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When you have young children, finding the perfect holiday destination is absolutely key. Everything at Center Parcs is made for families, and little ones aged 2-4 years old can discover new adventures and activities around every corner. Book your holiday or weekend break and get ready to explore acres of woodland, spot wildlife, splash in the Subtropical Swimming Paradise and get cosy in your family accommodation nestled amongst the trees.
Child-friendly lodges
Our lodges are designed with families in mind and include:
A highchair
A super-sized storage cupboard for your pushchair
A spacious layout perfect for little explorers
Stair-gates (in two-storey lodges)
Forest views so little ones can spot wildlife
Please be aware that some lodges have steps to the entrance, so check this when booking.
You’ll find plenty of fun activities and adventures for pre-school aged children. They can try something different with Mini Trek or Roller Tots, or learn new skills with Chocolate Chefs Academy or Football Fun Factory.
Roller Tots
With plastic skates specially designed to help little ones keep their balance, this activity is a great way to introduce your children to the fun of rollerskating. Ages 2 to 6 years. Skate sizes junior size 6-9/10-13.
Available at all locations.
The perfect way to introduce your children to riding… our beginners’ activity is a gentle forest walk, a wonderful way for them to enjoy their first time in the saddle. Ages 2 to 7 years.
Available at Longleat Forest.
This exciting aerial rope course is specially designed for younger children, giving them the chance to have their very own adventure in a safe, secure environment. Age 2-5 years.
Available at Whinfell Forest, Sherwood Forest, Longleat Forest and Elveden Forest.
Join Chestnut the squirrel for songs, stories, fun and games… bring your little ones and their favourite cuddly toy along to Chestnut’s Picnic from some fun with their furry friends. Ages 18 months to 5 years.
Available at all locations.
Our Baby Owls session is a great chance for you, along with little ones to enjoy meeting Pop, our very own sleepy barn owl, and some of his feathered friends in the forest. Minimum age 1 year.
Available at all locations.
Let our professionally trained childcare staff look after and entertain your little ones. You can rest assured our crèche staff will offer the best care. Ages 24-35 months.
Available at all locations.
A fun, creative activity for little ones as they learn how to decorate their very own delicious cupcakes. Ages 3 to 9 years.
Available at all locations.
Transform your child for the day into a beautiful butterfly or a ferociously cute tiger. We use washable face paints to avoid laundry incidents. Minimum age 2 years.
Available at all locations.
Make a splash in the Subtropical Swimming Paradise
Our tropical water park is heated to 29.5c all year round and home to sensory children’s water play areas, splash pools and mini slides. You’ll also find family changing rooms, hair dryers, large lockers, a buggy park and the Canopy Café and Bar serving poolside food and drink.
Top tip: hire a Family Cabana for a cosy, peaceful retreat during your swim session.
All of our restaurants are child-friendly. You’ll find plenty of space for multiple highchairs and pushchairs, children’s menus offering healthy and tasty dishes, and activity packs to keep little ones entertained. You’ll also find indoor or outdoor play areas at some of our restaurants. Be sure to pre-book your table as early evening times are popular.
If you’d prefer a relaxing evening in, order restaurant food to be delivered to your lodge.
Fantastic Christmas break away, second year in a row at Whinfell. We like the fact that everything is under cover and given the weather this year very glad.
Our lodge was the same style as last year and couldn’t fault it again.
The winter wonderland is excellent and really extends the Christmas feel having a young child.
Accessible lodge
@mbmckeon51- July 2023, Whinfell Forest
I am in a manual wheelchair and the accommodation was perfect for me - spacious, well thought out and profile bed and mattress was a real bonus. Weather was great and we all had a great time. Our first visit at a Centre Parks but would love to come back. Beautiful location in the forest and safe to let our young grandchildren cycle everywhere - hilly site and I needed a push on some of steepest sections.
Dinner at Cafe Rouge was excellent. Loved the whole experiece and all staff we met were helpful and friendly. All the family very happy with 3 night trip.
We visited Center Parcs Sherwood as a family with two young grandchildren , we had a wonderful weekend , the lodge was comfortable and clean , we loved the swimming and pancake house , the activities with the little ones were reasonably priced as was the bowling and adventure golf , we will definitely visit again
Suberb week full of fun
@emmaklincs- August 2023, Sherwood Forest
Great week with 4 young boys & 4 adults. 4 bed exec lodge, Cedar 934 was superb, it was well equipped & very clean. We went to Archery, mucky pups, musical movers, bowling & crazy golf.
