012

Ok, so the weather might not have been on our side (typical bank holiday rain!) but that didn't stop us all having a BRILLIANT time at this year's Woody's Fancy Dress Party.

A fabulous day was had by all who attended, and all of the staff, who as ever, got into the spirit and threw themselves into helping Woody make sure that the rain didn't stop play. There was plenty of fun to be had, and here are some pictures of some of Woody's best dressed helpers!

A big thank you to all who came along, and to all the staff who helped make it Woody's dream day!

And if you missed the fun this year, you'll have to wait till next year! Woody's Fancy Dress will be taking place on Sunday 25th August 2013. But don't worry - Woody will remind you closer to the time!

Thought for Today

"When I sound the fairy call,

Gather here in silent meeting,

Chin to knee on the orchard wall,

Cooled with dew and cherries eating.

Merry, merry, take a cherry,

Mine are sounder, mine are rounder,

Mine are sweeter, for the eater

When the dews fall, and you'll be fairies all.

 

Cherry Time, by Robert Graves - English poet and scholar (1895 - 1985)

 

 

image by Richard Doyle on wikipedia

 

 

 

 

Pot Bellied Pigs

Gypsy Wood's Pot Bellied Pigs are some of the happiest pigs we know!

Bluebell and Primrose are both 6 years old and they've been happily living here at Gypsy Wood since they were very little.

Native to Vietnam, these tough little pigs are perfectly suited to the climate here in Wales. They love it when it rains because then they can splash about in the mud to their heart's content!

Did you know....?

..... Pot Bellied Pigs can live to be as old as 30 years!

.... Adults can weigh as much as 200lbs; that's a whopping 14 stone!

....Their hooves and tusks have to be cleaned and trimmed regularly to keep them in good health.

Come and see our happy pigs for yourself, at Gypsy Wood Park, North Wales

Leprechaun Luck

If you go down to the woods today............ you might be lucky enough to see one of our handsome leprechauns!

But, just what are leprechauns? And where on earth does that funny name come from?

Well, they are a type of fairy that originally comes from Irish folk stories. They are usually depicted as old men and they wear red or green coats and big hats!

They are especially good at making and fixing shoes, which they do in return for big gold coins that they hide in their secret pot at the end of the rainbow. But, they are notoriously mischievous and they love to play practical jokes on the other fairies.

Legend has it that if a human catches one, they will be given three wishes in exchange for the leprechaun's freedom. But we don't know about that - we're yet to catch one here in Gypsy wood!

See if you can spot one in the woods today!

What's in a name?

The origin of the word "leprechaun" is thought to be varied, but one explanation could be that it comes from an Old Irish word luporchan, which is a mixture of the words for small (lu) and body (corps).

Thought for today!

"Do you believe in fairies? If you do... clap your hands!"

From Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie - Scottish writer and dramatist (1860 - 1937)

 

 

image by Janny Sandholm on wikicommons

 

 

Come and find our fairies at Gypsy Wood Park!

 

 

 

Pygmy Goats

Come along to Gypsy Wood Park and meet some of the beautiful Pygmy Goats that live here.

Peanut, Acora, Poppy, Robbie, Gizmo, Lexi, Hector, Zebedee, Gypsy, Charlotte, Jay, Eccles, Mrs P and Cariad are all full of beans and love to race around their grassy pen.

Pygmy Goats at Gypsy Wood Park

Pygmy Goats are native to Africa and are traditionally used for milking of for meat. But, here at Gypsy Wood, all our pampered Pygmys have to do is have fun and look pretty - the two things they're best at!

Pygmy Goats are hardy animals, so when the Welsh weather gets chilly, it doesn't bother them at all. They like having things to jump on, because they have a big bounce and a spring in their little step. They aren't very good at being on their own, which is why we keep lots of them together. They're all the best of friends. They are also naturally friendly and good natured animals, so they make great pets.

Beautiful Zebedee as a baby - born Summer 2010

Did you know.....?

....Pygmy Goats can live to be as old as 15 years.

....Pygmy Goats like to eat grains, oats and yummy greens.

....Pygmy Goats are naturally affectionate animals once they trust their human carers.

Gypsy Wood's Train

Choo Choo, all aboard!!

When you visit Gypsy Wood Park, you won't want to miss our fabulous outdoor railway.

Gypsy Wood's brilliant Railway was designed and built in 2004, but is has been extended and altered a lot since then. The railway is one of Gypsy Wood's most popular attractions.  

The scale is approximately 1:22.5 and it runs on a 45mm gauge track. It was made for us by a specialist company in Germany, although over the years the staff have added and built some items for us.

