My sister and cousin (and her children) joined myself and my children on a little adventure yesterday morning. I present Fairyland Village in Lobethal, Adelaide Hills, South Australia. I came here for my 7th birthday and remember the day clearly. I felt very special because my Mum had organised this lovely day out for my friends and I. I never knew such a place existed. In fact a lot of people even in the Hills don't know that it is here. The village is older than I am, it opened in 1973. Apparently the family that opened it based it on theme parks they had visited in Europe. Each hut has a fairy tale theme and with the push of a button you are told the story of what is behind the glass and the characters come to life with movement. Visiting as an adult, the thing I noticed is that it is not commercialised or polished - and I love that about it. The play ground is straight out of my childhood, not like the safety first play grounds these days. I'm not saying this one isn't safe but it actually has see saws (teeter-totters), which you never see anymore. I got a pleasant surprise when I realised that the cottages are filled with antiques and collectibles. The children took a quick look in each cottage window and then ran to the next one (17 of them), but I wanted to take in all the vintage goodness at a slower pace. Gorgeous antique furniture, lead light, china and even the mannequins (characters) are vintage. Sigh...
Can you tell that the original owners were from Germany?
Pinocchio's cottage.
Some of the playground...
I must admit that the adults had a bit of a play as well. Not too long on the spinners though as the kids had tougher stomachs for that. The ride below is one of the smaller ones but they do have a another that was bigger that seats four and looks a little like a merry-go-round which was pretty cool (carousel).
This horse fits two adults and two kids quite easily (we tried and have photographic evidence - lol). Just watch out if you are a child sitting behind an older child as you may face plant into their back, and squash your nose. Ouch!
From the front.
And from the back - love the bright colours.
Lots of little details that make the village special.
Old Mother Hubbard.
Sleeping Beauty.
Cinderella.
A girl who has an uncanny resemblance to one of my gorgeous cousins, so much that I forgot to check who she actually is.
Three of The Seven Dwarfs. Love the pressed tin in the back ground.
The paths are rough and the glass is wild, not manicured so it feels like you are in a magical forest...but I would be careful of snakes in summer - eek.
Little Red Riding Hood.
Goldilocks, (I think).
Three little pigs brick house (?).
Another little treasure.
Snow White in her crystal coffin gave us the chills.
Lots of helpful gnomes to guide the way.
Some of the cards from Alice in Wonderland.
Almost there!
I had to take a pic of this cute family who are lucky last!
Worth taking a look if you are passing by!
Sherry :)
Wow, what a cute place! Definitely worth a visit.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful, wonderful post Sherry. I loved it from start to finish. Places like these are so special, I hope it will be around for many years to come. There used to be a place, very similar here in Perth (well, a couple of hours away) I'm not sure if it still
ReplyDeleteexists but I am going to find out and go there with my girls during the hols if it is. I totally get your chair love...they're beautiful. My favourite is the little fish playground thing. This is so much nicer than the slick and sterile places designed for kids these days. Thanks for sharing x
How delightful! I want to move in with the seven dwarfs! Great pictures!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fab post, it's lovely to be able to revisit our younger days and to remember the traditional stories that we grew up with. I think the chairs are gorgeous and the little merry go round is soooo cute too! Lovely stuff.
ReplyDeleteOhhhh wow! That looks like such a fun place to visit. I would probably want to sit there and stare at all the vintage goodness for HOURS! My poor husband would be bored out of his skull. *lol*
ReplyDeleteMy fave thing about it is the playground. Reminds me of playgrounds from my childhood. They seem to have been so much better back then. We still have see-saws here. But Merry Go Rounds are about non existant, and they were my favorite! I swear when I have children I am going to try and buy one and have it set it my bakyard. *lol*
This is magical!
ReplyDeleteI remember being taken to Noddy Land in NZ with my grandparents when I was four and it had much of the magic you described here :)
x
It looks beautiful, so lovely that you can remember visiting as a child too :-)
ReplyDeleteWow. It looks amazing, love all the playground features and can totally see what you love in those chairs. When i get to the Adelaide hills it is totally on my visiting list. melx
ReplyDeleteWhat an adorable place to visit! I love everything you photographed! xo
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking us along! I LOVED all of the antiques and vintage goodness in every shot!!
ReplyDeleteOMG! I missed this post, sorry.
ReplyDeleteThat is the coolest and creepiest place ever! Thanks for sharing!
This place looks amazing, the theme park that time forgot!! It is kinda creepy...really like snow white.
ReplyDeleteSophie