We visited centre parcs at Sherwood Forest last year and Whinfell Forest this year. Erin was 7 months on our first trip and 15 months this time. Here is a run down of the activities that were suitable for her.

Swimming

The swimming is included in the price, there is a buggy park, and family changing – so far so good. Inside there are mini life jackets, inflatable toys and floats freely available to use. There is a very shallow round baby pool which Erin loved, the water barely met her waist so she was able to crawl, splash, play and towards the end of the break even started standing.

There is another pool which is a bit deeper with more toys a sprinkler and slide suitable for ages two to five.

There is a baby dolphins class on a couple of the days, the only downside being that it starts at 9.30am (perhaps this is a good thing for you!). You get the whole pool to yourself and I believe there is instruction on how to build baby’s confidence in the water (as you can tell I didn’t quite get organised early enough to attend).

Soft Play

There are a number of soft play areas around the park, in the various restaurants, the leisure bowl and the sports complex. All are free of charge, some are especially suitable for babies and toddlers – at whinfell forest the best one was in the leisure bowl where they also held parent and toddler mornings.

Beach

There is a man made beach beside the lake in both parks, so don’t forget your bucket and spade.

Walks

There are a number of walks and nature trails which are suitable for buggys.

As you would expect centre parcs is extremely baby/toddler/child friendly, there are plenty of baby changing areas, bottle warming facilities and buggy parks.