The track lay runs for over 500 meters over eight different circuits. Our trains cover some impressive distances over a season - the train on the main circuit choo-choos almost 8 miles a day, which adds up to about 54 miles a week - that's a lot of miles in a whole summer season!

The railway is old fashioned and simple, because it isn't controlled by computers or wi-fi, but by a big range of traditional railway controllers. It makes it easy to fix a problem, but there are what seems like miles and miles of wire!

If you visit Gypsy Wood Park, take a snap of you by the railway, pop it on our facebook page (click here) and we'll put our favourites up on the blog!

Thought for Today

 

"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly fairy. "One must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower".

 

Hans Christian Anderson - Danish writer and author of fairy stories (1805 - 1875)

 

 

image by rosyn on sxc.hu

 

Ghost Forest

We've been totally fascinated by this amazing story at Gypsy Wood Park this week. It's the tale of how 10 ENORMOUS rainforest tree trunks have ended up in South Wales!

The stunning trees are part of an environmental art exhibition to highlight the problems and the alarming rate of deforestation of the world's rainforests. They have been on display in London and Copenhagen but have now found a permanent home in the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Carmarthenshire.

The exhibition will be called Size of Wales because the project aims to protect an area roughly the size of Wales (2 million hectares...) of forests in Africa and South America.

Here's one of the tree stumps on display recently at Trafalgar Square in London.

Image by RSones on wikicommons

You can see lots of pictures on the BBC website here and view the full story here

One week countdown

We're getting pretty giddy here at Gypsy Wood Park and the countdown has started!

There's less than one week to go until Woody's brilliant party.

Don't forget to mark it in your diary! There's loads and loads of things going on so you won't want to miss it.

We hope you've all been practising those hula-hoop moves. And please would all our lovely readers help us out - can you do a sundance for us and keep all your fingers crossed for lots of sunshine? We think Woody deserves a great big sunny day!

We can't wait to see you there.

27th August at Gypsy Wood Park, from 11am.

If you have any questions or queries about the event, give us a call (01286 673 133), drop us a line (info@gypsywood.co.uk) or leave a comment in the box below.

Chicken Run

Danny is one of Gypsy Wood Park's most special animals, and we all adore him!

Sadly, he was poorly when he was a baby and he had to have one of his legs amputated. That hasn't stopped him though - he's still full of beans and loves to run around the park.

Danny, Gypsy Wood's one-legged chicken

We love that he's so brave, and he doesn't let being one-legged stop him from having fun and enjoying his chicken life!

Did you know....?
.... There are thought to be over 24 billion chickens across the world (but none are as special as Danny!)
....The world's oldest chicken was 16 years old!
....Chickens are sacred animals in many Asian cultures.

Woody's Fancy Dress Party

Things are reaching fever pitch here at Gypsy Wood Park!! Only two weeks to go till Woody hosts his brilliant annual fancy dress party. We've been pestering Woody to write us a blog post all about his adventures so far this year, but he keeps saying he's too busy with all the planning for his big day!

There's loads and loads of things going on - it's not a day you want to miss! And don't forget to bring along your favourite musical instruments - anything from a recorder to a guitar to a triangle! Woody has asked his wizzard to put on a sing-along show, so we want to hear you play!

And, don't forget to get practicing your hula-hooping ready for the competition - we wanna see you hula!!

We can't wait to see you there; it's going to be the best Fancy Dress Party yet! 27th August at Gypsy Wood Park, from 11am.

If you have any questions or queries about the event, give us a call (01286 673 133), drop us a line (info@gypsywood.co.uk) or leave a comment in the box below.

Thought for today!

"The Land of Faery,

Where nobody gets old and godly and grave,

Where nobody gets old and crafty and wise,

Where nobody gets old and bitter of tounge."

W.B.Yeats Irish poet and playwright (1865-1939)

image by tzioum on sxc.hu

Come and see if you can spot our fairies, at Gypsy Wood Park



Gypsy Wood Shop

Over the years that Gypsy Wood Park has been open, we've had loads of comments and compliments about our shop. If you've been to Gypsy Wood Park, then you'll know it's absolutely packed with all things magical and all things fairy.

We're really proud of our magical shop - here you can buy anything from tiny fairy souvenirs to giant princess keep-sakes, so you'll never forget your special day at Gypsy Wood Park. You'll also find delicious snacks and ice creams, as well as our award winning loo!

Also, don't forget to pick up your free activity and quiz sheets from the shop on your way into Gypsy Wood Park.

Tell us what your favourite thing is in the shop - you can leave a comment in the box below. 

