Sherwood Forest Centre Parcs

the_cows_udders

Just a couple of questions about Sherwood Forest Centre Parcs.

How well does T-Mobile internet work there? We have a dongle and would rather use the laptop in our room than go and sit in a public area with wifi.

We are going with a group that includes two pre-school girls and two teenage boys. I've just been given the activities brochure to look through and everything looks a bit expensive

What would be the "must do" things to book? I'm aware the group will split up due to the ages of the children going.

How quickly do things book up? We're wondering if we should book now or play it by ear when we get there.

pinkmami

Not sure about Sherwood cos I've never been there.

With regards about activities it depends what you're thinking of doing. My lot are 8, 6 & 2.5 yrs so love the soft play which are all free of charge. So is the swimming which is a hit with all the family including grandad! Bowling - you'll need to book it in advance cos the one in Whinfell is busy. With regards to restaurants, I think its worth booking. I've already booked the italian restaurant for our 2nd evening there cos I've always missed out as we like to eat at tea time with the kids & so does everyone else with small kids! As I'm going at the end of this month I've booked the Santa Workshop & the pantomime for them as I was afraid of losing out if I left it too late! If you're thinking of hiring bikes for the eldest 2 you just go to the cycle centre & they have ample supply. If you need a cart for the younger 2 you may need to get there as soon as you arrive to hire it as they're in great demand.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

the_cows_udders wrote: »

Just a couple of questions about Sherwood Forest Centre Parcs.

How well does T-Mobile internet work there? We have a dongle and would rather use the laptop in our room than go and sit in a public area with wifi.

We are going with a group that includes two pre-school girls and two teenage boys. I've just been given the activities brochure to look through and everything looks a bit expensive

What would be the "must do" things to book? I'm aware the group will split up due to the ages of the children going.

How quickly do things book up? We're wondering if we should book now or play it by ear when we get there.

i live about 3 minutes from there so here goes:

Activities in sherwood forest CP - I wouldnt bother TBH!

There is a bowling alley which is expensive (If you drive, head to Mansfield where there is the SuperBOwl, takes about 20 min in a car) http://www.mansfieldsuperbowl.co.uk/

Restaurants - I LOVE the pancake house at CP But we do have some nice restaurants near by! My favorite is "the larch Farm" which is in Ravenshead (2 for £10 during the week and £11 for a 2 course sunday dinner)

for the pre-school kids there is a Monkey Mania (indoor soft play - http://www.uk-parties.co.uk/venuesnm/62023.php) at Ollerton which is just down the road from CP. For the teeange boys there is a quad centre smack opposite CP

Mansfield is the main town with the Cinema, bowling,swimming etc.

Nottingham is about a 40 min drive from CP - LOADS to do there!

There is an "abbey" near centre parcs called "rufford" (http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/ruffordcp) Which is nice and obviously we have the Major Oak and Sherwood Pines (they have concerts here so check whats on! http://www.sherwoodpinescycles.co.uk/) There is also Go APE (http://www.goape.co.uk/)

There is also a paint ball area on the a614 http://www.cylex-uk.co.uk/company/adrenalin-jungle-activity-centre-15593596.html

There is horse riding (again, wouldnt bother - I used to take them and it REALLY isnt worth the money!) Try Wellow Riding school http://www.wellowpark.co.uk/

Swimming - Ok, the oasis IS good, has outdoor rapids etc - BUT there is a local swimming pool just up the road in Edwinstowe http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/place?rls=com.microsoft:en-gb:IE-Address&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=edwinstowe+swimming&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=swimming&hnear=Edwinstowe,+Mansfield,+Nottinghamshire&cid=9476445306393561958

then obviously there is the Major Oak http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Oak

There is also the Palace Theatre in Mansfield which has brilliant little plays on - And then moving up you have the Lace Market Theatre in Nottingham

Ice Skatin - there is a rink at Sutton in Ashfield (about 30 min from CP) http://besticerinks.com/uk/sutton/ice-rink.html and then there is the big rink in Nottingham http://www.national-ice-centre.com/

And White Post Farm is a must! My daughter loves it here http://whitepostfarmcentre.co.uk/

If you need anything else just PM Me

(Not sure about T-Mobile, should be fine though! Will ask my sis as she works at CP)

EDIT - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be very careful when pulling out of centre parcs onto the road, it is a blind corner off a 60mph road

Also - If you let me know what activities you are interested in i will let you know of a local alternative

pinkmami

Well I guess if you'd like to do all the above there's no point in staying at CP so you might as well book a cheap B&B & stay in on of them.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

Wouldnt be able to drop into a B&B throughout the day though like you would your own villa at CP (but there is a nice one in edwinstowe!) lol

mum26

The oasis is great - and included in the price of your holiday so enjoy it,lol!

