Cornwall Adventure – Cornish Seal Sanctuary

During our holiday to Trevella Park in Cornwall, we visited the Cornish Seal Sanctuary which is set in the beautiful Helford Estuary.  It was a challenging place to find and we did wonder if we were going in the right direction after going down some very narrow country roads, but it was worth it when we got there.

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My one tip is to insist that your child goes to the toilet when you arrive, as there are no toilets further down into the Seal Sanctuary and it is a long walk back and the kids won’t make it, as we learned to our cost!

Cornwall
There is a bumpy bus service to take you to the Seal Hospital and beyond which the kids loved as it was quite hilly and a long walk for little legs.
Cornwall

There is plenty to do and see for the little ones.  Isaac and Kian were captivated by the talk all about the Seal Sanctuary’s life saving work and were not afraid to ask questions.

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Eliza thought the Seals swam very well but looked funny when trying to move on dry land. The Seals also put on a playful show for us to watch and I had to let Eliza down gently as she wanted to bring one home!

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Feeding time was a bit of a frenzy too!

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The centre was full of all sorts of marine wildlife, so there was plenty to see and hold the children’s attention.  We found some Humboldt Penguins and I was impressed that Isaac remembered lots of facts about them after seeing them in London Zoo earlier in the year.

Cornish Seal Sanctuary

We went in Halloween week and found there to be some spooky goings on, on the way to meet some Otters.

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Sadly the Otters were not feeling particularly sociable – can you spot them?

 

Cornish Seal Sanctuary
We headed back towards the rock pool to by far the most enjoyable part of the day – meeting the residents.
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Isaac was fascinated by the crabs and showed no fear at all when handling them, which we were shown how to do correctly.  We were also told how to identify the different sexes.

A boy crab has a lighthouse shape underneath

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A girl crab has a beehive shape underneath
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We also got to meet a Hermit Crab, which was hiding in its shell when being held….

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and a beautiful Starfish, which Isaac was fascinated by and kept going back to.

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We finished off the day by burning off some energy in park before heading off on our next adventure.
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I highly recommend the Cornish Seal Sanctuary, as there was plenty to do for the kids and they had the space to run around too.  My only grumble is the lack of toilet facilities further on in the park.
Cornish Seal Sanctuary

 

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

11 thoughts on “Cornwall Adventure – Cornish Seal Sanctuary”

  1. What a fantastic place to visit. My children would love it, especially the penguins. Will has a penguin stuffed teddy army on his bed because mean old mommy won’t let him have a real one!

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  2. I remember going here a couple of years ago with mine. I totally agree with you regarding the toilets. It looks like there is more to do now than in the past when we found it very overpriced for what was on offer, but then they are trying to look after all those seals which can’t be cheap. Looks like the Halloween activities really added to the entertainment. Thank you for linking up to Country Kids.

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  3. OOh F would have loved this. He’s always into animals and would have loved seeing the crab. Sounds like a super day out 🙂

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  4. This looks amazing. The photos of the crabs are brilliant. Definitely one to put on my list – I didn’t even know it existed! Great post.

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