Woody's Fancy Dress Party

Stop Press!!

For all our lovely blog readers, here's a sneak preview of some of the brilliant things that are going on for Woody's Fancy Dress Party.

There's LOADS of great stuff going on - it's not one to be missed. There's something for everyone - from nice racing to bouncy castles to face painting. It's a Woody extravaganza!

Bank holiday Monday 27th August at Gypsy Wood Park, Bontnewydd, Caernarfon.
See you there :)

Thought for today!

"Nothing can be truer than fairy wisdom. It is as true as sunbeams." 

         ~Douglas Jerrold (English writer and dramatist 1803-1857)

Baby Talk

Coochie coooooooooooo.... is the noise lots of us make when we see the bundle of a newborn baby, or maybe a tiny tickle under the chin or a stroke of their soft hair? Well, it turns out that gorillas aren't so different from us after all! 

Last month saw a breakthrough in a study about how gorillas communicate when scientists noticed that adult gorillas use lots of different touches and non-vocal forms of communication when they interacted with their young. These non-vocal ways of interacting include touching faces and signaling with arms and legs.

The discovery is important because it could help us to understand much more about how human communication has evolved so much. So next time you tickle a baby's tummy, think back to our gorilla ancestors!

You can read the whole story and see some pictures here

Image by Broken Inaglory on wikicommons

Dr Zigs Bubble Competition

We've gone bubble crazy here at Gypsy Wood Park this week! We're all excited about a brilliant new competition by the fabulous Doctor Zigs.

Doctor Zigs are a fun-filled local company, producing and supplying giant bubble kits, for hours of fun, bundles of bubbles and loads of silly smiles!

This summer, Doctor Zigs are launching a fantastic new competition, open to all! They want your bubbly-snaps....

All you need to do is visit one of the ten "Bubble Stop" locations, that are scattered around Snowdonia National Park (check the Facebook page here for more details of the locations), then take yourself and your bubbles for a day out anywhere in Snowdonia and snap a picture of your bubbly day! The details are below:

1. Go to one of the ‘Bubble Stops’ in and around the National Park
2. Pick up your Giant Bubble Kit (£10 refundable deposit)
3. Take the Bubbles out and about in Snowdonia for the day.
4. Take pictures of your Giant Bubbles in Snowdonia.
5. Upload your pictures to our Bubble Snowdonia FB page, or email them to bubblesnowdonia@gmail.com
6. Dahdah!! You’re IN!! If you want to can go online to our fb page and vote on your favourite pics – and encourage your friends to vote on your pics!
7. Come and see if you've won a prize at the Snowdonia Arts Festival from 5th-7th October 2012!
 8: Closing date for the competition is 30th September 2012. You can enter up to 5 photographs. There will be several categories: Under 11’s, Under 18’s, Popular vote (most votes gained online), Best Bubble-in-Landscape, and Best Landscape-in-Bubble.

Why not pop over to Gypsy Wood Park for a day out with your bubbles - we'd love to see you here; our pretty park and friendly animals make the perfect backdrop for a prize-winning picture!

Image by Brockenn Inaglory on wikicommons

Alpaca Love

Here at Gypsy Wood Park we're really proud of all of the different animals that live here. It's an honour to be able to work with so many unique characters and funny animals. They all have their own personalities and quirks, and it's always a lot of fun getting to know them.

Some of our cuddliest animals at Gypsy Wood are the pretty Alpacas. They've been with us now for a couple of years, and their thick woolly coats seem to keep them nice and warm in the chilly Welsh weather!

Alpacas are native to Southern American countries like Peru, Chille and Bolivia. Over there they are used mostly for their furry coats -  Alpaca wool is used like Sheep's wool is here in Wales, to make things like coats, blankets, jumpers, socks, scarves and quilts. There are 16 different colours of natural Alpaca wool, but of course, it can be died to make many more!

Alpaca Wool

image by Damast on wiki commons

Alpacas are related to the llama family, but unlike llamas, they are too small to be used as pack animals for carrying heavy loads.

Our Alpacas love to munch on grass and leaves, and they absolutely love their daily walks and feed times.

 

Come over to Gypsy Wood Park and make friends with our lovely Alpacas!

Animal Olympics

Here at Gypsy Wood Park, we love all creatures great and small! Our animals are at the heart of our park and we wouldn't be without them.

So, with the London 2012 Olympics drawing ever closer, we thought we'd celebrate our animal adoration with some Alternative Animal Olympics - the wackiest animal races you've ever heard of! Many animal sports are controversial because they are often deemed cruel or inhumane, but our favourites are all bonkers without being barbaric!

