Centre parcs

[mamaneedsanap23]

Just booked centre parcs for the first time! I could probably find a lot of this out on the website but I know MN loves centre parcs so I'm asking here first 😂

We are going to the Sherwood Forest one if that's relevant.

Firstly I didn't realise how expensive activities are. We will still do some but probably not as much as I thought. Is there plenty of fun free stuff to do too? Parks, walks etc? I know the swimming is free which is good.

Secondly what sort of activities would you recommend for an 11 year old boy? He's outdoorsy but quite shy so not sure if the sessions are drop and leave as he might not like that.

How far in advance do you need to book activities? And do you need to book evening meals too? That's what it says on the website but ideally I would have liked to see how we felt when we got there!

Is cooking from your lodge/bbq possible? Are there good facilities to do it - pots and pans etc.

Anything else you'd recommend taking or doing? Thanks!!

Yes - the sports cafe doesn't need bookings and there is a fast food/burger place in the village, plus Starbucks and you can get bakery items/sandwiches in the supermarket.

Re: BBQ's the lodges have a BBQ rack designed specifically for large disposable BBQ's. Don't just take charcoal and if you have space take your own disposal BBQ as they cost ££ in the on site supermarket.

Upshot is the supermarket is very well stocked so if you forget something it's not a disaster but it will cost more than normal.

Don't forget that if you have an afternoon to spare (you won't) you can always visit Penrith for a few hours and look around.

Penrith? Wrong CP!

Just to add, the supermarket also sells "high end" family size ready meal (think lasagne etc) if you cba to cook.

They are nice but pricy (yet cheaper than eating out).

As I said before after a day on our bikes/wandering around/swimming we like to hunker down in the lodge for the evening so don't worry if you can't book restaurant slots or don't fancy a takeaway.

Most villas have a DVD player (not blu ray) so we usually take some DVD's with us and more recently we've taken an Amazon fire stick to plug into the tv.

You might find this link useful:

insideoursuitcase.com/whats-included-in-a-center-parcs-lodge/

Duh of course!

I've been so many times to Sherwood and Whinfell I confuse the two (we are between them so tend to alternate).

Don't worry OP the info on food/ restaurants was for Sherwood. Just to add the pancake house didn't use to need bookings but we didn't visit that restaurant last year when we went to Sherwood in autumn so not sure if it's still the case.

Obviously you could spend an afternoon in Nottingham not Penrith!

The ovens are crap so don't rely on them either working or being able to cook properly. We take our air fryer and my sister has been know to take her slow cooker.

Activities - book them as soon as you are able to as they get booked up pretty quickly. We've just booked for our teen - this is the first year he isn't taking a friend so is going solo on activities, we just need to be there to sign him in.

Take your own chalk/chalk pens for the chalk boards in your lodge as they no longer supply them. Small thing,little expense but passes a bit of time.

Amazon fire stick - if you've got one then take it!

It's nice to be able to just chill snd watch a movie.

Pool and table tennis at the sports cafe are great and fairly cheap activities.

Definitely take loo roll, tin foil, a couple of extra tea towels and dishwasher tablets. I normally go ott and take bin bags, bleach for the loos, flash wipes etc too. I don’t spend the week cleaning but the usual Housekeeping is on hold during your stay (changeover days only) and you don’t want a grotty toilet all week. The ovens either work like a dream or you need a degree in mechanical engineering just to get a pizza warmed up. There’s no in between. We normally go to a local supermarket before we check in, rather than take bags of chilled stuff in the car with us. The fridges aren’t huge so don’t go mad. The first night can always be a bit busy at the restaurants so we normally do something quick and easy. CP is also suffering from the lack of staff, as with most places, so be prepared for some things possibly being cancelled or not quite up to par. The Pancake House is nice, the Sports Bar isn’t bad. Personally, I wouldn’t bother with Hucks.

The deer like apples and carrots. Monkey nuts and sunflower seeds go down well with the squirrels and ducks. You can pick up big bags of seed from B&M and lots of people get those transparent bird feeders to stick on the patio door. They’re only a few pounds. We didn’t bother and still had a queue of wildlife throughout the day. Definitely try and take something as the wildlife is a big part of the experience.

Swimming slots are still in place but only up to 6pm. You don’t have to book slots after that (at least, you don’t at Elveden).

If you’re on fb I’d recommend joining one of the pages for CP. They have one general one, but there are also individual ones for each park, giving tips etc.

If you literally can't get one morning slow swimming then phone them up. Not the mainline but the actual cp you're going to. I did and complained and they magically found me one!

I haven't been for a few years, but things like the badminton and table tennis tended not to fill up so we'd go along to those.

Thank you all some really helpful tips. I think I'm going to have to spend some time drawing up an itinerary so that activities/swimming and meals etc don't clash. Not sure where abouts on site we will be either so hard to plan travel time.

If you make a restaurant reservation then don't attend do you get charged at all? Just thinking it's maybe best to get something booked even if we don't feel like going as it seems like evening slots are going to be hard to access on a walk in basis.

You used to pay a deposit for the restaurants, which I think was non refundable.
You should be able to see where your lodge is in relation to the centre, your booking will have the lodge area and the website will have a park map.

