Perfect park life
The generously proportioned hunk known as Blue Vinny proved to be a formidable foe. He had beaten both my husband Nick and childhood friend Chris. But then again, so had the two rounds of goat’s cheese, the Barber’s cheddar and the French brie.
When the waiter at The Royal Oak in Downton, Hampshire, took pity on them and offered to wrap up the remains of their enormous cheeseboard for two, the relief on their faces was a picture.
And as we waddled back to our digs at Shorefield Country Park with our Westie, Ernie, in tow, we all agreed that we could do with the exercise – so it was fortunate we were in the New Forest, surrounded by woodland walks and just a couple of miles from beautiful sandy beaches.
I’ve stayed at several holiday parks over the years but Shorefield, set in 100 acres of landscaped grounds near Milford on Sea, is by far the biggest.
It has everything from camping pitches to caravans and lodges, as well as traditional holiday cottages. There are even some luxury
treehouses in the pipeline, which are due to open next year.
Our three-bedroom Select+ lodge was perfect for us though. Not only was it pet-friendly, but it was set in a peaceful woodland location with a deck and parking right outside.
Inside, it had everything we needed, from a well-equipped kitchen with dishwasher to two bathrooms, including an en-suite to the master bedroom.
The spacious wood-panelled rooms were painted in on-trend shades of grey and white, and the colourful curtains, with fish and beach hut prints, gave the décor a distinct nautical vibe. A lovely welcome pack full of New Forest produce was also waiting for us, alongside kitchen essentials, such as washing-up liquid and bin liners.
And while a number of the neighbouring lodges had hot tubs, for us, it was more important to have some outdoor space where Ernie could keep an eye on the local rabbits and squirrels.
Shorefield is well set up for a post-Covid world and things like contactless check-in made life a lot easier. Even though the additional cleaning measures meant we couldn’t get in to our accommodation until 5pm, there was no queuing at reception or faffing about.
We simply got an email to say our accommodation was ready, along with a map showing where to find it. Our key was waiting for us in a secure lock box and once we’d entered the code and checked in via the Shorefield app, that was that. When it was time to leave, we simply popped the key back into the lock box and checked out. Easy.
For such a large holiday site, you’d expect lots of things to do – and Shorefield certainly doesn’t disappoint. There’s free wi-fi, two swimming pools, the Reflections day spa, a gym, fishing lake and tennis courts.
When we visited in September, all these facilities had reopened. You