Center Parcs, Butlins and Haven

[PixieAndProsecco]

I know similar threads have been done before but I wanted more up to date responses.

This summer I am considering taking my 2DS on holiday myself (DH does not have any leave or rest days over summer and I am tied to summer as I teach).

Previously we have went abroad, both with DH and with my family, however with this being the first year that I am summer holidaying solo with them I don't feel comfortable enough doing that. I could go with my parents again but I am finding my DM more difficult to deal with over a prolonged period of time and would rather avoid that (and some sunny coast as a result).

I will have a 12, almost 13, year old and 6 year old DS by the time summer comes (the age gap does make it harder).

We do go for small mid-week breaks to Haven Haggerston Castle (proximity to home and Northumberland is beautiful), so I am fully aware of what to expect at a Haven but this is also an easier amount of time to fill with activities and not somewhere I'd want to go again (we're going at Easter).

I would be looking for a week/ten days at the beginning of July and have considered doing X amount of days in one place and Y in the other. We are travelling from the central belt of Scotland and I am looking further in to England and Wales, due to prices being cheaper with it still being term time there.

I have searched high and low using mumsnet, independent blogs, Instagram, YouTube etc to try and get a better sense of what is out there but I want some honest opinions.

So far I've looked at Sherwood Forest and Whinfell Center Parcs (Sherwood is £200-£300 cheaper due to being further from Scotland and Scottish school holidays), Bluestone in Wales, Haven Primrose Valley, Haven Hafan y Mor and Butlins Skegness.

Has anyone been? Any of those that stand out above the rest? Any to avoid? Any others to consider?

I haven't been to any of the others but I can highly recommend any CP. I went between the ages of about 6-12 when I was a kid and they are some of my fondest memories.

If you can afford to go somewhere hot I would start a new thread asking for easy ways to do that.

If you go to a family friendly resort with a kids club, and arrange a pick up from the airport it will be really easy, and having great weather will make the whole thing so much easier especially with the age gap. I love Uk breaks, but the random weather is a bugger for longer summer holidays

I think it depends on what you want to do. I can’t speak to Bluestone but some friends went and loved it. Haven/Butlins might be good if you want to use it as a base and explore the local area whereas my view of Center Parcs (which we love) is that you typically stay on site for the duration of your holiday and is therefore more suited to a shorter trip (we only ever do Mon-Fri) but if you and your kids love activities and you have the budget a week there would be great.

The standard of facilities, accommodation and activities is likely to be better at CP, to be frank.

Yeah I would pick a holiday abroad too like the pp mentioned with all the hotel transfers etc. You will get better guaranteed weather and better food! I'm aware you've mentioned you don't want to do it solo but the whole experience will be on a different level compared to any UK holiday, that's my opinion anyway and please ignore me if you don't agree. Good luck anyway.

We can afford to go somewhere hot, however it will cost almost double the price of those options. I am also not overly comfortable doing that as our first "alone" holiday if that makes sense. I am looking at doing a city break to Amsterdam later in the year (museums, parks, science center, zoo, boat rides etc).

Then we come to the other issues such as my youngest DS being full on but not enjoying any form of kids club (from previous hotel experiences where they offered if for 2 hours). My eldest DS is having body confidence issues as he approaches puberty and doesn't want to sit around a pool most days.

Somewhere like a Haven, Center Parcs or Butlins offer enough activities that don't involve swimming, appealing to my eldest. Yet we can still go swimming and use a Cabana in Center Parcs for my eldest to sit if he doesn't want to swim, or find an activity he can do independently when I take thr youngest in/go at a quieter time when there would be less people to see him.

We are at the other end of the country but have been to two different CP , a Cornwall Haven and Butlins - the only one I would not do again is Butlins . They are all pricier than they should be .. I thought CP much better quality than Butlins for similar spend . Butlins felt run down . Another suggestion from me would be a National Trust cottage - we’ve been to a few and you know what you are going to get

My kids love butlins but we always stay in one of the hotels at Bognor, the hotels are lovely. I wouldn't stay in a chalet. You can get an apartment in some of the hotels so have full cooking facilities if you want to self cater. The swimming is unlimited too and last time I checked you still get slots at cp and it's one if not the only free on site activities.

I took 12 yo Dts just before Christmas and we are going back in May for a short break. I don't know if they all have hotels though.

Remember every activity apart from swimming costs at CP so need to cost that in too. A break abroad might include everything.

I fully understand what is included/not included in the parks, I know CP is more expensive for activities but countless reviews say that one activity a day is more than enough combined with time in the lodge, walks, cycling, play parks, swimming etc.

I wouldn't take my children abroad, on my own, at their ages.
My youngest is in swimming lessons but, even after an additional 6 months, he will still need constant supervision in the pool. He will also want to be in the pool 24/7 which means I will be spending every moment there with him (either supervising in a splash pool or physically in the pool) which isn't fair on my eldest who will be sat there twiddling his thumbs.

