Center Parcs UK and Ireland (formerly Center Parcs UK) is a short-break holiday company that operates six

holiday village A holiday village (abbreviated HV) is a holiday resort where the visitors stay in villas. There is a central area with shops, entertainment, and other amenities.Stanisław Pietkiewicz, Stefan Żmuda: ''Słownik pojęć geograficznych''. Warsaw ...

s in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, with each covering about of woodland. The company's first village opened in

Sherwood Forest Sherwood Forest is the remnants of an ancient royal forest, Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, within the East Midlands region in England. It has association with the legend of Robin Hood. The forest was proclaimed by William the Conqueror and ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, in 1987 and its sixth, at Longford Forest, Ireland, opened in 2019. A similar enterprise operates in continental Europe, also under the name

Center Parcs Europe Center Parcs Europe N.V. (formerly Center Parcs) is a European network of holiday villages that was founded in the Netherlands in 1968, and is currently operated by Pierre & Vacances. History Dutch entrepreneur Piet Derksen started a spo ...

; however, the two companies have been separately owned since 2001.

History

Beginnings

In 1968, Dutch entrepreneur Piet Derksen purchased woodland near

Reuver Reuver (Limburgish: ''Oppe Ruiver'') is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Beesel, about 10 km (6 miles) south of the city of Venlo.''ANWB Topografische Atlas Nederland'', Topografische Dienst ...

so that staff and customers of his 17 store

sporting goods Sports equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear, which varies in shapes, size, and usage in a particular sport. It includes balls, nets, rackets, protective gears like helmets, goggles, etc. Since the p ...

chain could relax in small tents. The park, De Lommerbergen, was successful and tents were quickly replaced by

bungalows A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is typically single or one and a half storey, if a smaller upper storey exists it is frequently set in the roof and windows that come out from the roof, and may be surrounded by wide verandas. Th ...

chalets A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-sup ...

. In July 1987, Center Parcs opened its first UK resort at Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire. At that time, "Center Parcs" (under that name, with no regional qualifier) was a single global company owning both UK and continental European resorts. In 1989 it opened its second village in the UK at Elveden Forest. Center Parcs (including the Sherwood Forest and Elveden Forest villages) was bought in 1989 by (the now defunct)

Scottish & Newcastle Scottish & Newcastle plc was a brewing company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, which expanded from its home base to become an international business with beer volumes growing almost tenfold. The company was listed on the London Stock Exc ...

. In 1994 it opened its third village in the UK located west and southwest from the first two and near Longleat Adventure & Safari Park.

Independence

After the Longleat Forest and Whinfell Forest villages opened and during a move in 2001 to concentrate on their core brewing business, Scottish and Newcastle sold the UK side of ''Center Parcs'' to

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

ists Deutsche Bank Capital Partners, and it became a separate company known then as Center Parcs UK. The remainder of Center Parcs continued to operate, becoming known as Center Parcs Europe. The two companies have since operated under very similar branding, but are now owned and operated by two distinct companies. (In 2003 S&N sold Center Parcs Europe to a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

-based

Pierre & Vacances Groupe Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs () specializes in tourism services, providing holiday and entertainment ''villages'', leisure activity residences and hotels under the brands Pierre & Vacances, Maeva, Center Parcs Europe, Center Parcs, Sunpa ...

(P&V), who already owned the competing Gran Dorado Resorts, and German investment group DBCP, hence completing the divesting of Center Parcs from the restructured S&N.) In December 2003, Mid Ocean agreed to sell the UK resorts to Arbor Ltd for £285 million, a special vehicle set up to float Center Parcs UK on

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

Alternative Investment Market AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange that was launched on 19 June 1995 as a replacement to the previous Unlisted Securities Market, Unlisted Securities Market (USM) that had been in opera ...

, and in 2005 it moved to the main stock market listing. In May 2006 Center Parcs UK Group PLC was sold to

The Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter G. Peterson, Peter Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman, Stephen Schwarzman, who h ...

for a reported £1.1 billion, and subsequently re-registered as a

private company A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

. Under a separate deal at the same time, Blackstone also bought the freehold of the European sites from P&V, which allowed them to rebrand all of the European sites as Center Parcs. In June 2015, it was announced that Blackstone had agreed to sell the company to

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

-based

Brookfield Properties Brookfield Properties is a North American subsidiary of Commercial property, commercial real estate firm Brookfield Property Partners, which itself is a subsidiary of Alternative investment, alternative asset management company Brookfield Corpor ...

for £2.4bn. At the time Center Parcs UK employed around 7,500 people and received around 2 million guests in 2015.

