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Original poster

Anyone else doing Centerparcs over the six weeks?

31 replies

NotTheFunKindOfFeminist · 24/07/2021 15:40

We are going next week, and I can't wait! We've never been before, but I've heard good things!

We are going to Sherwood Forest. Which activities/ restaurants are worth it?

OP posts:
Roselilly36 · 24/07/2021 19:46

CP is great fun, we had some lovely trips went our children were little. Especially Xmas stays. We used to book tenpin bowling, badminton, table tennis, adventure golf (Elveden) Restaurants Hucks, Pizza can’t remember the name, needed reservation, the pancake house after swimming etc. Activities & restaurants book up really quick. I would book them before you arrive, to save disappointment OP. Have a lovely time.

EatingAllThePies · 24/07/2021 19:49

We do SF and love it. We always seem to get terrible weather though! We tend to swim daily, pancake house is fab. Archery was good but activities tend to be overpriced.

Evenstar · 24/07/2021 19:52

They are still limiting swimming to 2 sessions of 2 hours per visit and everyone in your group has to book the same sessions. We ate out once but our evening restaurant booking was cancelled as they hadn’t got enough staff to open it.

bb800sam · 24/07/2021 20:07

Hey OP, how old are your DC's? we go to Sherwood every year at Christmas and have also been during the summer.

gardeninggirl68 · 25/07/2021 10:55

Ail just returned from Sherwood and said most things were closed/limited ... to the point they could barely book in for anything. They were really disappointed ☹️

SuburbanCrofter · 25/07/2021 11:09

We are! Placemarking for info Smile

Original poster
NotTheFunKindOfFeminist · 25/07/2021 14:01

Our child is 8. We have already booked our activities, but we haven't booked any restaurants yet. Is the pancake house any good?

OP posts:
MsSquiz · 25/07/2021 14:07

We go yearly, but to Whinfell.

The Pancake House is definitely worth a visit!
If you have any child free time, the Aqua Sana Spa is amazing, for treatments and the spa itself.

When we went in June to Whinfell, we ordered Bella Italia takeaway for dinner one night and the food was great - still really hot!
We also had a bbq with food we took for the first night.

The swimming pool is still bookable slots, but we found the pool not as busy which was great for us being in a group with friends including 4 toddlers!

bb800sam · 25/07/2021 17:05

We normally go to the pancake house on our last day. It's lovely and reasonably priced. Hucks is good for children but I can't comment on what this like with Covid restrictions as we haven't been since Christmas 2019. We have tried all the restaurants as when we go away I refuse to cook!

The only poor experience we have had eating out was in Dexters. The service was very slow and the food wasn't great.

Our children have taken part in activities in the den which they have loved. Last time we went our DD did the mermaid swim, the underwater photography is fab!

The activity we all love is paint a pot, we started helping the kids but now we all do our own!

You will have a great time.

Original poster
NotTheFunKindOfFeminist · 25/07/2021 22:12

Yes! Just booked the pancake house Smile

OP posts:
Serena1977 · 25/07/2021 23:01

Just been to SF.

Pancake house was brill. Cafe Rouge was rubbish.

We did aerial adventure, hair braiding, crazy golf, learn to be a mermaid, swimming, nature watch, hired bikes and had a kids photo shoot, dd9 loved posing, photos are great but pricey!

Had a great time!

LeonoraFlorence · 25/07/2021 23:06

Just back from Whinfell. We visit a few times a year and our DDs always have a brilliant time. Weather was amazing too, which makes a difference. Enjoy, OP!

NoNobramma · 25/07/2021 23:10

@LeonoraFlorence us too. Fab holiday but one of our party has just tested positive for covid 😬 no symptoms. Likely to have picked it up there.

ILovesPeanuts · 25/07/2021 23:18

Yes don't book Cafe Rouge - here at SF now and service is bad. Don't seem rushed off feet.
Kids have done quad biking which was excellent and we all did Segways which was great.
I have to say, CP seems different this year in terms of guests - think many are trying it for first time.