You have to pay a £5pp deposit for restaurants so only do it if you intend on going. The Sherwood site isn't too bad for walking - probably 15/20 minutes depending on (toddler) pace from the Country Club site to the centre and maybe 10/15 minutes out the other side to the spa and the archery/quad bikes stuff?

They take a deposit for the restaurants on booking which then comes off your final bill. We tend to book something for the first night dinner and then wing it from then on.

Don't forget swimming is just turn up after 6pm and the evenings are lovely, especially after about 7.30 when many littlies have gone to bed and it's a bit freer in the pool. So don't panic about not getting sessions booked.

I'd book any activities you don't want to miss now as the popular ones get booked up very quickly. My sons tell me they really loved the early morning nature walk which we followed up with breakfast at the pancake House which will definitely need to be booked in advance. They also loved the owl encounter, street karts, junior quads, archery and den building as a family was a hit too.

Stuff you can generally book on the day is adventure golf, pedalo boats (though electric ones get booked up more in advance), pool, badminton/tennis hire etc.

The Lodge will have pots and pans and oven trays etc. Not necessarily to your standard but they are quite usable.

Bring bird seed to feed the wildlife. It's expensive there and too good fun the miss out on doing on your patio.

You know you are an old mumsnetter when a CP thread is on page 2 and no comment yet on taking lube!

My kids liked the diving scooters in the pool activity (they did it we watched). We all played badminton (big hit with my boys) and mini golf. With the swimming and the odd ice cream, that kept us busy.
Are you taking bikes?

Have a look to see how much it is to book a lodge with an extra bedroom.

You can then put family on the booking and they can come and go as they please

We aren't taking bikes no. None of us are confident cyclists!

I noticed there's a takeout option which would suit us for one night but that's not open for booking yet, does that open nearer the time? I think we are planning one takeout, one bbq/eat in at the lodge and two meals out. Maybe a breakfast or lunch out too.

All of the morning swim slots are gone. The earliest we can go is 11. So I'm thinking we get up and have breakfast, do an activity or have a walk morning to mid afternoon. Then book swimming for 3-4 so that gives us time to get back to the lodge and get ready to go out for dinner.

Are there any good activities around the clubhouse? Is this where the tennis courts are? Thinking we could maybe have a game then a quick pint in the sports bar 🙈

The takeout is rubbish. It's similar quality to the supermarket takeaway meals, so I'd buy one on the way, or get it from the parcs shop ( more expensive than a supermarket but they used to deliver if you spent over £40).
I'd also bring a big disposable bbq. There is usually an area for it at the back of the lodge and it's nice to sit out. Burgers and sausages used to be good quality meat in the shop albeit expensive.

When are you going? Only asking as we're planning to go but haven't booked yet and to find the swimming spots are getting booked worries me (baby in tow so can't do evenings)

I’d be tempted to swim at 11. Have a snack in the pool area.
The supermarket also does hot sausage rolls and boxes of wedges that could be grabbed after swimming.
Then do archery/walk/bowling/pub at 3ish.
Have an early dinner and swim again in the evening.

@Trinacham we are going mid August so not ages away but I still thought we'd have more flexibility :/

True! We are planning to go end of Sept so you've prompted me to get a move on and book

I guess it's a busy time with the children off

Some activities only run once in the week or at specific times so get the ones you want booked first then don't panic about being over scheduled. If you don't get a swim session to suit you just swim in the evening instead and eat earlier in the afternoon.

The sports bar (at Elveden) did really nice burgers and you can't book there, turn up only so it's a great place for casual meals.

Hi OP we went to Sherwood Forest CP over the Easter weekend with our 11 and 14 year olds. I definitely recommend doing the laser tag thing-this was our favourite activity of the weekend by far. Worth the money. We did book other activities because I was worried about the weather although in the event the weather was ace so we could’ve just cycled and walked etc

We loved the pool, you get a 3 hour slot so can spend a decent chunk of time there. Rapids and cold plunge pool were big successes.

Food wise, Huck’s diner was the place we enjoyed the most. Kids liked the pancake place too. Our oven wasn’t working but we had already decided to eat out all the time so it didn’t bother us too much.

have a good holiday!

You just need to book some stuff in, and then you can cancel it out again if you need to- you get a refund if its more than 24 hours....

If you have missed the early swimming slots don't worry - Personally I'd be aiming for 6pm as it gets much quieter. Pop in one on arrival and departure day, then spread the rest around.

You can watch most stuff. I'd recommend field archery (but you can't accompany on that) - its great fun book one of you on that as well!

Laser tag is good for a boy, but again lots of families on it.

Ariel adventure also good.

Easy to cook, plenty of equipment in the lodges.

Tips for first timers

1. Make the most of your stay - arrive at 10am and park up, then you can pick up bikes, have lunch, swim (we book a slot for 2/3pm ish) then you have an extra day! On departure day, pack and pop the car back in the carpark, and again you can stay all day - we tend to swim (need to book!) have lunch and go.
2. Book more stuff than you need then cancel some of it nearer the time...
3. You do have to have stuff booked in advance but don't worry as a) you can always cancel it and b) it is possible to book stuff/change stuff when you are there.
4. get some restaurants booked in as you don't want to be cooking every night.
5. At Sherwood you have go ape around the corner - it can be cycled, or is a short ride. We are going there rather than the CP options. Again you will need to book!