Picture the scene. Madonna’s gliding effortlessly underwater, the Terminator is at the poolside eying you suspiciously and Freddie Mercury is belting out some interesting vocals. This may sound like some odd 80s eclectic gathering however these are some of the aquatic characters you can meet when you visit the Cornish Seal Sanctuary.
The Cornish Seal Sanctuary is a Sea Life Trust charity partner. Situated in the scenic Helford Estuary in Gweek, the sanctuary has been rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing seals for over 60 years. The rescue centre now has an impressive record of typically saving over 60 pups every season.
Its founders, Ken and Mary Jones, managed to grow the sanctuary from a single pool into the complex it is today to cope with the increasing number of rescued seals in the county. With multiple nursery, convalescent and resident pools, plus a specially designed hospital, the sanctuary is remarkable considering its humble origins. Such is the staff’s expertise in marine wildlife, they are often called upon to help in the rescue of dolphins and turtles.
Most seals that end up at the sanctuary get better enough to be released back into the water. The sanctuary boasts an impressive array of seals and sea lions however it is also home to other animals such as otters, penguins. Even land-based animals get a look in with an area that houses ponies, sheep and goats.
With its event laden 2019 diary and the promise of a family (and dog) friendly attraction, we went along to see what all the fuss is about when we were in the area.
Our hotel had a book of local attraction vouchers so we were able to admit our family of four (two adults and two children, four and six) for £40. This is a similar price to the discounted price you get when you book direct online. Whilst on face value this might sound expensive, it is on par with similar attractions in the South West and does entitle you to unlimited entry for 12 months. Also, you have to bear in mind that the admission fee helps the Sanctuary continue it´s excellent rescue work so it is for a very worthy cause!
The sanctuary has an ample free car park so we had no problem parking. Once inside the main entrance we were warmly greeted and told of the day’s events and feeding and talk times. Within the main entrance the Cornish Seal Sanctuary, topically and quite rightly, had some very interesting displays highlighting how plastic, and other human created waste, causes problems for seals and other marine wildlife. Although a bit too old for our four year old, our son was absorbed with the messaging the displays were trying to convey.
The map showed the grounds to be quite extensive so we eagerly embarked on a pleasant 300 metre walk up a slight incline to reach the Sea Rescue Hospital. In it we found several seals in various stages of recovery. One such seal was Agadoo (the sanctuary are great with their names!) who was admitted for bite wounds to her flippers. Although fully recovered she had developed an ulcer in her eye so had to wait a bit longer before moving onto the nursery pools for rehabilitation. I found it quite upsetting to see that such animals encounter this kind of trauma, both naturally and man-made, but also reassuring knowing there is a place for these animals in the sanctuary with such good facilities.
We ventured on to the pool areas which sit against a stunning backdrop of the estuary. The pools are extensive. There’s the Common Seal Pool, the Convalescence Pool, Rehabilitation pool and various Sea Lion pools all with a host of interestingly name characters: Molly Ringwald, Cyndi Lauper, Run DMC, Walkman are examples of what appears to be an 80s based naming convention! The kids really loved getting up close to the animals and, of particular note, is the underwater viewing area where we met ‘John’, a seal who had been rescued on Christmas Day.
After a relaxing viewing of the sea lions mesmerisingly swimming in circles we took a break to check out the Sanctuary Café. The café sells a range of baked food from Cornish Pasties through to cream teas with an incredible outside view overlooking the estuary. I indulged in a lovely hot chocolate and a delicious homemade Victoria sponge cake. It was good to see the amount of recycleable items the cafe used (cups, plates, cutlery etc) which shows how important sustainability is to the sanctuary.
We then let the kids loose in the children’s play area where they spent a good twenty minutes on the wooden pirate ship before we headed out to ‘Otter Creek’ for an explore. This is a scenic path that takes you along the estuary past the Otter enclosure that was opened by Jenny Agutter (the actress, not the seal) back in 2002. The walk looped us back to the sanctuary via the aptly named Wildflower Meadow and we ventured to the paddock are to meet the ponies, goat and sheep.
We finished our visit by exiting through the sanctuary’s gift shop. I’m not sure if your kids are the same but ours can spend an inordinate amount of time choosing a memento, even if we set a low spend amount to limit the choice! After what felt like an hour we left feeling very happy with our experience.
The Cornish Seal Sanctuary, Gweek, Cornwall TR12 6UG
Telephone: 01326 221361
Website: https://www.visitsealife.com/gweek/