Other Attractions
Crinkley Bottom High Street and train, c1995.
Cricket St Thomas was already established as a grand day out for fans of wild animals and nature before Crinkley Bottom came along. With daily sea-lion performances and animal enclosures throughout the estate, children and adults were guaranteed to have a good time. But the arrival of Mr Blobby brought a variety of attractions, some big (Mr Blobby's House, Blobbyland, etc.) and some small. This page shows some of those smaller, lesser-documented attractions at the park.
Crinkley Bottom Airport
Located up on the verge of the estate close to Cricket House, this attraction housed the (static) Crinkley Bottom air fleet, including 'The World's Most Fragrant Airline', which had a peg on its nose. The building was originally constructed for Noel's Garden Party, two special live versions of House Party that took place in Merseyside during the summer of 1993.
Crinkley Bottom General Store
Originally a gift shop that stocked Crinkley Bottom merchandise; later used as a toy shop that specialised in K-Nex. A branded van relating to the store also circulated the park before being obtained by Noel Edmonds.
The Animals of Farthing Wood
Intended to be a similar attraction to Noddy in Toytown, this woodland attraction was a simple display of static figures depicting characters from Colin Dann's famous book and TV series. The figures could be seen and heard from the train as it moved through the woods.
CRINKLEY BOTTOM HIGH STREET
The High Street pictured shortly before the park’s official opening in July 1994.
Located at the end of the Crinkley Bottom railway line and a stone's throw from Mr Blobby's House, the High Street was a row of fake, whimsical shops that contained animated characters in each window. Shops included a Vegetarian Butcher, Willy's Welly World the cobbler, a garage, a baker, a fish shop, a laundrette and the Blobby Shop, the only real shop in the street that predictably only stocked Mr Blobby merchandise.
Following the rebranding of the park in 1997, the Street was renamed Cricket St Thomas High Street and the Blobby Shop closed. Although the rest of the Street was demolished in the mid-2000s, the ex-Blobby Shop remained standing until 2015.
THE GUNGE MINES
The Gunge Miners, pictured away from their mine after the park closed.
A stone's throw from Crinkley Bottom High Street was a small artificial tunnel that masqueraded as a gunge mine. Gunge was a major part of Noel's House Party, hence its inclusion within the park. The miners of Crinkley Bottom resembled the folk of Crinkley Bottom High Street. The tunnel and its gungey walls were demolished in 2015.
THE THATCHED TRAIN
Since 1975 Cricket St Thomas had operated a miniature railway, which had its bodywork hidden by Mock Tudor facades and a thatched roof when Crinkley Bottom opened. The original train was reinstated in 1997, and remained in operation until the park closed to the public in 2011.
THE LISZT & NEWT PUB
Formerly (and subsequently) known as the Black Swan, the Liszt and Newt was a quintessentially Somerset pub serving food and drink to the residents and visitors of Cricket St Thomas. The building joined on to Blobbyland, so the small balcony on the first floor was used to show Blobby waving across the play area before he came down to greet visitors. The room that featured the balcony was none other than the pub staff room!
The pub in summer 2019.
Cricket House
The backdrop of Crinkley Bottom was Cricket House, famous for being the location of BBC sitcom To The Manor Born. Despite being the centre of the Crinkley Bottom emblem logo, the house was not open to the public. It is now open to hotel guests and the living room is now a restaurant!