Monday, 1 December 2014

Top 5 activities at Center Parcs Elveden Forest #CPFamilyBreaks

Stephs Two Girls December 01, 2014 #CPFamilyBreaks, Aqua Sana Spa, Center Parcs, Center Parcs Family Blogger Club, Christmas, Elveden Forest, Top 5, video, Winter Wonderland

I *may* have mentioned before how much I love Center Parcs....

Just one small collage from the hundreds of fab Center Parcs photos we have!

As a part of the Family Bloggers Club, we got a chance to experience a weekend family break to Elveden Forest in Suffolk recently. We were asked to create a video to share our experiences, and we enjoyed it so much that we actually made two.

The first is our 'official' video showing our Top 5 activities at Center Parcs:

and the second is a tour of the 3 bedroom lodge we stayed in there:

I've absolutely no experience of editing or creating movies, but I hope you'll like these clips despite that fact. I'm actually very proud of the second one, as the two girls starred in that without any briefing or preparing beforehand. They just worked together, without interrupting each other, and gave a clear account of exactly what was what. Or so I think anyway, but of course it could be said that I'm slightly biased..

Our Top 5 activities at Center Parcs are:

1. Swimming

The girls have LOVED the Subtropical Swimming Paradise at every Center Parcs we've been to (Sherwood Forest, Woburn Forest and Elveden Forest so far). We always spend a couple of hours in the pools on each day we are there - so Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday. The rides/flumes are amazing, with different options in each location but always a Wave pool and Rapids in each one we've been to. At Elveden, Sasha loved the Lazy River best and Tamsin enjoyed all the slides and the Rapids. My favourite is the outdoor pool - amazing, especially at night-time when you can see the stars and even in Winter when it's cold outside!

2. Hiring bikes

A great way to get some family exercise in, especially if you don't get much chance to do it round your own home. The paths and roads are generally traffic free which means it's a safe place to be. You can choose from a variety of adult and child sized bikes, and tag-alongs or even tandems.

3. Outdoor Activities

Tamsin was keen to do Tree Trekking again - she tried this for the first time last year with me at Sherwood Forest, very successfully. This time Daddy fancied his chances and they set off just as it began to rain for the first time during the whole weekend. She battled on though, and I was very proud watching her do the zipwires (have to admit I struggled with those myself last year). In other years across the parks we've had fun on boats on the lake, played Adventure golf, laser shooting and done a Treasure Trail. You can also play tennis and do laser shooting, amongst other activities.

4. Indoor Activities

This time we chose to do Roller Skating as a family for a change, and we had a laugh as we just about managed to stay upright. Previously we've attempted rock climbing, and enjoyed the Sports Hall, where you can play indoor bowling, table tennis, badminton, arcade games, pool and snooker or join fitness classes.

5. Outdoor Fun

There is just so much space for the children to run and play outdoors. At Elveden I counted at least 6 different playgrounds for children of all ages - and that was all in one area. Also worth mentioning is that some of the eating places have outdoor playgrounds attached so you can enjoy a leisurely meal, and there's also at least one with an indoor soft play and computers, which are a real hit with our girls.

Another amazing activity is the Aqua Sana Spa in each Center Parcs, and the firework displays (I could go on all night). Seasonal activities are fab too - Winter Wonderland was on at this time of year and the girls got to visit Santa and see singing reindeers. There were also festive cupcake decorating and festive pottery painting sessions, along with sleigh rides in the woods. There are SO many more activities than I can list - check them out at Things To Do. I've not even had chance to mention the yummy restaurants and the shows and shopping...

For some more ideas of the endless possibilities that await you at Center Parcs, I'd like to invite you to pop over to my Pinterest page and browse my Center Parcs board #CPFamilyBreaks.

We've always enjoyed Center Parcs and what I particularly notice is that we have never seen anyone having a bad time there. Everyone looks happy and seem to be enjoying what's on offer. Staff are polite and go out of their way to be helpful. It's never too crowded either, which is important for us. We think it's a fab place to go with family or friends.

Disclosure: we were sent to experience a weekend break at Elveden and asked to produce a video clip, but not steered in any way about what to say in that video or this blog post. These are our true and honest opinions - we love Center Parcs, and we will be going back!

To find out more about our experiences, please check out our 'About Us' page. If you are looking or more information on Pathological Demand Avoidance, why not try some of these, my most popular posts?