To ask you for Center Parcs tips?

[KenAdams]

And no, there will be no anal sex!

We're off to Sherwood Forest soon and will have our 4 month old with us.

Any handy tips that you knowledgeable MNers would like to pass onto me?

You'll be fine, nothing's too far away from the central areas at Sherwood. Unlike Longleat where you can be walking for days.................!

We went in June, had a great time - my three girls who are 10, 8 and 3 really loved it and want to go back.

We took our own favourite ready meals and wine. If I went again I probably wouldn't book activities if only there for the weekend. The pool was a big hit!

Don't understand people saying that the onsite supermarket is pricey...we were at Elveden last month and everything in the Parc Market was exactly the same price as Tescos. Same with the toy shop there (DS2 chose a treat for his birthday). They have a price promise going on now, so we able to buy him a couple of Thomas trains for less than they were on Amazon.

Think this is a pretty new development though, as we've been going for years and used to balk at the prices.

We've always had a great time, but maybe the love affair is starting to pall...I wouldn't ever go in August again as the pool was just human soup, and now that we have 3 children over 2 and are expected to pay for a 3 bed villa it's finally hit me just how expensive it is for what it is.

Plus I was seriously fucked off to find out how much cheaper it is on the continent!

Tesco is expensive too then if that's the case

And you can't shop the offers as there aren't any!

I bring a shoebox that I have filled for all self-catering breaks. It has:
Small sharp knife
Corkscrew
Veg peeler
Small wooden spoon
Small chopping board
Bin liners
a travel sized bottle washup liquid (a 100 ml airplane size bottle filled at home)
Handful dishwasher tablets
Pot scrubber and a j cloth
Small hand towel (for kitchen)
Box of matches (and a nice smelly candle)
Mini salt and pepper mills (I have big ones at home, but bought the mini ones for travelling - regular spice aisle ones so non refillable)
250ml olive oil bottle that I refill at home before we go (plenty for a week)
Couple of stock cubes (just in case)
Salt and ketchup sachets from McD's etc, sugar sachets from coffee shops (I gather the spares whenever we visit - sometimes we get vinegar, mayonnaise, soy sauce or other interesting things too)
Maybe 1-2 small packs of herbs/spices
Decent handful tea bags, couple chamomile tea bags, bag of proper ground coffee (they have plunger pots) - that'll last us a week
3-4 Bags for making ice cubes
Couple of freezer bags (for keeping things, marinating meats, etc)
Couple of clippits for cartons/packets

We also bring books, board games, pack of cards, and a few DVDs for quieter nights and rainy days. And I bring a nice bottle of bath bubbles for me for 1 night pampering.

Seperately, do a food shop on your way (close by so you can have fridge stuff). Things that are helpful include:
Packet of toilet rolls (4 is probably plenty)
Packet of kitchen towels (useful as napkins too)
Butter
2-3 onions
milk
Bread
Jam/nutella/marmalade (if you like it)
Cereal (if normally eaten)
Dinners for 3 nights (packet of pasta, packet of rice, small bag potatoes, relevant jar of sauce, whatever meat/veg they need - think nice things that are easy - fajitas are fun on hols!)
Lunch things - like meats, salads, (would you make pasta salad or rice salad if you had the ingredients?), tomatoes, cheese, eggs
Snacks - fruit, yoghurts, crisps, biccies...
Packet of rashers and carton of eggs can be used for loads of dinner or lunch or even brekkie options - might you make pancakes one day as you're relaxed??!! And a tin of tuna and another of sweetcorn can also be adapted to a load of different meals.
Beverages - maybe some fizzy pop for in the house, multipack of cans to bring things with you going out (maybe picnic at the lake on fine day), or squash to dilute at home or put into a bottle to bring with you. Wine, beer, G&T - if you normally drink anything like that. (A wine box can last nicely over the space of a week - there are various ones that are 2/3/4 bottle capacity depending on your size of group and capacity to go through it).

Think of things that are easy to prepare, don't get LOADS but maybe enough for 3 full days meals - that will allow you to buy more in the market without spending a fortune, and also eat out a lot if you prefer.

The cooking facilities are ok - there are oven trays and casserole dishes as well as the pots etc. Not loads - but if you wanted to bake croissants from a roll or do a roast dinner - you could. No stir-fry pans though - the only pan is relatively small (but we have been able to use the large pot to adapt).

