Center Parcs - Whinfell. First timers!

[Inyourwildestdreams]

Hello!

Have booked Center Parcs at Whinfell for a Mon-Fri in spring. We’re first timers. 2 adults and a 3 year old. Hoping anyone that has been can share their experience/give advice 😊

• any specific activities you’d recommend for 3 year old? I’ve booked the mini off-roading, mini aerial adventure, family ball wall and pottery painting. I’m thinking an activity a day should be plenty with having the swimming/walks/ cycling/play parks etc?
• any restaurants you would recommend/avoid? 3yo is a great eater. Would rather have a smaller portion of whatever we’re eating than the usual nuggets/pizza/sausage/chips offerings on some kids menus.
• We’re staying in Penrith the night before so we can arrive early and make the most of the first day. Any recommendations on somewhere nice to eat dinner? Maybe a nice pub that does a Sunday roast?
• Anything you would advise taking that we may not have thought of? 😊

Any advice welcomed 😊

Hope you have a wonderful time! Ages since I’ve been to that one but if there is a Las Iguanas then that is always excellent at Center Parcs (much prefer it to the American options they have like Hucks).

@CuriousGeorge80 Thank you 😊 really looking forward to it!
No Las Iguanas as far as I know! Cant see it on the booking system anyway. We have one in our nearest city and it’s always a hit with our child!

Lakeside (the pub) is good as there is a big soft play area. There’s a soft play in the sports bar too but it isn’t quite as good. The pancake house is excellent too and we always go there on the last night.
There’s a small beach at the lake. Make sure you pack your buckets and spades as it’s a nice place to relax for a an hour or so.
My top activities for a 3yo would be the baby owl experience, baby dolphins and the teddy bears picnic.
Take dishcloths for wiping down/cleaning, washing up liquid, dishwasher salt, rinse aid and dishwasher tablets (we found the dishwasher cleaned really poorly so salt and rinse aid may have helped)
Take back packs - so much easier to transport stuff (swim gear, wet clothes, shopping etc) when on bikes.
Extra loo roll
Lots of towels for swimming
We bought a suction bird feeder and stuck it on patio doors and the wildlife was amazing! We had squirrels, birds, deer, rabbits all outside the door!

I went to this pub for a great lunch with my parents when I went to Whinfell in May last year.

www.shepherds-inn.co.uk

There is an active whinfell facebook group you should look on x

If you want to use restaurants or activities log in the second you can (they tell you your date) and book stuff- you need to pay at that point.

Love CP, family of 4. Enjoy!

@Forgottenmyphone Thank you for this - super helpful 😊 I’ve booked Lakeside for Tuesday night already for the roast/carvery 👍🏻 I had looked at the activities that you suggested but I’m not 100% sure they’re my LOs cup of tea. I’ll maybe have a look when we’re there and see if there’s any availability for anything else that he fancies 😊

@sanityisamyth perfect! Thank you 😊

@Curlysusie I’ve just come across that too! I’ll take a look later on 😊 thanks!

@5thCommandment Thank you 😊 our booking is open so booked Mini off-road explorers, mini aerial adventure, family ball wall & pottery painting. And have booked Lakeside Inn for Tuesday night 😊

We've been many many times but not for a few years now as DC are adults. We found that things like soft tennis and badminton were particularly cheap around early dinner time. My boys used to like the archery and in particular the field archery is good when they are a bit older.

The little pond at the bottom right of the map was always good for seeing some beasties and had hundreds of beautiful dragonflies.

There us plenty to do in terms of walks and playparks etc that you don't need to pack out with activities but I don't think there were many or any that my DC didn't enjoy.

If you are staying in penrith then I'd get shopping from Booths supermarket before you head in to the park, penrith isn't the best branch but it's overall the nicest supermarket ever. I don't mind the park shop to be honest but folks will say it's expensive. I guess it is but you are on holiday. They do hot pies/sausage rolls/wedges etc at lunch which can be good to recharge after a morning swim.

@BigBoysDontCry Thank you 😊 Yeah I figured there would be quite a bit to explore and I know DC will love the pool so didn’t want to go OTT on activities for our first visit. Hoping we love it and it becomes a regular thing 🤞🏼

Staying in Penrith on the Sunday night and planning to get a food shop before we head to the park so will check out Booths. Have booked early check in at CP so hopefully it’ll all go smoothly.

Ive seen quite a few reviews about the price of the shop on site but we tend to go with the “we’re on holiday” approach so don’t mind that too much.

Take a torch! Even though the paths are lit, I always take a torch.

if you like proper coffee, take a cafetière. I took some gorgeous coffee last year and there was no cafetière in the lodge, but a tassimo machine

take some talc, as its impossible to get dressed in the changing rooms after a swim. Way too hot and difficult to get your pants back on!

I’ve been going to CP for 20 years. Kids are older but it’s were we love.

enjoy!

Lowther Castle is a fab day out.

@CeriB82 Thank you 😊 I’ve added a few bits to our list!

