centre parcs

[frazzled74]

i want a relaxing break with kids, we already going to edinburgh and blackpool. it would be just me and 2 youngest dcs.is centreparcs worth the money and which one is most easily reached by public transport ?

If you are going to go to Centre Parks with two little kids on your own, I'd make sure that your 'villa' is quite close to the swimming pool complex - otherwise it is hard work doing it on your own. Of course you end up paying more for those ones!

School holiday prices are murderous, but not too bad in term time. Sherwood Forest is cheaper than the two Southern ones.

I found Center Parcs absolutely and totally stressful on my own and wouldn't recommend it at all with young children.

You turn up before 3, have to park the car, then get back in it at 3pm, drive to your chalet, drag your bags up the path with two year old wandering into the road (you can't keep them in the villa, and they've just been in a car for 2 or 3 hours to get there). Then drive your car back to the car park, then have to either have the long walk back to your chalet or stress about getting your bike with the trailer behind, and trying to find your chalet at all is a nightmare!

And then i spent the whole of the holiday worrying about how i was going to get back to the car to pick it up, drive back to villa, pack up bags, take bike back, all with little one in tow.

And no one to help you, or even to consider that you might need help. Don't go!

I've done Penrith centre parcs with public transport - fast train to Penrith then taxi to centre parcs - cost £12 for 5 of us. There is a bus, but taxi so cheap we took that. (we walked to bus station - 10 mins downhill from train station, and the main taxi rank was there.)

Its lovely arriving there without a car - they made a fuss of us and the kids at the entrance lodge and we got a van ride to our lodge with our luggage.

We had a great time. Expensive but worth the money imo.

thanks penrith sounds promising.

we have done elvedon and Longlest with public transport - if you get there after 3 (in a taxi from the station) then the taxi drvies you straight to your villa to unload - its actually easier than taking a car because of the kerfuffling described earlier.

Dont go to longleat on your own though - its too spread out...