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Storybook Gardens
Old-fashioned Tranquil Fun in London, Ontario
By Julia Rosien
Had enough of noisy amusement parks and expensive rides that don't last long enough? Tired of family entertainment that doesn't take into account every family member's desires? Get ready for some fun for the whole family. Come to Ontario and visit the famous Storybook Gardens.
Storybook Gardens opened in the early 1950s in the beautiful Springbank Park in London, Ontario. Sitting alongside the Thames River, Springbank Park sprawls over 140 acres of rolling parkland, flowerbeds and picnic grounds.
Walk over London Bridge, through the castle gates, and leave your troubles behind. Welcome to a child's world where nursery rhymes come to life and imagination rules. Climb up the wall with your kids, and give Humpty Dumpty a hug. Chances are, they'll be chanting Humpty Dumpty all day.
Don't forget your camera. You'll need it when the kids see the little old lady who lived in a shoe. Let them climb in her house and slide down right out the front of her shoe.
Take a ride on the miniature train as it steams through the park, or hop on the old-fashioned merry-go-round and relive days gone by. For something really different, board the London Princess at Storybook Landing and take pleasure from a 45-minute cruise down the Thames River. It leaves on the hour every afternoon of the week during the summer months.
Storybook Gardens boasts 43 different species of birds, mammals and reptiles. From miniscule to huge, domestic to exotic, animals from around the globe make their home here. Slippery the Seal made headlines in 1958 when he escaped from his home and made a getaway down the Thames River. Slippery traveled through London, Detroit, Windsor, Toledo, and Sandusky Bay before he was eventually caught by zookeepers and brought home.