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Sherwood Forest Centre Parcs, info please

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Hi,

We are off to our first centre parcs holiday, 5 days at the end of may/june.
We are a family of 5 plus taking my mum.

We are being urged to prebook sessions before we arrive.
Can anyone recommend sessions that re worth the money (some things seem very pricey!)
Children are: 9,6,4.

Ae there mobility scooters to hire, mum cant walk too far, our accomodation is nr main building tho'

Many thanks!
How much ?????????!!!

Comments

  • feclmum
    feclmum Posts: 216 Forumite
    Not sure about the mobility scooters but if you phone customer services they are helpful.We have never booked any activities before ,we have always booked when we got there ours love the swimming complex so spend a lot of the time there, the childrens parks are really good too and we got for some walks, theye njoyed the climbing wall this year though!!
  • newgirly
    newgirly Posts: 9,331 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee! Name Dropper
    We went to sherwood 2 years ago in may with (at the time), 2 x 9 yr olds and 1 x 12 yr old, lots of the activities were fully booked, but we had pre booked lots of the cheaper ones. we did the roller disco, pool table, table tennis, indoor climbing, bowling, zip wire, and the rope tree course. the pool is great for hours as well.
    oh, we also pre -booked the carvery at the pancake house overlooking the lake which was fantastic.
    I would pre-book as then you can choose the cheapest times, and plan your day much easier, enjoy!
    MFW 67 - Finally mortgage free! 💙😁
  • RLH33
    RLH33 Posts: 375 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    Although we have always been to Longleat I think it really depends on what your children are into. The zip wire always looks good for the price, as does most of the outdoor climbing style stuff. The art activities have always been good too.

    We have now been so many times that we don't actually bother with booking anything any more. By the time you have been swimming, had a walk around, been to the playgrounds etc, fed the ducks on the lake, the day has gone.
  • feclmum
    feclmum Posts: 216 Forumite
    this year we also had a house with a games room which was great for the children.
  • pinkmami
    pinkmami Posts: 1,110 Forumite
    Never been to Sherwood but I have beed to Whinfell 9 times. There are mobility scoorters available at all CP. We hired one for my mum a few yrs ago & alough they were out of them at CP they gave me a number of a local company which have a contract with CP to supply them & it was there when we got there. Even though you say your lodge is near the centre, it may come in handy for her when you go for a walk & she can then join you. Give customer services a call.

    also book some activities. I booked a bowlling session for myself & the girls (9 & 7) for 9am & got it much cheaper. Also some slots at restaurants need booking as they may become fully booked at peak meal times. Esp places like Bella Italia.
  • apples1
    apples1 Posts: 1,180 Forumite
    edited 22 May 2011 at 8:02PM
    We have been to CP lots and mostly Sherwood including in the Easter holidays a few weeks ago.

    I would look carefully at the activities (search by age on their website) and then book one thing a day for each of your children. This maybe different things as their ages vary. Obviously it depends on your budget but if you can afford the activites and intend doing some then I would book before you go as you can sit down with pen and paper and plan them in. You could look at doing something with your four year & six year olds (you'll know best what they like) whilst your 9yr old does something on his own. My 8 year old enjoyed 'make a movie' but hated the high ropes! The laser combat is expensive but we think excellent. A great Dad and child together activity and our eight year old LOVES it and we always book it. Her Dad loves it just as much (more probably) although always says he's going for her!

    If you click on each activity you get a clear description and you and your children will know what they fancy most. If you miss out arrival day and departure day and then that leaves you 3 days to fill. I would set aside two half days for swimming (free) and don't make one of them the morning of your first full day as everyone goes swimming then and it's packed. That leaves you four half days. I would book an activity into three or four of those half days. Any spare time around the activities you can go to the fabulous (and free) outdoor play parks - two filled with big wooden very suitable for 9 year old as well as younger ones play equipment plus a sandy beach play area by the lake which is more suited to younger two or swim some more if you all love swimming. For me the swimming pool is the worst bit about CP!! You can obviously cycle (or walk) too and whilst i don't know from experience I am sure you can get a scooter for your Mum. It's well worth going out to the Country Club for lunch - food v nice there and not so full on as the sports cafe. In my opinion I would avoid the roller skating and rolelr disco activites - they are pooly run and don't teach your child so you end up holding them up the whole time. I wouldn't book bowling (as there are always lanes available if you want one) but you could book that when you are there if the weather is bad and you can't go to the free parks much.