Tell us your favourite (cruelty free) animal sport - leave a comment in the box below. 

• Pig Olympics - wow! A whole Olympic games dedicated to cute little piggies! Competitions include piggy-swimming, piggy-football and pig-racing over an obstacle course. The last Pig Olympics were held in 2009 in St Louis, Missouri, and the contest is run by the Sport-Pig Federation, who promise that none of the piggy competitors are bacon afterwards - they're all bred for the next generation of sporting piggy Olympians.

image by jannbr on scx.hu

• Rabbit Showjumping - possibly the cutest animal sport ever invented! Specially trained bunny rabbits jump over a variety of obstacles and fences. The sport first became popular in Sweden in the 1970s, but there are now competitions all over the world.

image by sv:User:Wikkie on wiki commons

• Ferret Legging - this competition's open only to men who think they're tough enough! The idea is to put a ferret in their trousers (belted at the top and tied at the ankles) and the one who can stand the jiggling and wiggling the longest is the winner! (PS rules state that no underwear is to be worn.....)

Image by goomomyuko on sxc.hu



• Elephant Polo - a variation on the classic game of Polo, where riders use elephants instead of horses to move around the polo field. It's popular in the Asian countries of Nepal, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

image by doc on sxc.hu

•  Pigeon Racing - one of the more well known wacky animal races, but no less remarkable. Pigeons are released thousands of miles away from their home, and the clever bird who gets back the quickest wins the race. These ingenious birds are meticulously trained by their owners to brave storms and predators, and navigate their way back home. Pigeons have a natural homing instinct, but scientists still aren't sure exactly why....

Image by Jarrr on sxc.hu

• Snail racing - the classic wacky animal race! Snail racing is popular across the world and usually features the common garden species of snail. The snail who gets around a marked track the quickest is the winner! Best not to be in a hurry for this one - all good things come to those who wait.....

image by minotaurus on sxc.hu

Thought for today!

Go on, give it a go!

At Gypsy Wood Park, Caernarfon, North Wales

Gypsy Wood's Fairy Godmothers

One of the highlights for a lot of visitors to Gypsy Wood Park is the chance to meet our beautiful Fairy Queen and Princess.

Our resident Fairy Queen and Fairy Princess love to meet new friends, and hear your wishes; if you whisper them quietly, they'll try their best to make them come true!

Our beautiful Fairy Queen

Did you know?

The Fairy Queen's favourite colour is pink!

The Fairy Queen and the Fairy Princess look after all the little fairies in Gypsy Wood Park; they make sure they're all happy and safe.

The Fairy Princess's favourite thing to eat is cake, yum!

The Fairy Queen and Princess always eat their vegetables and make sure they get lots of sleep to make sure they stay beautiful!

We think our Fairy Godmothers are pretty special, so see if you can find their woodland hide-away and come and say hello - it's among the Gypsy Wood trees!

Due to a hectic schedule, the Gypsy Wood Park Fairy Godmothers aren't here every single day.  They are here on weekend days, and a few days during the week. If you are visiting especially to meet them, then please telephone to confirm the days she'll be present.

Woody's Fancy Dress Party 2012

We've got some super exciting news for all our lovely Gypsy Wood Park blog readers! And you are the first to know...... about plans for this year's Woody Day!

Woody’s Annual Fancy Dress Party will be held on the 27^th August (Summer Bank Holiday Monday). Woody's Day is one of the highlights here at Gypsy Wood, and this year will be an extravaganza for the whole family!

There'll be loads of fun activities like face painting and a bouncy castle, as well as the chance to meet our beautiful Fairy Godmother and a special sing along with Woody's Wizard! Woody will also be on the look-out for the best dressed teddy bear, so start thinking about your bears' outfits now!

Here's some of Woody's team from last year's party!

Woody's pretty busy at the moment, planning and organising everything; but as soon as he has a quiet minute he'll pop up and tell you more about his special day!

So, don't miss it! Be there or be very square indeed!

Gypsy Wood Park Woody's Fancy Dress Party. August 27th 2012
Gypsy Wood Park, Bontnewydd, Caernarfon

Our Gypsy Wood

What's in a name? Well, Gypsy Wood Park is so called because the woodland here is said locally to be one of the last places where Romany Gypsies lived in the village, hence it's name as Gypsy Wood.

When John and Christine first opened Gypsy Wood Park in 2004, they learnt about the last remaining Romany gypsy here, Mr Lovell, who camped in the field opposite and used the river that ran through the site.