Locations

Center Parcs has short-break holiday villages in five locations in the UK, with a sixth in Ireland which opened in 2019. Each village covers around of woodland, with a standard set of facilities, and have around 97% occupancy annually.

Sherwood Forest

The first Center Parcs holiday village in the United Kingdom was opened in July 1987. It is located in of woodland at

, near

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent () or Newark is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

. The site was formerly owned by the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respons ...

, and was chosen as it was "pretty central

n the UK N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

it had the right maturity of trees and was in an area affected by the demise of the coal industry". In November 2006 around 30 people were infected by

Cryptosporidium ''Cryptosporidium'', sometimes called crypto, is an apicomplexan genus of alveolates which are parasitism, parasites that can cause a respiratory and gastrointestinal illness (cryptosporidiosis) that primarily involves watery diarrhea (inte ...

, causing

vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis, puking and throwing up) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, pre ...

and

diarrhoea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

, suspected to have spread through infected faeces in a pool at the park. By 2012 it was receiving around 400,000 visitors annually, mostly from outside of Nottinghamshire. It can have around 4,000 visitors at any one time. The occupancy rate was over 90% in the first 30 years of operation. A £3 million refurbishment of the Aqua Sana spa finished in April 2017, and a £15 million refurbishment of the Subtropical Swimming Paradise swimming facilities at the village started in September 2017. The village employs 1,500 people, of which around 700 are housekeepers. The site originally had 609 lodges, which increased to 900 by the end of 2017. It has a mixture of Woodland Lodges, New Woodland Lodges, Executive Duplex Lodges, Penthouse Duplex Lodge, Executive Apartment, Executive Lodge, New Executive Lodge, and Treehouses, with between one and four bedrooms in each. Three luxury Treehouses were opened in 2010, each with four bedrooms. A six-bedroom Woodland Lodge was opened in 2017, along with 27 other woodland lodges. There is a watersports lake near the Village Square, although only craft hired from the Boathouse may be used upon it.

Elveden Forest

Two years later, in 1989, a second village was added, at

Elveden Forest Center Parcs UK and Ireland (formerly Center Parcs UK) is a short-break holiday company that operates six holiday villages in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, with each covering about of woodland. The company's first village opened ...

. It makes up a small area of

Thetford Forest Thetford Forest is the largest lowland pine forest in Britain and is located in a region straddling the north of Suffolk and the south of Norfolk in England. It covers over in the form of a Site of Special Scientific Interest A S ...

west of the

B1106 road B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A roads. See the article Great Britain road numbering scheme In Great Britain, there is a numbering scheme used to Categorization, classify and identify all roads. Eac ...

and near the town of Brandon in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is named after the nearby village of

Elveden Elveden is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. In 2005 it had a population of 270. The village is bypassed by the A11 between Cambridge and Norwich, which ran through the centre of the villa ...

. Just before 10am on 4 April 2002 a major

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

destroyed the central Plaza and sports centre of Elveden Forest. One member of staff was treated for smoke inhalation, but there were no serious injuries. The fire also destroyed seven bars and restaurants, a disco, some gift shops, a sports centre and a bowling alley. The damage to the forest was minimal. A subsequent inquiry found that the blaze was caused by contractors carrying out repair work on the roof of a catering block adjacent to the Plaza. Elveden Forest re-opened in July 2003 after a major re-design, less susceptible to the potential spread of fire. The most dramatic difference was to the village square which was rebuilt with an open-air Mediterranean theme. The sub-tropical swimming paradise re-opened having survived the blaze; the sauna complex was changed to a

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

nese theme, and a new Sports Plaza was opened. Whilst it was closed, the rest of the village was also improved including the refurbishment of the country club and the addition of a

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

and new three- and four-bedroom lodges. Elveden Village Square

Elveden Forest has a total of 866 units of accommodation which range from 'Woodland' grade to exclusive villas and include rooms at the Lakeview Hotel. These villas and rooms can accommodate up to 4,216 guests. Villas are located in six different areas with each area mostly including every type of accommodation, but the Ash and Oak areas are predominantly made up of executive and exclusive villas. Ash was extended in 2007 to include new four-bedroom two-storey villas.

