Merchandise & Promotional Materials

Crinkley Bottom had a wealth of publicity during its run, although very little survives to this day. Many of the companies who manufactured the park’s merchandise no longer exist or have not retained any details of the products they were commissioned to make. However, here at Dunblobbin we can provide you with a glimpse of what you could get your hands on during the park's short life...

Guides & Leaflets

The most extravagant item available was the Crinkley Bottom souvenir guide, issued in 1994. Containing details about the park and its attractions, it even came with a free Mr Blobby mask! Due to its publication occurring before the park officially opened, it sadly features very few photos of the park itself.

A second guide was issued in 1997, following the park’s rebrand and reduced reliance on Blobby. This edition appears to have been targeted less towards children and more towards their parents, with details on the estate’s history, photos of the parish church and only a handful of TV-themed photographs.

Leaflets for Crinkley Bottom were also produced, containing a map of the park and details relating to opening times, ticket prices and dates for special events. After the park reverted to ‘Cricket St Thomas’, the Crinkley Bottom name was removed from all publicity materials, with Noddy replacing Blobby as the main star. Below are the leaflet covers for 1994 to 1998.

giftS and souvenirs

The gifts shops of Crinkley Bottom were awash with numerous branded gifts relating to both Blobby and the Cricket estate. While many items were available from mainstream suppliers (such as virtually all of the Blobby merchandise), several exclusive items specific to Crinkley Bottom at Cricket St Thomas were issued. Some featured the original Crinkley Bottom logo (green and red and featuring a leaf motif), while others went psychedelic with the park’s multi-coloured branding.

Such items included a mug (available in both logos), a thimble, and a pill box. These products are not to be confused with the Crinkley Bottom decorative plates, which were issued for general sale and not exclusive to the park itself.

POSTCARDS

KITCHENALIA

Also available in the Crinkley Bottom Collection; oven gloves and aprons! What better time to proclaim your love of Britain’s First TV Theme Park than when dishing up Sunday lunch?

And when you’re done with your food, perhaps you could help by washing up with a Crinkley Bottom tea towel?

BLOBBYVISION

For some true Crinkley Bottom nostalgia, see if you can track down Blobbyvision on YouTube. The VHS was filmed on location at Cricket St Thomas in spring 1994, and featured numerous attractions at the park. These included Cricket House (‘The Old Antiques Show’), Crinkley Bottom General Store (‘You know when you’ve been Blobbied!’) and, briefly, Mr Blobby's House (‘Through The Keyhole’).

The front cover of the video showed Blobby in his lounge at Dunblobbin, and a free postcard came sealed in cellophane. If you were lucky enough to buy a copy of the video before 31st December 1994, you could also enter a competition to win one of 50 free tickets to visit Crinkley Bottom any time during 1995. Given that many children would have received the video that Christmas, there were most likely many parents frantically searching for a post box between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve that year!

TV ADVERTS

Along with printed materials there were a number of television adverts for Crinkley Bottom, mainly shown on the regional ITV channels Meridian and Harlech Television (HTV), both of which broadcast across the South and South West of England.

Sadly the original masters appear to have been lost in the midst of time. Instead we can thank YouTubers for uploading their VHS rips. So far, four adverts have surfaced; the first from 1995, when TV's Family Favourites was opened, which was also shown as an edited 10-second version.

The second showed Mr Blobby, Noddy and Big Ears in Blobbyland, quite possibly filmed the year the park opened. The third was a brief summer advert promoting the photo opportunities at the park from 1996.

It’s highly likely some adverts were made for the launch of the park in the summer of 1994, so if anyone has any old VHS tapes from this period lying around at home, you could be sitting on a piece of forgotten history!

EPHEMERAL ITEMS

While visiting Crinkley Bottom, a number of disposable items may have ended up in visitors' possession. Entry into the park required a ticket, and there was also an opportunity to grab a map if the leaflet was too unwieldy. Whilst at the Pavilion Restaurant, napkins displaying the park's logo were also present. These items can be seen below. Also issued were branded plastic bags, compliment slips and letterheads, all displaying various versions of the park’s logo.

For staff of Crinkley Bottom, it wasn’t unheard of to receive the odd message or compliment from the man whose House Party had ultimately given them a job. Printed at the Crinkley Bottom Observer (a genuine printing press in the park’s estate), Noel signed small cards showcasing his exquisite taste in shirts. Some versions of the design featured the park’s logo on the back of the card.

AND FINALLY...

… A brief glimpse into the world of Crinkley Bottom from the point of view of those who worked there. Staff at the park had a selection of branded clothing items they could wear whilst at work, such as jumpers, fleeces, and caps. Here is an example of the Crinkley Bottom tee-shirt, displaying the park's logo on the back. Many thanks to Alan for finding this gem and getting in touch!

A number of other items were produced to promote the park, but sadly images of these are not currently available. One of the most popular was a cheeky car sticker that proclaimed 'I've seen Noel Edmonds' Crinkley Bottom!'. If you have any promotional materials from Crinkley Bottom or Cricket St Thomas during the 1990s, please contact us as we would love to include them on this page for others to see.