    Oh (and if your budget can meet it) do book yourself a treatment at the aqua sana!!!

    If you want any other info on Sherwood or specific activities just ask! Have a lovely time. It's expensive but we always have a really good family holiday and with an almost 3 yr old and a nearly 9 yr old it ticks boxes for us all. We tend to eat out for lunch each day but have supper in our villa but if you want to go out in the evenings then perhaps it is worth booking those.
    MTC NMP Membership #62 - made it back to size 12 after my children & I'm staying here!
  • apples1 wrote: »
    We have been to CP lots and mostly Sherwood including in the Easter holidays a few weeks ago.

    I would look carefully at the activities (search by age on their website) and then book one thing a day for each of your children. This maybe different things as their ages vary. Obviously it depends on your budget but if you can afford the activites and intend doing some then I would book before you go as you can sit down with pen and paper and plan them in. You could look at doing something with your four year & six year olds (you'll know best what they like) whilst your 9yr old does something on his own. My 8 year old enjoyed 'make a movie' but hated the high ropes! The laser combat is expensive but we think excellent. A great Dad and child together activity and our eight year old LOVES it and we always book it. Her Dad loves it just as much (more probably) although always says he's going for her!

    If you click on each activity you get a clear description and you and your children will know what they fancy most. If you miss out arrival day and departure day and then that leaves you 3 days to fill. I would set aside two half days for swimming (free) and don't make one of them the morning of your first full day as everyone goes swimming then and it's packed. That leaves you four half days. I would book an activity into three or four of those half days. Any spare time around the activities you can go to the fabulous (and free) outdoor play parks - two filled with big wooden very suitable for 9 year old as well as younger ones play equipment plus a sandy beach play area by the lake which is more suited to younger two or swim some more if you all love swimming. For me the swimming pool is the worst bit about CP!! You can obviously cycle (or walk) too and whilst i don't know from experience I am sure you can get a scooter for your Mum. It's well worth going out to the Country Club for lunch - food v nice there and not so full on as the sports cafe. In my opinion I would avoid the roller skating and rolelr disco activites - they are pooly run and don't teach your child so you end up holding them up the whole time. I wouldn't book bowling (as there are always lanes available if you want one) but you could book that when you are there if the weather is bad and you can't go to the free parks much.

    Oh (and if your budget can meet it) do book yourself a treatment at the aqua sana!!!

    If you want any other info on Sherwood or specific activities just ask! Have a lovely time. It's expensive but we always have a really good family holiday and with an almost 3 yr old and a nearly 9 yr old it ticks boxes for us all. We tend to eat out for lunch each day but have supper in our villa but if you want to go out in the evenings then perhaps it is worth booking those.

    We are going to Sherwood this weekend. I heard that there are a lot of doors missing in the changing area for the swimming pool. Is it true? In your experience, what are the busiest time in the pool (to avoid)?
    :o
  • The pool gets busy on changeover days (Mondays and friday) but is quieter around 3-5 as people are rushing off to get into the villas. Apart from that, the pool generally isn't too crowded, although first thing (10am) it's nice and quiet for the first hour, and it's nice in the evenings.

    We last went at the end of august, and OH didn't mention anything about missing doors. Me and DD always change in the womens changing room near the entrance as it's a lot quicker. I know they are revamping the Whinfell pool at the moment, hopefully they will do the changing rooms at sherwood soon as they are looking a bit tired.

    Have a fab time
  • sandsy
    sandsy Posts: 1,752 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    We always pre-book activities and restaurants.

    When you pre-book activities, check out the prices for different times. I've noticed that they can vary over the day, eg. the first ten-pin bowling session of the day is often cheaper than later sessions.
  • Desperado99
    Desperado99 Posts: 1,195 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker Photogenic
    edited 21 September 2011 at 12:53PM
    sandsy wrote: »
    We always pre-book activities and restaurants.

    Normally, Yes!

    But at the moment (until 10th October) they are handing out voucher booklets when you arrive which include £10 off £30 spend on activites, so if you can wait until you're there, I would :)
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