Longleat Forest

The third village opened in 1994. It makes up a large area of Longleat Forest in the county of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England, and is co-located on the site of

Longleat Safari Park Longleat Safari and Adventure Park in Longleat, Wiltshire, England, was opened in 1966 as the world's first drive-through safari park outside Africa. History The park is in the grounds of Longleat, Longleat House, a stately home which is open ...

nearby, approximately east of

Frome Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills and on the River Frome, south of Bath. The population of the parish was 28,559 in 2021. Frome was one of the largest tow ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, under 20 miles northwest of

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, Salisbury and north-northeast of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hi ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

and a few miles west of

Warminster Warminster () is a historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in south-west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of 18,173 in 2021. The name ''Warminster'' occurs first i ...

. This village has fewer lodges than Elveden Forest and Sherwood Forest due to the steep topography of the site.

Whinfell Forest

In 1997,

The Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation (founded as the J. Arthur Rank Organisation) is a British entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1937 by industrialist J. Arthur Rank. It quickly became the largest and most vertical integration, ve ...

started a new company under the name of Oasis Forest Holidays Villages and opened a 'Centre Parcs' style holiday village in

Whinfell Forest Whinfell Forest is a small area of woodland in the parish of Brougham, Cumbria, south east of Penrith in Cumbria and just off the A66 road leading to Appleby-in-Westmorland. The forest is a short distance from the Lake District national park an ...

near

Penrith, Cumbria Penrith (, ) is a market town and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. It is less than outside the Lake District, Lake District National Park and about south of Carlisle. It is between the Rivers River Pet ...

, under the name Oasis Lakeland Holiday Village, which featured commercial restaurants and businesses such as

Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...

and a

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a chain of theme restaurant, theme bar-restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos, hotels and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll ...

. Bought by Center Parcs UK in 2001, who removed the commercial ventures, the site was rebranded as ''Center Parcs Oasis Whinfell Forest'', before 'Oasis' was dropped from the name in 2006. The set up at Whinfell is slightly different in that the style of accommodation is more akin to two-storey

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n-style lodges, the main centre of the village is under cover, and there is no country club like at Longleat Forest, Elveden Forest and Sherwood Forest. Center Parcs have updated many Whinfell Forest lodges, and added new lodges of an identical style at their other UK villages. Whinfell Forest is the largest of Center Parcs' five UK holiday villages, with accommodation for 4,668 people in 861 units.

Woburn Forest

Center Parcs Woburn Forest is located on the outskirts of

Flitwick Flitwick () is a town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire, England. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "a hamlet on the River Flitt". The spelling ''Flytwyk'' appears in 1381. The nearby River Flit runs through Flitwick Moor, ...

and

Ampthill Ampthill () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It lies between Bedford, Bedfordshire, Bedford and Luton. At the 2021 census it had a population of 8,825. Histor ...

, from the village of Woburn in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

in the UK. It commenced operation in July 2014 and hence it became the second Center Parcs resort off of the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...

(the first being Center Parcs Sherwood Forest). The

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

, Martin Dalby, said that the company might add a fifth village. In December 2004, Center Parcs UK announced that it had identified a location named Warren Wood near Flitwick at Woburn,

. Despite the land being designated as

greenbelt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or gree ...

, the company sought

planning permission Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to buil ...

and had already completed the signing of a lease on the land from its owner, the

Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1414 for Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of Fran ...

. The project was expected to cost approximately £160 million, including the construction of accommodation, indoor and outdoor facilities, the sub-tropical swimming complex, restaurants and a spa, but this has since risen to £230m. It was anticipated that, given planning permission, the project would take between three and four years to complete. In July 2006, Bedfordshire District Council turned down Center Parcs' application for planning approval on the grounds that the project breached policy safeguarding

Metropolitan Green Belt The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...

land, leading the company to lodge an appeal against the decision later that year. The

inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

hearing the appeal recommended that the Council's decision be upheld. In September 2007 the council's decision was overturned by the government as Secretary of State

Hazel Blears Hazel Anne Blears (born 14 May 1956) is a British former Labour Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) successively for the constituencies of Salford and Salford and Eccles between 1997 and 2015. One of 101 female ...

