Which centre parks?

Unity

Hi All,

I did say I would post on my return from Whinfell so here goes. This was a weekend - Friday from 3.30pm until Monday 10 a.m. for seven people at a total cost of £375+ £8 for booking using a credit card.

I've previously been to both Elveden and Sherwood and have always said that I preferred Elveden and that is still the number 1 - until we get to try out Longleat, then who knows?;)

Okay I know it must have been the coldest weekend of the year so far - but we really did feel the cold in the lodge we stayed in. Basically it comes down to a design flaw in that even the single storey lodges have high pitched roofs and ceilings to match. They are far higher than is practical for a large open plan living area and the radiator sizes are way too small to heat the space. Even with the heating cranked right up (using the over-ride function as described in the lodge instructions) to 25 degrees we could never attain anywhere near that temperature and the draughts at floor level and from the windows, meant our feet were always cold.

We've always found the log fires at Elveden throw out a fair heat - but this isn't the case at Whinfell and so I'd say it is great for atmosphere but not for warmth. The logs I got from Home Bargains at 99p did burn much better than the ones sold at the Parc Market at over five times the price though .

The pool at Whinfell is really small and was very crowded for much of the time. Once again I would say that Elveden is markedly better in terms of size and heat - both around the pool and the water itself. I have health problems so I do feel the cold - but others in our party also remarked on the draughtiness in the "Sub-tropical Swimming Paradise"

If you are wanting to do your own cooking, it might be worth taking a couple of big pans as the lodge is only provided with a couple of small saucepans and a very small frying pan (two rashers of bacon was the maximum we could fit). Elveden was always excellent for kitchen equipment so this came as a shock and meant cooking everything in two batches. Not as much of a shock as if we had relied on buying food on-site though since even a burger at the Lakeside Inn was around £8.95 - fish and chips £10.95 which could be quite expensive if you have a numbers of older teens going with you.

There were lots of things to do - but for those who haven't been before the only free things are swimming and walking in the forest and that is really what we go for so we were well pleased. Others in our party went on the high rope trail - which does seem very high :eek:, they also played tennis and soccer and pitch and put.

The general cleanliness and maintenance of the lodges isn't as good as Elveden - but this may be down to it formerly being Oasis rather than built from scratch. Some of the crockery needed to be washed before we used it, some lights weren't working, and although the sheets were clean - when I took them off on the day of departure as requested - the mattress protector was not only on the grey side - it also had lots of long hairs attached and since neither me or the OH have long hair I did feel this was just a little bit grim. Added to this we found a remote for a DVD but alas no DVD player - but then we weren't sure whether there should have been one anyway:rolleyes:.

All the above are just little niggles as far as we were concerned - but they may well be important factors to other people deciding where to go.

On the whole we had a great weekend, we saw plenty of wild-life including red-squirrels, rabbits, lots of robins, chaffinches, blue-tits, coal-tits and a huge male pheasant complete with harem of females who came to the patio for breakfast. The scenery is stunning especially as everything was covered in frost - very seasonal It's also an easy centre to get to even for those who were arriving via Penrith station.

The best bit was definitely the 'Owl Watch' - £6 each which takes place in the Rangers' Station and where we got to stroke an African Eagle Owl. The man who gave the talk was really knowledgeable and very entertaining, involving all the children and teaching them quite a bit that they didn't already know.

We also enjoyed the pub quiz night on both Saturday and Sunday - especially as we came away with £30 profit :T.

As to whether I would visit again, I would say I'd certainly go back to CenterParcs, whether or not I'd go back to Whinfell is another question. It ticks the boxes for convenience when we are all arriving from different areas, but for preference I would choose Elveden every time.