I pre-booked plenty of activities for us to do beforehand which you are strongly encouraged to do.  On the day of our arrival, the only booking I made was for dinner at the Lakeside Inn.  After we unpacked, we had a good look about and a then a drink at the Village Centre.  It wasn’t long before we had to make our dinner reservations.  We enjoyed a carvery dinner and the girls exhausted themselves at the soft play area.

The next day we headed to the ‘subtropical swimming paradise’ which you don’t have to book or pay extra for.  I absolutely loathe swimming pools when they are busy but this was so big and spread out that it didn’t seem too busy.  It was also lovely and warm which is just made it so much more pleasant.  We all had a great time in the pool and would have stayed longer but we had more activities booked so we had to go.  Next time I will make sure we have more time to spend at the pool.

I booked the girls into a Chocolate Chef Academy at the Activity Den.  It was an activity that suited both their ages (6 & 3) and did not require a parent or guardian to stay with them.  Bonus!  The activity lasted three hours which meant the adults could enjoy activities of our own (table tennis at the Sports Plaza).  The Chocolate Chef Academy was quite expensive but it was worth it.  It was three hours of childcare and I felt confident that my kids were being well looked after as it was extremely well organised.  As well as all the chocolate treats they made to take away, they got a Chef’s hat and apron to keep.  The staff found out it was my daughter’s birthday and gave her a card and balloon and sang happy birthday, she was as pleased as punch.

The girls did a similar activity on the Sunday, a Princess and Pirates Party in which they were able to dress up.  Again, it was three hours of childcare so hubby and I headed to the tennis courts.  We had a good laugh and the girls had a great time at the party.  Win, win!

The final activity we booked was the mini tree trek.  My eldest was perhaps on the old side for this activity but she is not the most confident child when it comes to heights so she really enjoyed that she could do this by herself and wasn’t scared.  If your six year olds are confident and adventurous, then this might be too easy for them.  My girls loved it and the staff member who assisted was great.

We were all sad to leave on the Monday but have since booked again for next September weekend.

Things I’ll do differently next year:

• Have dinner in the lodge. Meals out were pretty expensive.  Restaurants were good but I’d rather eat out at lunchtime and relax in the lodge in the evening.
• Spend more time at the pool.  By not making dinner reservations, we’ll probably take the opportunity to swim later in the afternoon/early evening.
• Reserve a lodge closer to the village centre.  You have to pay extra for this but my mum struggled a bit with the walking so for us it will be worth it.  If it were just me, I wouldn’t bother as I enjoyed the walk.
• Go to the spa.  It looks amazing!