I really didn’t think I’d like Center Parcs – let alone be rushing back the following year for a return visit.
But that’s exactly what I did last week, bringing the family back to Center Parcs in Sherwood Forest one year after my first ever visit. Back then, when I broke my Center Parcs duck, I vowed to do three things differently next time – all of which I did this year, and I had an even better break the second time round. Crucially, my son, one year older, loved it too.
I had expected Center Parcs to be a bit fakey, a bit artificial. But actually, it’s a genuinely pleasant place to spend a few days; a holiday resort built right into the woods which focuses on nature, outdoor activities and relaxing at your own pace. Naturally, we avoided half term and school holidays since our baby is still under school age, which made it much cheaper off-peak.
Center Parcs is basically a nature resort, with a central village in the middle containing key facilities like the pool, restaurants, some (pricey) shops and activities spread throughout like tree trekking, minigolf, bird watching, ziplining, quad biking, various indoor and outdoor sports, arcades, and various other things to do for babies right up to adults.
The accommodation is made up of chalets which are located around the outside of the park, with roads running from the centre out to the edges which you can walk or cycle to get from place to place. Cars are banned – once you’ve unpacked, you lock it away in the car park for the week and have to walk or cycle from place to place.
Last year, I vowed to get here earlier. We had turned up at about 4pm (the time your chalet is ready for your arrival) and it was carnage, and we ended up sat in traffic for an hour coming in. This year, I was prepared, and we turned up early at midday – Center Parcs allows you to enter the park early and enjoy the place until your cabin is ready.
So we got in early doors, parked up and decamped to the on-site Cafe Rouge. Here, Center Parcs did something different too – which I think was much better. They let us go park our car next to the cabin because the car parks were too busy. This is much better than turning up early, parking, then moving your car, then moving it back, and took some of the stress of arrival out of proceedings too, so in all, the first day went much more smoothly than last year.
The second thing I said I’d do differently is bring a disposable barbecue this year because the ones sold in the on-site Co-op are very expensive. And this backfired.
On arrival, we were told that BBQs had been banned this week due to the heatwave. ‘Open flames in a dry forest are not a good idea’, the lady told me as we picked up our wristbands. Why, then, were they ever allowed, I wonder?
There were also signs throughout the park (parc?) telling us that BBQs had been banned this week. The disposable barbecue I brought stayed in the car, unpacked.
Thankfully, between the excellent cooking facilities in the cabin – a normal oven, hob, microwave and a full gamut of cutlery, crockery and pans all in the chalet for you – I didn’t really miss it. Plus, we ended up eating some (slightly pricey) restaurant food between the Pancake House, Huck’s, Bella Italia and Las Iguanas, all on site, so we didn’t really miss it.
Finally, I did bring a spider grabber this year, as I said I would last year. I discovered in 2024 just how close to the woods the cabins really are. Our chalet was tucked under a canopy of fir trees, with a cycling dirt trail a few feet from our patio. It’s genuinely a peaceful, calming spot, but it does have real spiders, squirrels, robins and other natural critters who turn up to welcome you, so I did have to gently evict a couple of eight legged visitors.
Our son enjoyed himself more in 2025 too – he was able to sit in a bike seat so we could cycle him around the park, he enjoyed the baby slides in the pool’s water park and he took part in toddler sensory play, did some pottery painting and played on the ‘beach’.
In all, Center Parcs is a great experience if you know what you’re doing – and I’m already looking to see what other locations have to offer for next year.