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