Where can you take three hulking teenagers, an energetic six-year-old, two beer-swilling men AND have fun yourself?

MICHELLE TOMPKINS found just the place

WHO needs David Attenborough on the telly when you can sit on your sofa at Center Parcs and watch the wildlife passing right outside your patio door?

As we sipped wine in the luxury of our forest villa, squirrels scampered up to the glass in search of crumbs and a duck waddled past on its way to the nearby pond. Minutes later, a rabbit bounded into view and stopped to survey the area, startled only by the flutter of a pheasant landing a few feet away.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a creature rarely seen in daylight hours. Slightly pink and visibly sweating, it lumbered from its dark hole and staggered about in search of water, scaring other fauna into the undergrowth.

It took a while but we eventually managed to identify it as a lesser... sorry, a GREATER... spotted teenager, and it was emerging from its 20-minute hibernation in our villa’s outdoor sauna.

Needless to say, it wasn’t long before it too approached the doors in search of food, and it was time to leave our habitat to forage for dinner.

A short stroll through the woods, we found the perfect watering hole and the beast was tamed... with a jumbo-sized burger and chips.

My family and I were uninitiated in the world of Center Parcs before our weekend at the Sherwood site, near Mansfield, but like so many sceptical travellers before us, we are now evangelical converts.

We met up there with some friends from the north-east, assembling between us three hulking teenage lads, one active six-year-old, two beer-loving blokes and two mums looking for rest and relaxation – not exactly the textbook recipe for a harmonious weekend break. And yet somehow, every one of us left fulfilled by our three day holiday, all finding something to tick the box and make us smile. And every one of us, without exception, wants to do it all again next year.

For the older lads, the villa alone would have sufficed. We were staying in one of the park’s Exclusive four-bedroom lodges, equipped with free Wifi, a PS3 games console, plasma TVs in every room, a sauna, bubblejet baths and even our own pool table. When they weren’t immersed in technology, they were immersed in steam, sweating it out in the sauna and unclogging those teenage pores.

Once they discovered the great outdoors, however, there was no stopping them. We hired bikes for the weekend – no cars are allowed on site other than for unloading and loading back up – and they spent hours practising wheelies on the road outside the villa before racing off to explore.

One morning they enrolled on an aerial adventure activity, swinging through the Sherwood treetops on a rope. They returned with tales of great bravery and daring deeds, as well as some much-needed colour in their cheeks.

The six-year-old longed to join in with the bigger lads but soon found it was far more fun doing his own thing. One morning, he spent a few hours in the Time Out club, making his own chef’s hat before baking cookies. He emerged beaming and proudly showing off his fayre, before scoffing down the lot.

For children, Center Parcs’ Sub Tropical Swimming Paradise is the ultimate adventure. Imagine the Oasis Leisure Centre, but five times bigger, with flumes, rapids, slides and tubes filling the giant dome. Families can easily spend hours in there, refuelling at one of poolside cafes when meal times roll around. And entry is free, so if money is a little tight there’s always somewhere to go that doesn’t involve a fee.

Dads seem to love the pool as much as the little ones, egged on by their kids to climb higher, slide faster and swim faster. Our two dads were no exception and we spent a few hours baking under the sub-tropical dome while they “entertained the kids”, stopping only to sit at the poolside and sip a cold beer (or two).

Center Parcs isn’t short of a watering hole, so holidaymakers looking for their fill of good food and drink will never go hungry. Sherwood alone has a dozen restaurants and cafes, including branches of Cafe Rouge and Strada, Aldo Zilli’s new healthy food cafe, an Indian restaurant and a pancake house, most of which are fully licensed. There are even bars in some of the centres like the ten pin bowling alley, where the men got the chance to show off their prowess... until they were beaten by their sons!

We decided to sample the food at The Foresters Inn, a Harvester-style pub serving steaks and burgers and the like. Considering the site was almost full while we were there, the place wasn’t too busy and we were able to while away a very happy evening chatting at our table until just before closing time.

So that’s the teenagers, the six-year-old and the men all happy. And as any mother will tell you, if the family is happy she is too. What more could we mums possibly want?

Well, it would have been rude not to at least pop our heads in at the Aqua Sana spa, with its 16 relaxation and detox rooms, and its open-air thermal pool.

As I lay back in the Greek herbal bath, with the delicate eucalyptus steam soothing any stresses away, I reflected on just how well Center Parcs has this holiday business nailed.

TRAVEL FACTS

  • Michelle Tompkins stayed at the Sherwood Forest Center Parcs site in Nottinghamshire, about two and a half hours from Swindon.

Summer short breaks on the site start at £459, with spring school holiday breaks from £439.

Call the call centre on 08448 267723 to book.