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Welcome to our UK travel forum where you can get advice on everything from holidays to exotic destinations, to tips on London travel.

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Original poster

Centerparcs virgin - which activites are worth it?

19 replies

sweetkitty · 02/02/2009 22:15

Have booked a bargain midweek break at Whinfell in May and will have DD1 (4), DD2 (3) and DD3 (10months).

Have just received our book activities online e-mail and I knew it was going to be pricey but somethings are £10 for 30 mins. So what is worth the money and what isn't?

Also we were hoping to put them all into the Time out club for a few hours just for a break but they only seem to have the club for DD3 advertised and they don't seem to have the pony trekking advertised either, does this mean it is not available? I know the DDs would love this.

Also bikes, do we really need them or can you get away with walking we don't mind 20min walks everywhere really, for bikes it looks like we would need two with child seats?

Oh and one last thing as a family of 3 we obviously have one more child than adult IYSWIM, could this be a problem for example in the pool or doing certain activities?

huge thanks in advance

OP posts:

letuseatcake · 02/02/2009 22:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

sweetkitty · 02/02/2009 22:50

Thanks I know sorry about the questions.

I think the older two will be fine with the walking, will take buggy and sling for DD3 so if one of the older ones gets tired they can hop in the buggy.

OP posts:

liath · 03/02/2009 07:57

Hi there.

We're going to Whinfell soon & I'm sure I saw some pony stuff on the website. They definitely do trekking for all ages/abilities (page 22 on the brochure) so I'd just give the booking line a ring & they are usually fairly helpful.

We've used the time out club once and were happy enough with it. They look after children up to age 7. They do stipulate 1 adult per child under 4 in the pool so you should be OK on that front.

TBH a lot of the paid activities aren't really worth it especially as the pool, soft plays & playgrounds are very good and free. Dd really enjoyed the panto last time and the parent and toddler brunch at the Lakeside Inn is good value.

You can get away with walking & there are always lots of bikes/trailers available for hire on the day - we've never bothered prebooking them but wait & see what the weather's like. The kids really enjoy going in the trailer. If your lodge is miles out from the centre the bikes are very useful.

Have a good trip .

sassy · 03/02/2009 08:26

I would take scooters(and pushchair if you have a toddler) - it is walkable but can be a mile or so back to accom (tiring for just-swum kids).

POny trekking- v expensive. Save your pennies and go from home in the summer, you will pay nearly double at CP.

Time out club is great - mine played but also decorated T-shirts, ad loads of snacks and came home with a folder full of artwork - all in 2hours! We used the time to go in the spa -££ but worth every penny.

mumto2andnomore · 03/02/2009 08:35

I wouldnt bother with the activities, there is plenty to do thats free-swimming,parks, soft play (not been to Whinfell but at Longleat and Sherwood its in the sports bar ) walks in the forest,feeding the ducks and swans etc. My 2 are 9 and 5 and the only extra activities we do are bowling and crazy golf.

MrsBadger · 03/02/2009 08:51

mumof2andnomore (sp) is spot on - the free things are the best. Apart from a spa session for DH and me (bliss!) dd (18m) was entirely amused by swimming, duck-feeding and tearing round the reception lobby bit.

swimming at least once a day (but if you can manage it, see if you can go once in the dark - very exciting)
ducks
following the marked nature walks
soft play
bike adventures
have a picnic

there will be Time Out sessions for all ages but you might have to coordinate them as the older children's ones tend to be eg Messy Play 10-11.30, Crafty Time 2-4pm etc rather than wraparound daycare like the tinies have.

the pool is fine with (iirc) up to 2 under 5s, or 3 under 8s, per adult so no worries there.

of the paid activities crazy golf, petanque (if you think they'd manage it) and possibly bowling are the best value.

5 days goes quicker than you think, esp if you swim every day.

Original poster

sweetkitty · 03/02/2009 10:29

thanks this is great info

I think I will book one or two things for them but I think they will just love being able to roam free and run about, the with the pool and the sheer novelty of being away from home they will be happy anyway.

I did want them to do things they don't do at home IYSWIM, they do craft stuff every day at nursery but things like going swimming as a family we don't do

OP posts:

letuseatcake · 03/02/2009 18:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Karamazov · 03/02/2009 19:12

Haven't been to Whinfell, but done some of the other sites... the things we enjoy are...

*The Spa. In fact, we only go for the spa! Put the kids in the kids club and go - worth every penny.

