The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Park life is grand
Graeme Strachan enjoys a trip to Silverdale Holiday Park in Cumbria and explores the Lake District with his family
Peter Rabbit holds a special place in my two-year-old daughter’s affections. As big a hero in her eyes as Fireman Sam, Peter’s adventures with his furry friends have always been a favourite on her bedtime story list. The chance to visit the Lake District and see where Beatrix Potter’s tales were brought to life was always going to be a popular choice.
But location is key when travelling with a toddler.
Finding the right spot to explore the Lake District can be more challenging than getting out of Mr McGregor’s garden in one piece.
Thankfully Silverdale Holiday Park in Cumbria was the perfect place to stay.
The award-winning park is set in 100-plus acres of beautiful countryside.
Our caravan was just incredible and the park included a leisure complex with just about everything at hand.
There was a mini supermarket, swimming pool and sauna, a gym, bowling alley, bar and restaurant, soft-play zone, and children’s outdoor playground.
Great fun was had in soft play and the American-style computerised bowling alley also kept us amused when rain struck during our stay.
The food was locally-sourced and varied but most of all extremely tasty which made for empty plates all round.
The Lake District itself was, of course, right on the doorstep.
But we realised Silverdale was more than just a commuter village.
The park’s extensive grounds have been described by botanist David Bellamy as “a wildlife wonderland”.
We were ideally placed for exploring Silverdale’s surrounding areas of scenic beauty.
There were also a series of walks directly from the holiday park which were perfect for families.
One followed a footpath along the coast to White Creek before climbing up through woodland to Arnside Knott which is a limestone hill 522 feet high.
There were also breathtaking views up by the ruins of Arnside Tower, particularly worth an explore, especially with an off-road buggy.
The oldest building in the parish, Arnside Tower was built in the second half of the 15th Century and would originally have been four and five storeys tall.
The tower was severely burned in 1602 following a domestic fire and is now virtually split in two after being subjected to a severe storm in 1884.
Silverdale was fantastic and we decided to travel to Bowness-onWindermere to spend a few days in the Lake District. Our toddler had the time of her life meeting up with
Our caravan was just incredible and the park included a leisure complex with just about everything at hand
all the characters from her Peter Rabbit books at the World of Beatrix Potter.
She gave a running commentary on the short film to begin the tour, to the delight of tourists, before immersing herself in the exhibition.
It made for a terrific morning before we took the Windermere Ferry across the water in the afternoon to Hill Top in Hawkshead, Beatrix Potter’s home.
The Windermere Ferry is just 50p to hop on and has been operating for more than 500 years, taking people, vehicles, horses and cycles across the lake.
Even if you don’t make it to the top it is a peaceful slice of the Lake District and perfect for a short walk around the quiet shore. The Lake District is known as ‘the adventure capital of the UK’ and
we stopped off at the five-star Treetop Trek in Brockhole.
There are 35 treetop challenges, which are designed to make youngsters “swing, climb, balance and fly through the ancient oak woodland canopy”.
Although there was a huge network of tunnels, walkways and trampolines aimed at older children there was still more than enough for little ones.
We enjoyed time at the playpark with large chutes, climbing frames, boats and a zipwire which was just perfect for our very own GI Jane.
Fish and chips at Vinegar Jones in Royal Square was a great end to the day and it was easy to see why it is almost an institution in Bowness-onWindermere.
Other highlights from our time in the Lake District was a ferry to the Lakeland Transport Museum which houses more than 30,000 exhibits.
The cycles, motorbikes, motor cars and automobilia from throughout the ages are hugely impressive, although the star attraction is the Campbell Bluebird Exhibition.
The tribute to the racing careers of Sir Malcolm and Donald Campbell features full-sized replicas of the 1935 Blue Bird car, 1939 Blue Bird Boat K4 and 1967 jet hydroplane Bluebird K7.
Donald Campbell broke eight absolute world speed records on water and on land in the 1950s and 1960s, and remains the only person to set both world land and water speed records in the same year.
Many Cumbrians were there the day he died during a water speed record attempt at Coniston Water in 1967, just a split second before he broke his own speed record.
Afterwards we went back to Silverdale for a final night in the caravan before we packed up and headed for home.
Just like Campbell, we came, we saw, we conquered, but it was all over just too soon. But Silverdale – just like the Lake District – are places we’re sure to visit again.