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Primary Times Devon Reader Star Award Winners 2018
The very best of what Devon has to offer local families can now be revealed in this year’s Primary Times Reader Star Awards results.
The results, which can now be revealed, give the winners’ a well-deserved round of applause…
And this year’s winners are…
This year, the highly desired Family Attraction award was split into two categories to accommodate the places where people like to spend their time for a full day out and for a half day out.
Winning the Family Attraction Award (for a Full Day Out), for the 8th consecutive year, was Crealy Adventure Park and Resort. This much-loved attraction consistently delivers high standards and has a real interest in diversification by adding variety with new events and attractions year-on-year. This added interest, along with its existing fun rides and play areas, clearly hit the mark with local families who visit the park regularly. World of Country Life and Pennywell Farm were joint runners-up in this category.
The online offers, reasonable membership rates and 6-Day free return tickets make a visit to Crealy fantastic value, enabling it to pick up the top prize in a new category this year: the ‘Best Value for Money Attraction’. Planet Play in Crediton was the runner-up in this group.
A new award this year was that of the best Family Attraction for a half day out. This category was created to include attractions that people may visit, perhaps, for a few hours but on a frequent basis, or attractions that offer timed schedules. The Donkey Sanctuary was chosen as the winning attraction in this category. This beautiful attraction is a big hit with Primary Times’ readers and its wide range of events, free entry and free parking tempts local families to return again and again. The runner-up in this category was The Bear Trail, the muddy adventure trail for all the family.
The importance and value of outdoor play and its positive effects on children makes the Outdoor Play category a particularly significant one. Crealy won this category, closely followed by The Bear Trail. As for Indoor Play Centres, these are considered a crucial part of British family life as the weather is often so unsettled, so the merit of winning the Indoor Play award is seen as a highly valued prize. The ‘out of this world’ Crediton based Planet Play with its vast space for fun and adventure won the Indoor Play Centre award, with Crealy’s indoor zones coming a close second.
The entertaining events and family orientated activities at the Devon County Show, enabled it to be chosen as the favourite Local Fair, Show or Festival for 2018. The week-long Exmouth Festival was runner-up in this category.
The highly prized category of Party Venue and Entertainer is always fiercely contested as the quality of party entertainment in the area is first class. Planet Play acquired the highest number of votes, largely because of its good-value for money party packages, whilst the VIP party packages at Crealy Adventure Park tipped it to second spot.
A new award introducing a Free Local Family Event was won by The Donkey Sanctuary for its Summer Fair where children went free. The second highest number of votes in this category went to Exmouth Festival.
The blue-ribbon category, that of Overall Winner, asked readers to think about their favourite attraction which offered them the best overall experience. Collectively, readers chose Crealy Adventure Park and Resort as their Overall Winner for 2018, gaining 35% of the overall votes. Planet Play scooped the runner’s-up prize in this prestigious category.
Linda Edwards, Publishing Editor at Primary Times Devon said: “We are so grateful to our readers for their valued contribution to our Reader Star Awards. The results are incredibly insightful which allows us to take a glimpse into the minds of local people, discovering what the children enjoy most. We would like to applaud all the individual winners of each category and congratulate them on their success".
"In particular, we would like to commend Crealy Adventure Park and Resort on winning the particularly significant Overall Winner award for the eighth consecutive year. Crealy’s skilful ability to consistently deliver high standards with innovation is incredibly impressive and keeps them in a strong position as market leader. Winning a number of awards across several categories is an example of consistent practice and good management. We look forward to seeing what the next twelve months will bring and how the local attractions and venues will evolve and develop.”
Primary Times Devon Reader Star Award Winners 2018
Family Attraction (Full Day Out)
• Winner: Crealy Adventure Park and Resort
• Joint Runners Up: Pennywell Farm & World of Country Life
Family Attraction (Half Day Out)
• Winner: The Donkey Sanctuary
• Runner up: The Bear Trail
Indoor Play / Activity Centre
• Winner: Planet Play
• Runner up: Crealy Adventure Park and Resort
Free Local Family Event
• Winner: The Donkey Sanctuary Summer Fair
• Runner up: Exmouth Festival
Outdoor Play Centre
• Winner: Crealy Adventure Park and Resort
• Runner up: The Bear Trail
Local Fair, Show or Festival
• Winner: Devon County Show
• Runner up: Exmouth Festival
Party Venue / Entertainer.jpg)
• Winner: Planet Play
• Runner up: Crealy Adventure Park and Resort
Best Value for Money Attraction.png)
• Winner: Crealy Adventure Park and Resort (Return Ticket)
• Runner up: Planet Play
Overall Winner
• Winner: Crealy Adventure Park and Resort (35% votes)
• Runner up: Planet Play