Had a great time at the kids disco & enjoyed all the food on offer. All the staff were really friendly & helpful, responding to requests efficiently. A lost bag of shoes was found & returned quickly & a dishwasher issue was sorted within the day. We all enjoyed the subtropical swimming pool & the venture harbour/ bay was so lovely for the little ones, they didn’t want to leave. Changing facilities/ showers were all clean & well maintained & Cabana cove hot tub was a bonus. Bike hire was easy & the boys loved having the freedom to ride on safe roads.
We could not fault anything apart from prices being quite expensive. Would definitely return, last went 30 years ago, so much has changed & our Grandchildren loved it. Lots of lovely memories made.
We had a mid week break taking our 2 year old granddaughter,over the years we’ve had many great holidays here . This was no exception, the villa was excellent, comfortable, roomy and well equipped. There has been considerable changes in parts of, all for the good , there are several excellent play areas for children of all ages , we trued her with roller skating , mini football neither of which she’d ever done before . The staff running the courses were brilliant , happy , professional and really put the very young children at ease , the dome offers great water experiences for all ages , but may get very crowded at peak times . Good choice of restaurants and the parc market which is now co-op offers a large variety of foods etc at reasonable prices . All in all a great few days .
Fantastic holiday for a young family
@Lily H- June 2023, Longleat Forest
We have 2 boys under 3 years old, and the place was the perfect family holiday destination, with plenty of walks, playparks for every age, fantastic swimming complex and activities suitable for every type of weather. The lodge, we stayed in, met our every need and provided us with a relaxing environment after days full with new adventures.
We visit Elveden most years and each year it just gets better! Swimming is fantastic, plenty to do and a brilliant adventure cove for younger children. My two children did a few activities, including Aerial Adventure, mini trek, and aqua jetting. All were brilliant and staff were great 😊 it seems the play park has been updated as well. Our lodge was perfect, clean and we had lots of wildlife in our garden. Overall we had a great stay x
Never fails to deliver for a family break
@Matthew W- June 2023, Longleat Forest
I've lost count of the number of times we've spent long weekends at Center Parcs resorts. Our young children absolutely adore living in the forest amoungst all the wildlife. The Subtropical Swimming Paradise is such a great place for all the family to spend a few hrs relaxing (or not!). The great thing about returning as the children grow up is the vast range of activities offered, meaning they are always able to try something new and slightly more challenging each time they visit.
Can't wait until our next visit, especially as out oldest is now commited to taking on the Elvedon lake zip wire!!
We love and try to come back once a year as we all really relax and switch off. We like it as it’s not too far from where we live yet you feel like you could be anywhere in g to he world. It’s a really easy holiday with young children as they have so much to do, our loved collecting the badges she got one for baby ballet and one for helping us in the shop. You could spend a lot on different activities or not spend much at all as lot to do for free,we enjoy the subtropical swimming pool. The restaurants are great we did brunch at pancake house and dinner at las iguanas another night the rest of the time we ate in lodge. They are simple but well equipped you feel very secluded. Overall we loved it. Wish village was on whilst we were there and that was fantastic at night our child was amazed by it.
Excellent trip with friends and our family to Woburn Center parcs
@Sophiafloral- March 2023, Woburn Forest
What a fantastic trip to Woburn Center parcs. We hadn’t been since being teenagers ourselves and now we have a young family of our own we wanted to return. We were not disappointed. We booked a 4 bed lodge with another couple and toddler as we wouldn’t have been able to afford it on our own. We had snow all week in march which made it even more special. The layout at Woburn is really lovely with everything within easy reach. We booked a cabin near to the swimming pool as i was 35 weeks pregnant and knew we’d spend ALOT of time there. Which we did and the facilities at the pool are excellent. The children’s pools are just amazing and my 3 year old was going head first down the flumes by the end of our stay. Great that they provide float vests and everything is kept clean and warm.
We visited the aqua sauna and I had a pregnancy treatment that was out of this world. We also visited the pancake house which was nice and great they have a soft play the pancakes however although nice were pricey and not as many options as could be.
We stayed in cabin 872 which was very close to the pool but backed onto woodland so we enjoyed watching lots of wildlife grazing right outside our doors. And had a great view to see the snow each morning.
We would recommend doing a food shop from a local supermarket then we just topped up anything we needed from the very well stocked shop on site. We hope to return year after year.
Research from The Wildlife Trust has discovered that nature-based activities have a profound effect on primary school children’s wellbeing. Find out how your little ones can immerse themselves in the great outdoors at our villages.
We asked the Howell family to tell us about their weekend break at Center Parcs. From slipping and sliding down the Wild Water Rapids to a delicious meal at The Pancake House. Find out what there family of six plus nanny Christine got up to during their break