@Newtrix I’ve never heard of it but will have a look, thank you 😊

It's in Penrith and has beautiful walks and a fab playground. Lovely to sit and have a picnic in front of the castle.

Take monkey nuts and bird seed to throw onto the patio at the back of the lodge. You will be rewarded by lots of nature including red squirrels. We have also seen deer, badgers, a hare, rabbits and lots of birds of all sizes over the years.
In the swimming pool go left for two slides your dd can use unaided. When mine were this age I spent lots of time sat in the warm water at the bottom of these slides whilst my dc wore themselves out going up the steps and down the slides. Do spend a couple of hours at least in the pool each day, there’s lots to do.
We like Bella italia, they have a good children’s menu, robots to help the servers and a small soft play. On the first day we usually leave our car in the car park, go swimming, then have late lunch/early dinner in the quiet restaurant. Then walk over to the lodge and send one adult to get the car once the rush has calmed down.
We didn’t do any booked activities at this stage apart from using the den childcare so we could chill. My dd was most upset when she was too old to go to the 3 hour parties in the den.
As others say you can spend lots of time on the free activities, swimming, play parks both inside and outside, walking or learning to cycle as the site is mostly traffic free.
Also remember guest services are very helpful so if anything is broken/not clean in your lodge report straight away and they will sort.

@Newtrix Looks lovely!! We’re arriving on a Sunday and spending the afternoon in Penrith so this may be our afternoon activity 😊 Have a hotel booked for Sunday night so we can arrive at CP early and make the most of arrival day 😊

@GildedAge - this is all so helpful, thank you 😊 We have early checkin booked and are staying a few miles along the road the night before so so we can make the most of check-in day. I believe this means we can park directly at the lodge on arrival (from 11am) and then have access at 2. Planning to dump the car and head to the pool 😊

Live close by , Lowther Castle is not actually in Penrith but it is an ok 15/20 minutes car ride along the A6 .
When you are entering Whinfell you are on the A66 and right there is an accident blackspot so take extra care.
Your nearest lake is Ulswater which again can be got to along the A6 and through Pooley Bridge which is a nice touristy village . The boat rides on the lake are popular .

I have been to Whinfell many times and these are my tips.

1. Don't hire bikes unless you are regular cyclists. Take pushchair or similar for your small person. Everywhere is walkable and you will walk smugly past many families falling off bikes and arguing about it.
2. Go out for lunch or picnic lunch and have dinner delivered. Lots of choice and easier than battling with the busy restaurants.
3. Make the most of the free / cheap activities for that age. Playgrounds & swimming. Watching other people do activities is also fun for little ones - eg the zip wires! Book a few other activities if within budget.
4. Take a laptop (and HDMI cable) to plug into the tv so you can stream stuff.
5. Take walking boots and waterproofs. It nearly always rains but it doesn't really matter!

I have had many great holidays there. Lots of people slag it off but I love not having to drive or being around traffic for a few days.

We were last at Winfell for winter wonderland having been earlier in the year too.
Early check in is great but some of the posts on the Facebook page are really confusing. You can arrive for early check in anytime after 11. When you get near to the end of the drive there is someone waiting to greet you. Make sure you say you have early check in and you will then be directed to the correct check in hut.
Have your booking reference ready. You will be given your wristbands etc and told to drive to your lodge. The wristbands will not activate your lodge door until 2pm but can be used in the swimming pool etc.
We tend to park up, have lunch in the Lakeside then return to the lodge for 2pm, unload the car and get it back to the main car park before the rush.
Make sure you remember where in the car park you leave it. It’s best to reverse into the space.
The supermarket is basically a decent size Co-op and when we’ve been has always been well stocked apart from the fruit and veg. It has a good range of the Cook frozen meals and in my opinion these are as good if not better than the food in any of the restaurants for half the price. That said we have eaten in the Lakeside every time we’ve been because to us it’s the best of a pretty average bunch and has a good soft play area. We had bad experiences in Hucks and Cafe Rouge but were probably just unlucky as most people rate them quite highly
The first time we went we booked far too many activities and were rushing here there and everywhere. You really don’t need to book lots.
You will read horror stories on the Facebook page about dirty lodges. The five we have stayed in in the last couple of years have been fine.
if your little one likes drawing take chunky chalk - the chalks left in the lodges have always been broken bits
There is a children’s disco but if you are not keen on that sort of thing I wouldn’t recommend. It has always been very packed when we’ve been and doesn’t really cater for the preschoolers.
I know I’ve been quite critical. but we love Winfell and will be back again later in the year. We stayed in Badger Wood on our last visit and it lived up to its name as badgers came to visit every night. They love monkey nuts and peanut butter!

@Jennalong Thank you! Really helpful 😊

@RainBow725 Thank you 😊 really helpful info.

We live in the West of Scotland so we never leave home without the walking boots and waterproofs 😂 it’s practically conditioned into us now 😂
Planning 3year olds balance bike and us just walking. Will be a great opportunity for DC to have a good bit of practice 😊

We’ve booked 4 activities across out Mon-Fri break then plan to just make the most of the pool/outdoors 😊