Cricket St Thomas Lakes and Gardens

People from Across Somerset and beyond have been taking their families to Cricket St Thomas  near Chard for years, to see the animals and enjoy the wonderful lakes and gardens.

Warner Leisure Hotels who own the park have just spent £300,000 restoring the lakes and gardens and re-homing all the large animals to other parks and zoos. It is part of a £3million project to take the valley back to its origins in the 1800s.

Last week they officially re-launched it at Cricket St Thomas Lakes and Gardens. The popular Lemur wood is still there and has been opened out along the lakes side  by the removal of Laburnham trees which means you can now enjoy the view of the water as you try and resist the urge to touch the Ring -Tailed Lemurs which run free in there.

The bottom lakes  were dredged  and the grass is still growing back but the large fences are gone so you can now walk up to the waterside. A new pond and rock garden has been created near the entrance  to the park by the combined efforts of the head groundsman Dave West and his team and Chelsea Gold winner Kate Gould .

The rolling lawns are still there which have been enjoyed by generations of children,having gone there since a child myself we lawns liked being able to roly poly without hitting thistles (thanks Dave!).

Although Warner Leisure specialise in holidays for adults only, I am happy to see the park is still open daily to children,under five's get in free and the little ride on train still runs along one side of the valley. There are still Tamarind Monkeys to be seen as well as the lemurs, and mongoose and there are meerkats, which used to be housed in the valley but have been moved alongside the new Italian restaurant  Fennocchi's, so they can be nosey and watch the diners on the sun terrace.

For those who are not familiar with the park,Cricket House was used as the manor in the BBC TV hit series To the Manor Born. The house dates to the 19th century but the estate goes back to the 12th century and the  little church is still there.The park has undergone a few identities, becoming the wildlife park in the sixties under the ownership of John Taylor, as it became less PC for zoos,some of the smaller enclosures went and for a short while it had a Mr Blobby theme park with Noel Edmunds involved. When he left,it went back to an animal park with larger more natural spaces and a concentration on rare species to help with captive breeding programmes.

The valley has always been a very peaceful place to go, with its stepped lakes,spacious lawns and huge cedar trees said to have been enjoyed by Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton, there is a monkey puzzle tree that is in photo they have of the 1860s. One of the new features is a rose maze near the tree.

You can easily spend the day relaxing and wandering, the paths are wide so ok for wheelchairs and buggies but are quite undulating so you get your exercise!

There is a cafe in the grounds but you can also access Fennochi's which has a bar and restaurant,all beautifully designed within the old barns,serving delicious Tuscan food.

I found it quite a nice touch that there was a viewing window to see the chef at work.

check out the gallery for a taster of the park and house, it really is worth a visit.