Angry People

I have just returned from a long weekend at Whinfell Forest, one of Center Parcs holiday villages. It is located just outside of Penrith, in the Lake District.
The location is stunning, with ‘lodges’ arranged amongst the trees and the building such as the village centre (above), sports centre and outdoor centre all built in an appropriate low-impact way.

Other than centre traffic, all cars are in the car park (I estimated about 2000) so it’s very child friendly walking along the miles of paths that connect the activity centres and lodges together.

The Whinfell Forest location was originally Oasis but was taken over by the Center Parcs group. It is therefore individual and although I have never been to any of their other locations I am informed that this is the best one.

It may have originally been targeted at a diferrent demographic to the other Center Parcs holiday villages, but it now seems to be sold as a ‘family’ holiday location. If you are looking for peace and quiet, this is almost but not quite it. Rent a cottage just down the road.

What the experience did bring to mind was that this is how we are supposed to live; in little communities alongside nature. There were red squirrels, rabbits and pheasants all just walking around on the grounds between the little groups of lodges and a badger-cam to view the resident badgers activities on your in-lodge tv.

There are many activities available on-site during your visit but you will need to have booked them in advance of arriving, as early as your booking will allow. With up to 4000 people on site, we found that everything was booked and it was impossible to access most of the available entertainment.

For a long weekend, it was a lot of effort - a 720 mile round trip in a Mini Metro takes some recovering from!

Conclusion: Great UK destination for families with kids - plan your holiday and book in advance.