We usually book bowling for arrival day - if you look online you can see the varying prices - as that is quite good value for a family.

Other than that my only "must-do" is the spa. You really must go

We usually allow our children to pick one activity each, the archery things vary in price so read the detail and book the most cost effective, likewise with rollerskating and computer/t shirt making activities, the prices vary a lot for the same kind of thing.

We usually take a games console /media player, pack of cards, board game and colouring stuff, plenty of time at the lovely parks, bike rides and walks, we love centre parcs.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

oh no - The spa is VERY over priced! there's a much better alternative at clumber park hotel (few miles down the road)

Mansfield has a Mark Leeson Salon who does body and mind treatments as well as hair (hes an award winning stylist too!) http://www.markleeson.co.uk/

bagby

When we've been we hire bikes and go for long bike rides (I think theres one at sherwood thats about 7 miles). We usually hire a badminton court and all take turns, we go to the golfing range and hire 100 balls each - the boys love that - hitting balls as hard as they can with sticks! then ride back. We also took a football and went on the five a side pitch - that was great fun I havent played football in years. Some of the activities are expensive but you can make your own fun. We went last year when it was knee deep in snow - absolutely magical - we all had salopettes on making a family of snowmen then of course the obligatory snowball fights. Great time.

moneypooh

pinkmami wrote: »

Well I guess if you'd like to do all the above there's no point in staying at CP so you might as well book a cheap B&B & stay in on of them.

agree, the whole idea is to stay onsite and not worry about travelling around. One the the best things is the 'car free' status.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

moneypooh wrote: »

agree, the whole idea is to stay onsite and not worry about travelling around. One the the best things is the 'car free' status.

Bit silly going to Sherwood and not seeing Sherwood Forest?

Centre Parcs at Sherwood DOESNT have THAT many great things to do. The horse riding is off site as is a lot of the activities, The bowling has limited alleys, The sports centre isnt very well equipped, the swimmings good, the spa's nothing special and the shops are WAY over priced considering there's a tesco 5 minutes away. There is a bike hire but there you never really see anyone on them and I'm not sure whether the lake will be open for boat rides. There is a mini golf centre but its right at the back of the park and takes ages to get to from the main centre (esp with little kids)

If your going in December they do have a reindeer parade which is nice - but then there are cheapr alternatives (and MSE is about Moneysaving dont forget)

Trixie102

Mommyme, I know you are offering good advice and I agree that some things on-site are over priced but the idea is that you don't have to worry about going off site to do stuff. Going into Mansfield may be a hassle for some people, especially if they have children and don't want to use the childcare facilities at CP while they are off site.

I live local too to Sherwood CP and just love the fact I can park my car and not see if for a few days. I don't think the Spa is over-priced, I even go for an evening session when not staying at the park. And I know they do combined childcare and spa packages for people who are staying.

When I went last June with friends (adults and children) we didn't do any paid for activities apart from badminton (such a laugh) and crazy golf. We took the Playstation along as well as a DVD player. Kids wanted to be in the pool all day and then (as tired) just wanted to chill out when they got in. We walked (well roller bladed) up to the nature centre one day, went to the pancake house another (for a treat), so you don't have to pay lots on activities when staying.

Another free highlight is the daily duck/ swan feed. We took some cheap bird feed and each morning the ducks and swans would come waddling up to get fed from the patio area.

I also disagree that the on-site food store is expensive. Some items are but mostly they are a good price. We normally take the staples with us and then just buy some stuff whilst there to keep costs down. Later in the day the bakery section reduces most of their products so bargains can be had.

Enjoy yourself and have a great time. I wouldn;t get too stressed about booking activities (unless there is something specifc you really really want to do) and have fun. I'm booking our next visit for Feb next year this weekend and can't wait.