Definitely bring rain gear - that way if the weather is not perfect, you still get out in it. But there are not great drying facilities (we usually have the heated towel rail in the bathroom draped all the time between towels, togs and clothes needing drying, and things draped over outdoor chairs and BBQ stand when we are not outside). I keep thinking when I am there that a length of strong string/v thin rope would be useful for my shoebox. There are coat hooks and a boot rack in the hall though, seperate to living space.

If you plan on renting bikes anyway, pre-booking them means they give you a lock on arrival for free (otherwise £3 each, I think). If you are bringing bikes, bring your own locks. We usually rent the bikes but bring our helmets (saves £8.75 each).

Definitely agree with comfy casual clothes - doesn't have to be only trackies, but there's very little call for the heels and glamour. Bring plenty for the baby - we never found washing facilities (I bring a travel handwash just in case).

They sell swim nappies, firelogs (for the living room stoves) and disposable BBQs in the parc market - but all are lots better value bought before you get there. The market is good - it has all you SHOULD need and plenty to tempt you too, so I am not trying to say you need to bring it all (especially if space is an issue). They will deliver to the villas (free if ordering over £40 worth) if you are getting lots and some people do that "supermarket essentials" shop as soon as they arrive to be delivered that afternoon, which may also be useful (marketing blurb mentions that they'll put cold stuff into fridge/freezer if you're out).

I can't remember lower age limit for the daycare, but you should check out if that's an option. Not to abandon baby all the time - but one 3 hour session 1 morning or afternoon for just you and DH could be nice to do some sports or something romantic together, and I know that if you book the spa for the same time there is a reduction on the spa treatment cost.

Sorry for the essay, I keep writing as I think of things and it's probably all been said by others by now. Enjoy!

Dunno what all the CP hate is for either ! We went to Longleat this year in a family group and enjoyed ourselves. I think if you live in the South East the prices are fairly standard, I didn't think the cafes or restaurants were particularly overpriced, but then I live in an area where you can pay £7.20 for a small americano and strawberry flan !

Go swimming outside in the evening if you can get a friend to babysit, DH and I did this one evening when the ILs babysat for both our and SILs/BILs son and it was fab. The water is really warm, the air cold - it's great !

Book an executive villa if you can, yes the decor is very early 1990s and eye watering but who cares, it's not as if you've got to move in. EVs have dishwasher and maid service.

Take loo rolls, washing up liquid and dishwasher tablets

If you fancy getting off site there are some lovely country parks very close by. Someone's already mentioned Sherwood Pines. There's also Sherwod Forest and Rufford Park. My favourite is Rufford - nice walk, abbey, picnic area. There are a couple of nice restaurants nearby too if you fancy a treat.

I like the Twilight Spa and often jusy go for that without staying on the park. Parcmarket is a little expensive but not hugely - nearest supermarket is probably Tesco which isn't much cheaper tbh. Enjoy!

Oh I forgot a small roll of tinfoil - for covering things in the oven, in the fridge, and wrapping sambos/slices of cake for picnics.

BiddyPop - how big is your shoe box that is an impress list :)

I love CP's go at least once a year and been taking DD since she was 6 weeks old - if you want to swim/stay in pool area a while we used to take our car seat/changing bag so when DD tired could change her and let her sit in her seat (there are play pens on pool side if not) I would also sneak a book in so while DH and DS where still in pool I could sit and read while DD napped.

I do agree with taking basic food (we normally treat ourselves to main meal out but make picnics/do own breakfast)

The Parc Market is very reasonable, much more than you would expect from somewhere that has quite no competition on site! But if your last visit was a few months ago or more you may still remember the bad old days.

Plus I would be very surprised if anyone used it for a full week's shop. Surely most people use it for some treats or to top up what they've brought with them?

I did find the restaurants were v pricey though, and the food uniformly awful

Sunshine - it's only a regular adults shoes sized box. Most of that stuff is small, it fits around itself (wrap the j cloth around the wooden spoon handle, for example), squishy things are shoved into little holes, and travel sized bottles. The chopping board is small (I used to use 1 a bit bigger than the box and pack it seperately but I recently was given a 4"x6" sized one and that fits nicely!). And it's only what I need - so 5 dishwasher tabs (they give you 2), about 10 teabags is enough for me for a week (actually sorry, the bag of ground coffee comes in the grocery bag - that doesn't fit in the box), small bottle fairy is LOADS for a week, that sorta thing. It's possibly the old Girl Guide coming out in me though....

People actually use the dishwasher?

Biddy, that's brilliant, thanks for that.

Kayano, it beats washing up!

I have a dishwasher at home, Kayano - why on earth would I want to wash up on holiday ?

