The animals are so used to people that they are quite happy for you to get up close and personal – it’s truly magical if you have littlies!
If you are a reader of the blog you will know that recently I suffered a miscarriage (you can read my post about it here). It has really hit me hard, and this past weekend the very thought of spending another weekend in the house thinking about what has happened was just too much – so on thursday evening, I booked a bolt hole. To Center Parcs, one of my favourite holiday destination parks in the UK.
What I love about Center Parcs is that you are in the middle of a forest, surrounded by nature and there is everything to do. From swimming and enjoying the slides at the subtropical paradise to bowling, bike riding around nature trails to kaiaking across lakes. If you want a family break for the weekend with every possible activity at your finger tips – Center Parcs is the the way to go.
So what did we get up to? Well, we became very good friends with a family of ducks and squirrels who would literally come up to our patio door for food, we went swimming (a lot), we took strolls around a few of the nature trails, played in the play areas and at the beach and we just generally relaxed and enjoyed each others company. Here’s our little getaway in pictures:
Welcoming committees at Center Parcs tend to be a bit unconventional.
Feeding our newest pals outside the lodge.
Map reading!
Chargin up the beach – it was unbelievably pleasant weather, and on a bank holiday too!
On the beach they have tonnes of kids climbing rails, slides, swings and bouncers – perfect for two excited toddlers.
5 minutes after I took this photo he sat in this puddle. Because, ladies and gents, he could.
Again at the beach, I loved this area. This is part of a large mechanism that you have to wind up to pull up water, then fill up a big tub, which you then have to pull a big plug on, and it runs down a balanced chute so the kids have to figure out which way they want it to go – it was fab to see them all working together.
Forutnately he did not feel the need to follow his brother and sit in the water.
Another play area called the farm yard.
The scenery all around you is breath taking, quintessential English countryside and forest.
The nature centre is perfect for slightly older children. They have so much to learn about in there and there are always guides on hand to catch with you about the animals, the plants – anything!
It was all a bit too much for one little man – after a morning of swimming, two nature trails (where he actually walked an awful lot) and a good hour long play on the beach – to be honest, I was hoping he would carry me back to the lodge too!
On one of our nature trails – so beautiful and beyond peaceful.
On one of our evening walks Reuben discovered these huge stones and had a blast jumping from one to the other.
Enjoying a banana after a hard days play!
At the Parc supermarkets they have tonnes of these little tots trolleys – they may look like a bad idea but Roo was so well behaved and it gave him a sense of responsibility – I’m not suggesting we pour these bad boys into a local supermarket but for the mini break they were pretty cool!
One thing that is so magical about Center Parcs is that it bridges generations. There is a spa, restaurants, bowling, nature trails, activities for kids, activities for adults. Everyone has something and in the afternoon, everyone is like this!
Eating pancakes for breakfast by the beach – I had that smile too!
Charging off in the swimming pool – impossible to get a good pic of him without an underwater camera (which we bought, just a disposable but it will be worth it 🙂 )
Last day, exhausted he finally conked out – in the pool no less! The poolside cots are perfect for little ones who need to nap, one of the reasons Center Parcs has won awards from parenting associations.
I hope you enjoyed having a look at our little family photos, we had such a great time and I wanted to share it with you. I can’t recommend Center Parcs enough, they provide such a wonderful family break, especially with little ones if you don’t want to go far away.
Harriet x
