ANIMAL magic has returned to a North Yorkshire tourist attraction which saw visitor numbers drop by 40 per cent last year due to the foot and mouth crisis.

Two calves, one a Charolais-cross, the other an Aberdeen Angus, named Anchor and Clover, arrived at Murton Park, home of the Yorkshire Museum of Farming, earlier this week, and a day later a rare Soay lamb was born.

They have joined a collection of sheep, piglets, rabbits, chickens, ducks, and a pony, on the 12-acre estate, which is also home to the Danelaw Viking settlement, Brigantium Roman fort and the Derwent Valley Light Railway.

Site manager David Thirlwall said farm animals were not on public view during the foot and mouth crisis.

"We did struggle last year, visitor numbers were down by 40 per cent, but obviously things were much more difficult for the farming industry, " he said.

"We managed to keep going thanks to our Viking and Roman living history projects. We now deal with, both on and off site, more than 55,000 schoolchildren a year".

Over the Bank Holiday weekend, the Roman fort was turned into an 1874 Texan fort and occupied by members of the Yorkshire-based Trailblazers Western re-enactment group, while the Middle England Vikings took up residence in the Dark Ages village.

Danelaw also featured in the recent BBC documentary Arthur: King Of The Britons, fronted by actor Richard Harris.

Updated: 11:15 Wednesday, April 03, 2002