*We usually do one kids club. I usually do a party type one, and DD1 usually seems to enjoy it.

The party on the parc or whatever it is now called is good value for money too. It is usually about 4pm, costs about £15 and includes amazing food. Usually has got a disco / entertainment for the children too. Great value for money.

We don't bother with anything else, and have never hired bikes - we just use the land trains to get around. HTH

giantkatestacks · 04/02/2009 13:33

if you get to the pool early you can grab a playpen or a high chair to put your 10 month in to play while the others stay longer in the pool.

my ds 5 loves the ten pin bowling and the crazy gold and of all the craft activities he has done the mask making is the best.

dublinmom · 04/02/2009 14:00

I just got on MN to ask this question myself! I was going to pick out just 1 or 2 things for DD (4) to do. Anoyon got postive/negative opinions about the Fairy thig or the puppets? And the teddy bear picnic and dancing say up to age 4, but would a 41/2 year old think it was too babyish?

Also (sorry to hijack!) my DS will be 6 weeks short of his 3rd birthday. Are they strict about ages with the Time Out Clubs? Just think he would like the older ones better.

giantkatestacks · 04/02/2009 14:09

that was crazy golf btw - though we all like a good bit of crazy gold too...

My dd at 3ys thought the teddy bears picnic was rubbish as was the toddler yoga but he hates to be forced into doing communal things when he could be in the pool all day and who can blame him tbh.

The Time Out club will have the age restrictions because of Ofsted I imagine and so will be strict yes. Though they are not going to ask for birth certificates.

The every morning football training was also a bit failure for us.

Ds did enjoy the fencing in October.

threetinytots · 04/02/2009 14:31

Haven't been to whinfell but was at Longleat last month with my three (DS-5, DD-4, DD-1).

Mine loved the Princess and Pirates party and Colourful Creations at the Time Out club. Well worth the money - they came home with loads of crafty things and we had three hours kiddy free! DD1 really enjoyed the fairy funtime - making fairy wings,etc. DS loved the fencing(though I thought a little expensive for 45min of fighting with foam swords), and both the older ones loved bowling. We took advantage of the special offer of cheap lunchtime sessions at the Time Out club for DD2 and they were briliant with her.

We also did the Magic Show at the Pancake House(not sure if they have this at every CP) and it was very good. Food was a buffet which wasn't fantastic but good basic home-cooked type stuff. The magician was brilliant and the children had a fab time.

Hope that helpful to someone!

andyrobo237 · 04/02/2009 14:50

We have done the tots tennis and the mini soccer type ones. They were good and DD enjoyed them.

I would recommend only booking 1 activity per day as it can take time to get from one place to the next. We also got loads of animal visitors at the patio window, which was great fun!!

Have done teddy bear picnic and make a memory, but they are expensive for what they are!

I agree that the free ones are best. Also check out the rangers lodge - we did bird cake making once, and that was fun, and they also do walks and have maps of trails you can follow - we did one trail to find all these different types of trees and brass rubbings over a 3 day period, as it was too far for the LO's to walk in one go!!

Have fun!

MegBusset · 04/02/2009 14:57

I would not pre-book anything TBH. We have just had to cancel this week's CP holiday as we couldn't get there because of the snow. They won't give us a refund or even let us rebook for another week. If we had booked any activities we would have lost that money as well as the price of the holiday itself

giantkatestacks · 04/02/2009 15:20

God MegBusset thats really annoying...though I notice on my booking that I forgot to cancel the insurance - would any have paid out?

andyrobo237 · 04/02/2009 15:25

Meg - I had a major bust-up with them last year when I booked to go at easter. Did it on line and picked the wrong week - week before easter rather than week after. The next day I realised the error (DD had dancing show) so called up, and because I hadnt taken the insurance they could not help. Suggested I gave holiday away to family!! All I wanted to do was move it to the next week - which was more expensive, and I was willing to pay plus an admin charge as it was my fault. I spoke to a supervisor, who finally let me change it - I had checked on line and the week I had booked was showing as limited availability, so they would have no problem reletting the lodge, and I ended up paying £300 more for my error!! Didnt tell DH that bit though!

Moral of my tale - so, next time I will not be a skintflint and pay the insurance!!

MegBusset · 04/02/2009 16:27

Their insurance would not have paid out anyway, it covers a v limited number of conditions not including being snowed in!

rookiemater · 05/02/2009 21:35

Sorry to hear about that Meg Busset.

Ditto everyone else who says throw em in the kids club and go to the spa. It is well worth the money.

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