Reflections on a healthy holiday
It’s a strange sensation to return from a weekend away like a broken man, but be delighted with how things have gone.
This was the situation when we enjoyed a family break at Woburn Forest Center Parcs in Bedfordshire.
There is something slightly surreal about visiting, in that it does genuinely feel like you have gone off the main road and arrived in a different country.
The Center Parcs concept is based on a more continental way of holidaying and it honestly feels like you’ve decamped across the Channel.
Getting there from Kent is easy: round the M25 and up the M1, just try and avoid Friday night rushhour if you can.
My family, two adults and two 11-year-old girls, stayed in a lodge in the pine section of the park – there are also maple, birch and oak zones.
There are eight types of lodge ranging in size, luxury and cost.
It was very comfortable with an open-plan living area, three double bedrooms and patio facing out in the forest. It also had Wi-fi.
As we were just staying for the weekend, we tried to pack as much in as possible.
To be honest, in my mind I am a sporting titan; able to take on anything thrown my way.
The reality, however, is that I am probably 20 years past a best that wasn’t that great anyway.
This soon became evident as first up we tried our hands at field archery which involved strolling through woodland trying to hit foam animals with large bows and arrows.
It was lots of fun and our tutor, Dan, was as good humoured as he was patient at our skills which were more William DON’T Tell than Robin Hood.
Next up was the impressive Subtropical Swimming Paradise with slides and rapids which took you outside. Kids of all ages will love this.
A big part of the whole Center Parcs ethos is health and fitness and bikes play a large role.
After the swimming, we picked up ours and spent a lovely few hours cycling.
You don’t have to go off the beaten path. The road network