LeonoraFlorence · 25/07/2021 23:32

@NoNobramma Oh no! What a nightmare. Likely was picked up from there. Hope you’re all ok.

Original poster
NotTheFunKindOfFeminist · 26/07/2021 14:10

It wasn't Sherwood Forest was it @NoNobramma ? Sad

OP posts:
NoNobramma · 26/07/2021 18:55

@NotTheFunKindOfFeminist no it was whinfell!
and @LeonoraFlorence thank you. All
Asymptomatic here…

GoWalkabout · 26/07/2021 19:00

I hope you have a lovely time OP, just go with a positive attitude and expect a bit of disruption - that can't be helped but it doesn't need to spoil it for you just expect the unexpected and a few inconveniences - just spending time in the forest and outdoors is nice.

ThePenIsBlue · 26/07/2021 19:34

We were meant to go to Longleat mid august but cancelled as they are ludicrously still doing swimming slots. I love it there and so do kids but no way will I be back until swimming is back to normal

Sn0tnose · 26/07/2021 20:02

We were meant to go to Longleat mid august but cancelled as they are ludicrously still doing swimming slots. I love it there and so do kids but no way will I be back until swimming is back to normal

They’ve announced on their website that the slots are here to stay. They’re looking at increasing the numbers of slots available for each stay but they seem adamant it’s a better way of doing things.

Sn0tnose · 26/07/2021 20:05

Also, @NotTheFunKindOfFeminist, take extra bird food with you for the wildlife. It’s cheaper than buying it in the shop.

If you’re on Facebook they have pages for each park, so you can see lots of photos of where you’ll be and get updates on what’s open and how busy it is.

bluechameleon · 26/07/2021 20:19

We've just got home from our 3rd trip to Woburn, and we've also been to Longleat, so some of my information might not apply to Sherwood. Our favourite activity this time was Encounter with Owls. We always do bowling, some kind of sporty thing for the DC (this time they did archery) and we often do crazy golf, although we didn't this time. Activities we/the DC have enjoyed in the past have been Crazy Science, Spy School, Nature Detectives, Wizard Academy, Baby Owls. We usually book 1 or 2 things a day because you want to leave enough time for playing in the playgrounds and forest, riding bikes etc. In terms of restaurants, the Pancake House is a must. I like Rajesh Prajendra and Las Iguanas. Hucks is good for the soft play but I'm not a fan of the food. My top tip would be to book swimming for after you check out on your last day, then a restaurant for lunch after that, because most of the other activities aren't available on the last day and you don't want to waste the day.

ThePenIsBlue · 27/07/2021 06:53

@Sn0tnose

We were meant to go to Longleat mid august but cancelled as they are ludicrously still doing swimming slots. I love it there and so do kids but no way will I be back until swimming is back to normal

They’ve announced on their website that the slots are here to stay. They’re looking at increasing the numbers of slots available for each stay but they seem adamant it’s a better way of doing things.

This is such a shame. The beauty of swimming was it was the one thing that didn’t have to be scheduled to within an inch of its life. How is it a holiday if you’re frogmarching your whole family from one activity to the next.
LeonoraFlorence · 28/07/2021 08:24

As for activities, my DDs are activity mad and I’m sure we’ve done them all! They enjoy all of the outdoors/sporty type ones but also love Crazy Science, Spy School, Cupcake Decorating etc. Definitely worth booking a mix, in my experience you can’t really go wrong.

PickledWilly · 28/07/2021 08:42

We are CP veterans and are going again in august. We love it. We have so far booked swimming for the first evening, crazy golf for Saturday morning, paddle boarding for one and archery for the other Saturday afternoon, a photo shoot for the fashionista Sunday morning, swimming Sunday afternoon and pancake house Monday morning. We are never particularly impressed with the restaurants so usually bring bbq stuff and Charlie Bigham meals, but may do Bella Italia Saturday night