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Village Squire, 1978-05, Page 6Storybook Gardens a fairyland of delights Back in 1958 one of the most unique attractions in Western Ontario opened in London and since then hundreds of thousands of families have found an afternoon of fun for a very small price. Storybook Gardens opened that year in one corner of the huge Springbank park on the banks of the Thames River in London. It combines the pleasures of a fairyland with an amusement park and a zoo. Best of all it's a relaxing place. It's relaxing when you enter the magic castle through the drawbridge and find it costs 75 cents for adults and 25 cents for children. It's relaxing as you stroll the pathways and find that nothing in the park costs extra money, unless you want to stop for a snack at the snack bar or a souvenir. It's relaxing when you realize the only sounds you hear are the sounds of people having fun and perhaps the odd gutteral noises from the park's fulltime residents, the birds or animals. The park is open in early May in the afternoons only while the London Public Utilities workmen, who care for Storybook Gardens get it prepared for the summer. Come May 15 it will resume regular summer hours of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The fairy tale motif is carried throughout the park. Simple amusement areas are built into the fairy tale settings. For instance Jack and Jill fell down the Hill becomes a series of slides and obstacles for children to slide down the long hillside. Children can get swallowed by a whale, but soon emerge again after slipping down the slide into the whale's stomach and climbing the steps back out again. Animals play a large part in the park. Just inside the main gate to your right you can see deer, buffalo and peacocks. The Three Little Pigs actually are three little pigs. There's Old MacDonald's farm complete with a variety of farm animals which the children can get right up close to. Farther back in the Park there's a llama, the South American beast of burden. The stars of the show undoubtedly, however are the sea lions, the otters and the penguins. They put on a tremendous show for the audiences and seem to thrive on attention. They tend to be the focal point of a visit to the park for most families and there's almost always a crowd around their pools, especially at feeding time. There's a statue to the sea lion that brought the park its first fame. Slippery the sea lion was one of the early inhabitants of the park but he escaped and got into the Thames river. He was recaptured days later in Lake Erie and returned to the park where people flocked to see him. The refreshing presence of water is everywhere in the little park. There are rivers and bridges and islands everywhere and ducks and other water fowl inhabit a good many of the water areas. If your children are the age where they still like animals and slides and climbing you can count on a very well spent afternoon at Storybook Gardens. On the other hand the pleasures don't stop at the gate. Storybook is part of the whole Springbank Park complex which has many pleasures to offer. If you want to picnic, you'll find plenty of green grass, trees and picnic tables spread throughout the grounds. There's the Thames nearby where you can get paddle boats for a ride on the river. There's a merry-go-round located beside the river as well. And there's something that is bound to send nearly any youngster into squeels of joy in a miniature steam train that circles a wide circle in the park, taking children for rides. It can be a pleasant, unhurried, not to mention very inexpensive place to spend an afternoon or a whole day with the family and can be very educational for children not used to seeing animals up close. PG. 4. VILLAGE SQUIRE/MAY 1978. a SUMMER SUN, FUN DAYS AHEAD 7\17 - Searching For Just The Right - Mix and Match i Outfits ... We Have Them! Shorts, Slacks, Skirts, Shawls, Blouses, Sweaters, Cotton and Velour Tops. •s 4<. 1 J the wedge 8 King Street, Clinton -- 482-7735 OPEN: Daily 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; except Wednesdays and Sundays.