Get to the pool early so you can fight for get a playpen/cot thingy and changing mat so you can put your baby down for a sleep while you're there.

Wow Biddy great list. I have just remembered that I also took loo roll, and 2 lots of swimsuits each and bath towels each. Their silly rails didn't seem to dry things fast enough.

I don't get all the CP hate either. On one hand, its expensive for what you get - travellodge style accoomodation and you have to do everything yourself. Having said that, we piled everyone and everything into the car, it took 2 hours to get there, no airport security and lots of different activities for the kids to do. They love it, you get to have fun with them and they are shattered everynight so early to bed . Definitely the executive villas are nicer as you get maid service and wifi. We do 2 hols abroad and a CP one. To book the same kind of holiday abroad is more hassle, we see CP as the "easier" holiday.

I think it's a bit hideous to be honest, but you probably got a good price as it's term time, so it's not so bad, and no need to sign up for stupidly overpriced activities (which are nothing special at all) with a small baby either.

The restaurants on site are appallingly bad. All of them.

So hope you like self catering (we do).

theres a big tesco about 5 mins drive for sherwood CP do your shopping there

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all your great posts on this thread.

We will be moving this thread to Talk/travel/UK. as we feel it's a better fit.

Thanks.

I love CP!

No need to do the activities if only going for a weekend.

The amount of freedom you can give kids is fantastic, really fun to bike around and look at the wildlife, lots of playgrounds. Swimming 3x a day (got to do an evening sesh in the dark before bed!). Nice home cooked meals. It's basically awesome.

We have visited CP Longleat over the years every 12 - 18 months for the past 12 years. The children 'LOVE' it all, and range from 6 - 13 years. We have 4 children. Grant you it isn't cheap. But, where ever you holiday in the world, from 5 star hotels to cruising to camping and B & B - there are always people who will be unhappy and want to moan. Nowhere is perfect! But CP must be doing something right because largely they are fully booked all year around and people like us return year after year. It certainly ticks the boxes for our family. Our children are lucky enough to have been to Florida, Mauritius, on Royal Carribean Cruises and on many other holidays. But equally they are happy camping in the UK and Europe! We work hard for our holidays and enjoy spending quality time with the children. They will all choose CP over and above, everywhere, we have stayed in the world, as their favourite destination! For us it's not about us..... but about the children, and if they are happy on holiday we are happy! My main advice is relax and enjoy it because you will have great fun!! Again we have stayed in all types of Villa from standard to very posh!! We are off again in October half term with the dog so we will be in Fir - but we will see more deer and wildlife, there, than we do in Pine or Maple!! If you experience any problems or issues during your stay speak to guest services - they are fantastic and always manage to sort something! We always invite day guests in and have a fun day together in the pools and on the rapids, adults and children alike. We don't tend to eat out much (maybe a meal in Hucks on the first night - the children's favourite place to eat), we take plenty of wine/beer, and walk and cycle and play games! We do bowling and sometimes badminton - but best of all we have a laugh!!

We love Centre Parcs! Have been going for years and the kids have had a great time from babies up to 20s. Going again in Nov. Agree with all those who say take as much basic food as you can. Take towels for swimming. We tend to arrive mid morning at Sherwood and go hire bikes immediately. Go to swimming pool. Have some lunch and then I would bike to villa at 3.00pm with kids whilst DH fetches car. Unload car - send DH back to car park and he can pick up his bike and ride back to Villa. (Appreciate that sounds a bit regimented but we've found over many years its the simplistic logistic way of getting everyone at villa, lol). You are then set to enjoy a great holiday. Have fun!

And actually, we find CP cheap for the actual accommodation. We always book in term time (yeah..sue me, I'm taking my kids out of school for a week cos I can't afford to go in school hols). This year we are going Mon-Fri in Nov and it cost us £379. That's pretty darn good for 6 of us in my book. Free swimming, free adventure playgrounds, indoor ball pools, etc. Crazy golf isn't much. £6 or so for a badminton court. Not much for a cycle treasure trail. With older ones we've found best thing to do is give them say, £30 each (or expect them to save up) and tell them they can do which activities they want, but they have to pay for them. Otherwise it can be pricey. Obviously you won't have this problem with baby!

Don't rely on their locks - a sharp kick and they collapse. Take your own.

From memory, pram storage at Sherwood is outdoor and small. Take something cheap that folds. We go to Whinfell annually and use the sling a lot, but it is useful to put fresh pains au chocolat bread in the pram basket when you are also carrying swimming things.