Gypsy Wood's Beautiful Fairy Queen

If you come to visit Gypsy Wood Park during the summer holidays, there'll be an extra special treat for you! Our beautiful Fairy Queen is back at the park on the 23rd July.

At the moment, she's just getting ready for a busy summer of meeting you all - she loves 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 is sometimes joined by the Fairy Princess, and they 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!

Our friends Bobby and Mini-Bobby have already been to meet the Fairy Princess. It was love at first peck!

The Fairy Queen will be at Gypsy Wood Park from the 23rd July on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. For more information about the park, see www.gypsywood.co.uk

Bobby's Blog

Hello everyone! It's Bobby the chicken here again. How are you all? I bet you're enjoying the lovely sunny weather aren't you? Us Sultan chickens quite like the sunshine, but Sam who looks after me keeps reminding me to go in the shade so I don't burn my feathers - they are really light so I bet I could get easily sunburnt. I don't think suntan lotion is very good for chickens, but you humans mustn't forget to slap it on when you're out in the sunshine, we don't want any red noses and ears do we?

So what have you all been up to? I've had a great couple of weeks in the sunshine - I've been dancing around in the garden (I love to dance!), keeping cool in the veg patch and resting up my poorly foot. It's nearly healed now, so Sam says I can come back to Gypsy Wood and see you all any day soon; I'm pretty excited about that!

I remember in my last blog post I promised I'd introduce you to my new best buddy, Mini Bobby. He's just like me, but he's a baby Sultan chicken - he's only six weeks old and he is super cute, even if I do say so myself. Heyyyyyy Mini-Bobby, come over here for a minute, are you going to say hello? Mini-Bobby's been exploring around the garden this morning, and I can't get him back inside; he's a mischievous little chicken (can't think who he learns that from...!)

Mini-Bobby's first day outside!

Mini-Bobby was born in a tiny chicken incubator at the beginning of the summer, and we were all really excited when he finally did burst out of his shell. Sam told me that I have to show him how to be a proper chicken so that he'll grow up to be as big and as beautiful as me one day. So, when he was old enough and steady on his little legs I took him out into the garden and showed him all around the best places to hide, the best place to find worms and the best place to have an early morning chicken boogie (it's by the veg patch under the lilies, in case you're wondering). Phew, Mini-Bobby was tired after that day, and he slept like a log that night, all night through!

Mini-Bobby at just 3 weeks old; awwww cute!

The next time we went into the garden I asked Sam if we could play with the wheelbarrow, so she got it out of the big shed for us and we jumped in it and on it all morning! And when we asked her really nicely, Sam took us for a spin around the garden; wow that was exciting, we went so fast. Mini-Bobby had to hold on to his feathers!! Next week I'm going to teach Mini-Bobby my favourite thing of all - how to dance! He can't be a proper Sultan chicken if he can't do the chicken-boogie.

Wheelbarrow fun!

Anyway, I've got to go now - I should go and find Mini-Bobby before he gets into any trouble, or Sam won't be happy. Mini-Bobby's old enough to come and meet you all at Gypsy Wood now, so he'll be there to say hello. He can't wait to see you!

'Till the next time, bye for now...

Bobby xx x

Hello from Bobby!

Hello to all our lovely blog readers. My name's Bobby and I'm one of the cutest chickens in Wales. I live in Gypsy Wood Park, and I LOVE it there. I've lived there all my life, and I'm nearly a whole year old now. My animal carer Sam told me I should write this blog post so you can all read about my life at the park and what us Sultan chickens get up to every day.

At the moment I'm staying with Sam, in her fabulous big, green garden, and I just love exploring every nook and cranny. My favourite place to hang out is in the flower beds with the lillies, but I have to be careful cos if I trample on one, Sam isn't best pleased! I like helping Sam with all the gardening chores, and sometimes if I've been good she takes me for a ride on the wheelbarrow - wow, we go so fast!

Every day, Sam looks after me and feeds me my corn and food pellets. And if I've been extra good I get some treats - meal-worms, bread and some leftover veggies from the veg patch, yum I could eat them all day! If I've been playing a bit too much in the mud and digging out all the tasty worms to eat Sam cleans my foot feathers to keep them sparkling white. They look really fluffy and groomed; they are naturally like that but they need a lot of TLC to make sure they stay looking so good - Sam says I'm high maintenance!! I get pampered once a week to make sure my feathers, my feet and my nails stay in tip-top condition. I like hugs from Sam the best though, and I always giggle when she tickles me under the chin, Yeah, I know - I'm one spoilt chicken!

I'm not at Gypsy Wood yet because all of my garden adventures have given me a sore foot! Anyway, I'm getting well fast and enjoying the lush green grass in Sam's garden, but I'll be back at the park and ready to meet you all in just two weeks.

Here's a picture of my new friend -Mini Bobby.

He's a beautiful Sultan chicken just like me, but he's only a baby - he's just a month old! But I'm pretty sure he's going to grow up to be as big and as beautiful as I am - especially if he eats his worms and his veggies. So don't forget to check back soon for more of Bobby and Mini-Bobby's adventures (I've been showing him all around the garden!). Mini-Bobby is at Gypsy Wood Park right now, so you can pop in and say hello, he'd love to see you!

Did you know that us Sultan chickens have come all the way from Turkey? Our breed was first brought to the UK in 1854 - over 150 years ago, phew! I'm not that old yet!

Hello

Well, the 2013 season is finally here! Here at Gypsy Wood Park we're really excited to be open again for the summer. So far we've had plenty of rain to keep the trees and plants happy, and we've even had some sunshine to keep us and the animals happy, and nice and warm! A lot of the animals love to sunbathe (just like us) so they have big smiles on their little faces when the sun comes out.

This year, we'd also like to welcome our new animals to Gypsy Wood - hello to our gorgeous little Fallabella horses. These dinky animals are the world's smallest horses, and are rarely over about 80cm tall. They originate from South America and are named after the famous horse breeder Juan Falabella. Here at Gypsy Wood our stunning white Falabella is called Hooner and a gorgeous brown one called Denver. 

A bit different to horses but we also have two fabulous yellow-bellied terrapins here this year too. They were  given to us by a local school after they got too big for their tank! So now they have a cosy new tank here at Gypsy wood, with everything they need. They are called Jack and Jill.

So, let's give our new animals a great bit welcome! We look forward to seeing you soon to say hello to them, and all the animal residents both old and new. See you soon.

Gypsy Wood Park is open every day from 10:30am to 5:00pm. For more information and how to find us, don't forget to check out website at www.gypsywood.co.uk 

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