The woodland's rich history is what inspired Gypsy Wood Park's enchanting and ethereal theme. Today, the wood is home to fairies, elves and a generous sprinkling of magic. You can discover them all on our Gypsy Wood trail and Wetland Walk.

Finding fairies at Gypsy Wood

Do you have memories of the history of Gypsy Wood and the people who lived here? We'd love to hear about them if you do! Tell us using the comments box below.

Did you know?

Gypsy Wood Park is in the pretty village of Bontnewydd, just outside Caernarfon, Gwynedd.

Bontnewydd is the Welsh word for "new bridge".

A Winning Loo

Here at Gypsy Wood Park, we're very proud indeed of our fabulous loo! So imagine how pleased we were last year when we were awarded a prize by the official Loo of the Year team.

We scooped up the award for Best Loo in the category of Visitor Attraction in Wales in 2011. This year is the 25th anniversary of the Loo of the Year awards and the competition is hotter than ever!

Since it began in 1987 the inspectors have visited literally hundreds of different loos across the country. The criteria is strict, and loos are judged on a whole host of things from signage to cleanliness and from air quality to the type of toilet tissue.

You can see our listing here along with the other category winners.

Why not come along and check out Gypsy Wood's prize winning loo! We're pretty proud of it, and hope you agree it's certainly worthy of the much coveted award. It certainly is unique; we've never seen another like it!

Gypsy Wood loo!

The beautiful wall mural was started in 2004 by brilliant artist Sharon Wilson. She adds a little bit more every year!

Got a favourite loo? Tell us about it by leaving a comment below!

Simba's Story

Hello to all our lovely new Gypsy Wood Park blog readers!

Christine told me she's really excited about the new Gypsy Wood blog, and when she asked me to introduce myself, I've been really thinking hard about what to tell you all.

But I think some of you might already know me! I'm Simba the pony and I've been living here at Gypsy Wood Park for a long time; as long as I can remember anyway. I was born 15 years ago (Christine says that time flies, but I don't know about that. I do know that I can munch through a buckets of carrot pretty quickly, but they don't usually fly...) and when I was born my little legs wouldn't work properly.

Christine and John agreed to adopt me and give me a happy home. I remember a nice vet called Dewi came to look at my legs and he fixed them for me so that I could run around the field so the farrier couldn't catch me. I wasn't keen on having my hooves trimed, and I told Christine that I'd only chat to the farrier if he had some carrots - they're my absolute favourite. Now I love seeing him, because he's always got a full bucket of munchy carrot sticks for me.

Christine and John soon brought me some friends to play with. They were bigger than me but I could still keep up with them when we were all playing in the field. My collection of playmates got bigger and bigger, and so Christine and John decided to open their fields up to show us off to the world.

And that, Christine tells me, is how Gypsy Wood Park was born, back in 2004. She says it all started with me! That makes me pretty special, don't you think?

I've got loads and loads of friends now like alpacas, pigs, rabbits and goats, and the beautiful fairy godmothers. 

Why don't you come down to the woods today to see who you can spot? Look out for me at Gypsy Wood Park because I love to make new friends!

See you soon,

love and carrots

Simba

Farewell to Lonesome George

It was a sad day here at Gypsy Wood when we learned of the death of one of the rarest animals of its kind in the world. Lonesome George was a sub-species of the giant tortoise who lived on the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador, some 6,000 miles from Gypsy Wood Park.

Phew, it's a long way away, but we can't help thinking that little old George was adorable! He was nicknamed Lonesome George not only because he was the last of his species, but because he was such a shy creature and liked nothing more than to while away his time on his own.

Lonesome George became famous in Ecuador, and is a symbol of conservation and an icon of evolutionary studies. He appeared on their bank notes and was a major tourist attraction.

But, George had a good long life; it's hard for his keepers to determine exactly how old he was, but he was thought to be over 100 years old when he died last week.

Although George's sub-species of tortoise (known as the Pinta Island Tortoise) is now extinct, there are many other types of giant tortoise. Nevertheless, his death and the loss of his sub-species is extrtemely sad for conservationists across the world.

You can find out more about Lonesome George here and about the work of the Charles Darwin Research Centre on the Galapagos Islands here

Lonesome Geroge at home

image by Mike Weston on wikicommons

Welcome!

Hello Gypsy Wood followers!

Welcome to our brand new blog. Here you can find out all you need to know about Gypsy Wood Park, including news, events, gossip and exciting developments!

Don't forget to follow us, and check back regularly for updates. And if there's anything you'd like to see on the blog, then leave a comment for us below.

Gypsy Wood Blog x