Even the bikes had a holiday. We spent five days deep in the woods last week, staying at the Center Parcs Elveden Forest holiday village, swimming in the heated pool and cycling on the car-free forest tracks. Nik has been Center Parc-ing many times before, but I popped my forest villa cherry at the 400-acre Suffolk resort. And not only was it very relaxing to be away from the stresses and technology of modern life, it was different to go away this late in the year. Even if it was only to the next county.
From our flat-roofed, two-bedroom, Seventies chic-inspired Comfort Plus villa with its floor to ceiling glass windows to the well-organised central hub of restaurants, shops, and sports facilities, you can see why parents take their kids out of school during term time to make the most of the fresh air and the lull before the Christmas rush. Most Center Parcs holiday villages are the same; a ‘Subtropical Swimming Paradise’ and associated facilities forms the heart of the resort, and the villas are spaced around it, almost in concentric circles.
There’s a lake between each two rows of villas, and paths which link them all. The accommodation really does appear to have risen up from the forest floor; trees surround them on all sides and the vast glazing areas really do give the best views of the natural wildlife that just happens to be an added attraction. We had ducks and geese most days, and we managed to encourage the lakeside heron to come and pose for pictures, like a grumpy old man in a morning coat. We’ve also never seen so many squirrels in one place. They’re very tame, too. We almost had one in the villa as he was being very cheeky.
Yes, a stay in the forest can be very expensive. We booked late and managed to get a good price and do it affordably, and I can’t stress enough that the villas are the best way to do Center Parcs. Yes, there is an on-site hotel at Elveden Forest, but you may as well go somewhere else if you want to do that. The beauty of the Center Parcs setup is that you’re away from everything, living among the trees and nature. It would make the perfect eco-village. Naturally, we self-catered, too, which also cuts down on the cost, and with a supermarket in the central hub, you’re never far away from civilisation or more groceries.
The whole experience could be classed as a form of posh camping. And there’s nothing wrong with that. You can take and pay for as many or as few extra activities as you like. Our only major expense was the hastily-acquired bike rack for the car, but we figured that even if we used it twice at Center Parcs, we’d more than recoup the cost. Yes, it’s true that at most posh campsites you don’t get to swim in the outdoor rapids under a blanket of stars or zip down a tunnel of water, which, after weaving through the exotic plants gaining some speed, spits you out into a plunge pool feeling about 12 years-old, but they’re all part of the Center Parcs appeal. And it’s those parts (along with the safe cycling) which will make us look forward to returning to the woods.