Also, due to other events we are looking at the end of the first full week in July and, flying from Glasgow or Edinburgh, 10 days all inclusive at a 3* in Benidorm is coming in at £2600/£2700 with a free child place. Many places are much more expensive and further away. Flying from elsewhere (Newcastle for example) brings the price down but the flights would then require parking or a hotel overnight, which then brings the price back up.

Center Parcs and Butlins came in at around £1600 for the week. Even if I spent £1000 in a week it will still be cheaper as the above prices don't include any spending money at all.

Also from the central belt and a teacher so tied to school holidays. We went to hafen y mor last year and absolutely loved it. So much so we've booked again for this summer. Lots for activities and stuff to do on the park and some stunning beaches a 15 min drive away. We were so lucky and were there during the heat wave last year so had glorious weather too

That's nice to hear.
Do you mind sharing a little bit more about what was there? I've watched a few vlogs and some of them had fairground rides in the background but I can't see ant mention of that on the website.

10 days there would cost less than 7 at CP or Butlins and, with the change over days, would give a good number of days to do activities/swim but also time to explore the local area, go up Snowdon on the steam train etc.

We love the Haven site in the Lake District called Lakeland. Plenty to do on site and it’s near some quaint wee villages too.

we’ve also been to a Parkdean site called Cayton Bay near Scarborough it was lovely too, but not as much to do on site as the Haven ones.

I have done center parcs many times but only either 3 or 4 nights, never a week. My children gets bored at the pool, so even during the time they had timed entry, they can't spend more than two hours in it. We need two activitites a day, but that can include the swimming. You can plan accordingly. Some of the activities need a parent to be present, but I think at 12/13, they can cycle there and do it themselves. But again try checking on the website. (My oldest is only 11 so I can't totally say for sure). There are lots to do in center parcs if you have the money to pay for the activities. It's very different to a AI holiday. My oldest like the aqua parc, quad bike and go ape. There's also paddleboarding too.

I wouldn't recommend bluestone for teen. It's much more suited for younger children.

I can do aqua parc and paddle boarding at home, but I can't really organise it because the younger is too young for them. In center parcs, I can sign them up at two different activities at the same time. I think with your age gap, you'd find the same?

We stayed in a lovely hoseasons on the Isle of Wight. My kids were older but the children's activities on offer seemed popular, plus the cheesey shows and outdoor movies in the evening. And it came in at way under £1k, even with the ferry.

You might struggle with the locations of some of the holiday parks in relation to local airports and find it will cost a fortune in public transport or car hire. I would suggest taking your own car if you drive.
(We do Bristol/Bath to Glasgow/Edinburgh in about 6 and a half hours with one break on a regular basis. It's just a matter of timing your journey to avoid peak periods in the Midlands).

I had looked at the IoW but had no idea where to start. Can you remember the name of the hoseasons Park?

I am definitely driving.
Most of those places are coming in at a 4.5/5 hour journey away (Wales is slightly longer) and I'm hoping that we can leave around 9amish and that would let us avoid peak rush hour traffic, even if we do stop off for lunch/the toilet.

www.hoseasons.co.uk/holiday-parks/thorness-bay-ptho

And if you're National Trust or English Heritage, there's a few things to do as well. Day trip to the Needles for a small Theme Park if that's something they would like.

I live locally to the CP at sherwood. We've been a few times now mainly for winter wonderland but we've always had the best times. There is much more activities to do in the summer, boating on the lake, badminton, bowling, swimming etc.

They do have the Go Ape type activities, but what I would say is that Sherwood Pines is just a very short drive away from CP - literally 5 minutes where you could do the go ape probably much cheaper. You've also got Rufford Country Park, Clumber Park, Yorkshire Wildlife Centre, Gullivers which caters for all different ages.

The only thing the area doesn't have is the coast 😄

From your choices, I'd say Haven. With CP, once you've been swimming and had a walk in the forest, unless you want to spend a fortune on activities, it's a bit whispers boring!

Haven is usually in or near a seaside town or similar so there's loads to do on the park, but you can go out too!

I think you might find CP easier, because typically once you’re onsite you just stay there. So you don’t need to be shepherding the kids around different places in the car.

“Previously we have went abroad.”

Are you really a teacher?

Thanks all. I've also come across Forest Holidays, one in Beddgelert Wales and one in Sherwood Forest.

They are similarly priced to CP but obviously have much less in them. However a hot tub is a massive draw as we can all enjoy that and it means DS12 would go in.
A few outdoorsy activities and then those that would be available off-park at Haven and CP.

There's also a Landal Greenparks at Darwin Forest, which again has a hot tub and is similarly priced to CP. It does have a small soft play and pool along with some more go active activities such as zorbing and archery.
Again, close to activities mentioned near CP Sherwood.

Does anyone have any experience of these parks?
I understand I am being a pest.