Not everywhere is a Soft Play Area

Just back from a 4 nights at Sherwood Forest Center Parcs. www.centerparcs.co.uk/villages/sherwood/map/index.jsp

Jamie loved it; though it was quite exhausting for mummy and daddy! Mummy is now on a diet / detox as she needs to get fitter for when Jamie is walking!! He is currently crawling so fast, that if you look away for a second he is gone.

Our holiday officially started last Saturday when cousin Lucy was here. It was so hot we filled up the paddling pool the twins bought Jamie for his birthday. Jamie was straight in – even though it was particularly cold for the adults paddling their feet – so we knew he was definitely ready for the water at Center Parcs.

Once we got settled in at Centre Parcs (in our Travelodge style villa) we went for a meal at Hucks (American Bar and Grill) which is where we went again for our last night, as we really loved the food and mummy especially liked the cocktails. The Children’s Play Area was wonderful for Jamie – although he did cry a bit when he got stuck in the ball pool!

Daddy loved the Jardin des Sports which is where I went for my Hula Hoop a Cise class (try doing the actions to the Cha Cha Slide while hooping!) and Jamie went for his two activities; Wacky Water Play – which was very wet, and Make a Memory – which was very messy trying to get Jamie to make prints of his hands and feet! There was another soft play area and a couple of large screens in the Sports Cafe. We were only sorry we had not gone the day before when England played.

On the Wednesday we took Jamie for the first time on a bike. He didn’t mind the seat it was the helmet he could not stand. To be fare I think it was that the helmet was too big for him and therefore kept slipping down. We cycled across to the Nature Centre and The Country Club / Foresters Inn. It was lovely and peaceful out there, but if we had had a villa that far out we would definitely have needed a bike all week (more expense!). The Nature Trail and Wildlife Sanctuary was not that well publicised and this is a good thing We were the only ones in the Bird Hide and got to see a Woodpecker as well as squirrels, bunnies and lots of other birds.

I do think the week helped to bring Jamie on in leaps and bounds. At every meal he drank from the bottle by himself and had quite a bit of our food – he loves his chips! We love the fact that jars of baby food are free – with a handy microwave, bowls, and spoons in most of the restaurants.

His mannerisms are changing so quickly. He isn’t quite interacting with other children but he is still as nosey as ever!! What was a joy to see was every morning the animals would appear at our villa window – ducks, squirrels, bunnies, moor hens, and two swans with their 4 signets. He was mesmerized and sat watching the wildlife for hours! This distracted him from climbing on the tables and beds etc. Everything is a play area for him at the moment! It was fantastic that there were so many things for children to do in the Center Parcs complex, and it was brilliant that there were different play parks catering for different age groups. Most of the time he loved it – unless any of the bigger boys turned up…

The pool was a little disappointing,; in so far as I had expected something bigger, but I was impressed that there were little pools and areas for babies and toddlers to play without getting swamped by older children. The changing facilities could be a nightmare at peak times but it was good that there were unisex facilities, and swim jackets and toys provided for the children in the pool. On a Tuesday morning we went to Baby Dolphins; which is for young swimmers under 3yrs. This was free and consisted of a general play time with inflatables followed by singing with actions led by 2 of the lifeguards. Jamie loved this. On Thursday we paid to go to Tadpoles; which was a swimming lesson for babies of Jamie’s age (6m-2yrs). There was a lot of crying in this session after the instructor suggested dunking the children under the water!

Cost
Total Cost for a 2 bed Villa in the middle area; including Insurance, Towel Package and a Welcome pack (tea, coffee etc.), 7 activities booked prior to arrival (although we DNA 3 of these), hire of bikes for one day, food and drink (restaurants and supermarket), photos and ‘other’ shopping, came to just under £800. We could have done without the towel package and we only actually used one of the villas 2 bedrooms as Jamie slept in the cot in our room.

It was a bit of a nuisance that you could not get into your villa until 3pm on the day of your arrival (just noticed you can get in from 2pm if you choose the ‘Flying Start’ package but that probably costs) and had to vacate by 10am on your departure day; especially as it was every man for himself in the car parks. That was the worst thing about the whole week.

Will we go again?
Probably. However, I think next time we should like to go with some other children of a similar age to Jamie (and their parents) but we will wait until Jamie can walk so he will be able to enjoy more of the facilities.