Noel Edmonds’ World of Crinkley Bottom

A Ticketed TV Attraction in Happy Mount Park

Forgotten Places · 1994

Archived on 26/08/2026

Associated With

Lancaster City Council and Unique Group Ltd. - creator, owner or operator

Defining Feature

A Crinkley Bottom-branded, paid-admission overlay within Happy Mount Park

Status

Closed - after about 12–13 weeks

Overview

Noel Edmonds’ World of Crinkley Bottom was a ticketed attraction inside Morecambe’s Happy Mount Park.

The 1994 joint venture between Lancaster City Council and Unique Group Ltd. brought the fictional setting of BBC One’s Noel’s House Party into part of a municipal park. Mr Blobby was its principal character and public draw.

The attraction opened in summer with themed features, branded access, print material, retail items and staff clothing. It closed after about 12–13 weeks, followed by a dispute, litigation and public-finance scrutiny.

Why It Mattered

The attraction unusually converted part of a free municipal park into a paid television-branded experience. Its rapid closure made the project inseparable from the dispute and scrutiny that followed.

The aftermath lasted far longer than the attraction. By 2003/04, the formal investigations had concluded, allowing council accounts from 1994/95 to 2000/01 to be closed.

Park and Partnership

The attraction occupied part of Happy Mount Park, a municipal park in Morecambe.
The venture involved Lancaster City Council and Unique Group Ltd., Noel Edmonds’ commercial organisation.
Council records place key Heads of Terms decisions on 21 March 1994 and by 12 April 1994.

The Crinkley Bottom Experience

The attraction used the fictional Crinkley Bottom setting associated with BBC One’s Noel’s House Party.
Mr Blobby was the principal character and public draw rather than the attraction’s formal identity.
Promotional material shows a rebranded entrance, Blobby-related features, guides, maps, tickets, retail material, stationery and staff clothing.

Closure and Financial Aftermath

One institutional record says the joint venture closed after 12 weeks, while a specialist archive gives 13 weeks.
The closure was followed by a dispute between the council and the Edmonds side, litigation and a 1996 settlement.
The 2003/04 audit letter states that formal investigations had concluded and the 1994/95 to 2000/01 audits could be closed.

Sources & Records

Audit Commission — Lancaster annual audit letter, 2003–2004 — Confirms completion of the Crinkley Bottom investigations and closure of the 1994/95–2000/01 accounts.
Lancaster City Council — Crinkley Bottom debate, February 2003 — Records the council’s discussion of the auditor’s findings and the March–April 1994 Heads of Terms decisions.
Information Commissioner — Crinkley Bottom-related decision, 2009 — Summarises the joint venture’s closure after 12 weeks and the ensuing public-finance investigation.

Gallery

A pink, yellow-spotted costumed character with a bow tie stands with arms raised in the road outside the entrance to Noel Edmonds’ World of Crinkley Bottom. The large entrance sign reads “CRINKLEY BOTTOM,” with open gates and a green park area behind. — Credit
Photographer unknown; original source not established.
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
Mr Blobby welcomes visitors at the World of Crinkley Bottom entrance, where a television character became the public face of a physical attraction.

Exterior of a themed attraction building with a large sign reading “CRINKLEY BOTTOM HAUTE CUISINE” above red wooden cladding and windows; a round turret at right is marked “BLOBBY LAND.” — Source
Credit
Crinkley Bottom attraction photograph; supplied via Yahoo image distribution, photographer not established
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
The Haute Cuisine frontage extended Crinkley Bottom's television comedy into a themed dining setting within the attraction.

Pink living-room interior with floral sofas, a green floor lamp, a small rounded cream television, a low green table holding a pink spotted box, a window with patterned curtains, and cartoon-style pictures on the walls. — Source
Credit
Crinkley Bottom attraction photograph; supplied via Yahoo image distribution, photographer not established
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
Mr Blobby's imagined home became a walk-through environment, translating a television character's visual style into rooms visitors could enter.

An overgrown entrance to a small pink-and-white themed structure, with a curved painted sign partly obscured by foliage, a white wooden gate, and fallen leaves on the path. — Credit
Photographer unknown; original source not established.
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
An overgrown Blobby-themed structure shows the afterlife of this kind of attraction. The original source and location of this particular photograph remain unconfirmed.

Street-facing entrance to Happy Mount Park, with white gate pillars, black gates, a yellow park sign, roadside banners and leafless trees beneath a blue sky with clouds. — Source
Credit
Photograph reproduced by North West Nature and History; photographer not identified
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
Happy Mount Park's entrance places Morecambe's short-lived Crinkley Bottom venture within an existing public park, rather than a separate purpose-built resort.