Tucked away in an industrial state in Gweek (near Helston, Cornwall) is the Seal Sanctuary, a wonderful charity and retirement home and hospital for old and wounded seals. Pretty cool, huh!
Until a few weeks ago, I hadn’t been in well over a decade, and thought it would be a fun family day out for Jenson. I managed to find a 2 for 1 voucher code online (it’s usually £15 entry per adult) and off we popped with Luke’s parents.
I thought it would be especially fun to check out this summer as they had a special trail on in honour of Finding Dory – and some fun clown fish in the reception area. Nemos and Dorys!
There are no baby seals in at the moment as it’s not nursing season but we were able to check out the long-term residents at the estate – some of them have been there since before I was even born! I loved the sea lions – they even have one called Andre, which reminded me of one of my childhood favourite films.
There’s enough there for a fun day out with older children – a couple of hours was enough for us. There’s plenty of woodland and trails to explore with children who are out of pushchairs, a play area and cafe (pasties, sandwiches, cake, ice cream and coffee), plus penguins and otters to look at. There are regular feeding times and talks for the little ‘uns to find out more too.
The gift shop is on the pricey side. I spotted some awesome (kinda big) cuddly Nemos and Dorys but they were £25.00 each. I found a smaller, talking Nemo in Argos for £10.99 which Jenson loved though, so that’s all good.
As Jenson’s not walking, he spent most of the time in the pushchair, but loved being taken out and held up against the glass in the underwater level areas. I reckon he’d love a trip to Newquay Aquarium, which we’re hoping to do later this summer.
Where are your favourite places for not-quite toddlers in Cornwall?