overruled the inspector's advice. She acknowledged that the scheme breached both local and national policies on safeguarding Green Belt, but argued that "in this particular case, the economic and employment benefits of the proposal, when taken together with the ecological and biodiversity benefits... constitute very special circumstances and are sufficient to clearly outweigh the harm to Green Belt", and granted outline planning permission. In November 2010 Center Parcs gained full approval for the plans of the village including designs of facilities, restaurants, shops and accommodation and in 2012 secured £250 million of investment to build the new resort, to be known as Woburn Forest. Before Center Parcs could start construction, there were a number of planning conditions that had to be satisfied, most notably the improvement of local road junctions to allow smooth access to the Village. They also had to submit a local employment strategy,

local purchasing Local purchasing is a preference to buy locally produced goods and services rather than those produced farther away. It is very often abbreviated as a positive goal, "buy local" or "buy locally', that parallels the phrase " think globally, act lo ...

policy and a forest and ecology management plan. This represents final approval of the detailed designs of buildings and landscape as well as local sourcing, employment strategies and green travel plan. The next stage of the project was the construction of a new roundabout, as well as the diversion of the public rights of way that cross the site. It was built by

Bowmer + Kirkland Bowmer + Kirkland Group is a British construction services business based in Heage, Derbyshire. History The company was established in 1923 as a partnership between joiner Alfred Bowmer and bricklayer Robert William Kirkland. In July 2009 the ...

and was completed in spring 2014.

Longford Forest

In a 2008 interview, Martin Dalby, the chief executive of Center Parcs UK, stated that Woburn would be the last village the company constructed in the UK until Sussex and that if a sixth village was considered it would probably be located in Ireland. In September 2015, Center Parcs UK announced its intention to build a new site in

County Longford County Longford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the Local government in the Republic ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Named Longford Forest, it opened in July 2019.

Future & Cancelled resort locations

Sussex Forest Resort

In July 2021, the company announced its intention to construct a seventh resort located near

Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...

and in the vicinity of

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...

near the

M23 Motorway The M23 is a motorway in the United Kingdom, running from the south of Hooley in Surrey, where it splits from the A23 road, A23, to Pease Pottage, south of Crawley in West Sussex where it rejoins the A23. The northern end of the motorway star ...

. These plans were scrapped in February 2023 following local environmental impact reviews but the company still intends to find a suitable alternate site to build their seventh village which would still be placed East from Longleat and South from Woburn.

Hawick Forest Resort

In November 2024, the company announced plans for its first location in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, near

Hawick Hawick ( ; ; ) is a town in the Scottish Borders council areas of Scotland, council area and counties of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east o ...

in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

and to be placed Northeast from Whinfell and South from the east end of the M8 Motorway. According to the company, the development would represent a £350m investment and could create up to 1,200 jobs. It plans to submit a planning application for around 700 lodges in 2025. The plans were welcomed by the leader of the

Scottish Borders Council The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the ...

, the chair of South of Scotland Enterprise and representatives of the Borders' tourism industry, respectively.

Facilities

Accommodation

Each village has a number of different lodge types that range from one- to four-bedroom accommodation for up to 8 people, with Sherwood Forest recently opening 6-bedroom lodges for 12 people. Some larger lodges include their own games room and hot tub. Lodges are usually in small clusters and give a good degree of privacy, whilst allowing for self-catering and communal BBQs. Elveden Forest has no one-bed lodges, but instead includes the Lakeside View Hotel.

Amenities

Guests are able to book and participate in a wide range of activities at the various villages. * ''Arrivals lodge'' – Guests are directed here for check-in from 10 am on their arrival day. * ''Security lodge'' – Each village has a security lodge staffed 24 hours a day. Security staff help with directing traffic to the arrivals lodge, identifying all visitors to the village, staffing barriers, and assisting arrivals lodge staff on changeover days. They also staff the emergency phone number given to guests to call in the event of an emergency. * ''Subtropical Swimming Paradise'' – The village swimming complex is known as the Subtropical Swimming Paradise and contains a

wave pool A wave pool is a swimming pool in which there are artificially generated, large waves, similar to those of the ocean. Wave pools are often a major feature of water parks, both indoors and outdoors, as well as some leisure centres. History Th ...

, slides and chutes, an outdoor slide referred to as the Wild Water Rapids, outdoor pools, a '

lazy river "(Up A) Lazy River" is a popular tune and song by Hoagy Carmichael and Sidney Arodin, published in 1930. The melody is by Arodin, arranged and with words modified by Carmichael. It is considered a jazz standard and pop standard, and has ...

', flumes, a children's pool and food outlets. Rides vary between villages. Since 2012, all locations have expanded their Subtropical Swimming Paradise complexes, involving a funnel slide called Tropical Cyclone, and two children’s splash parks called Venture Harbour and Venture Bay, with Venture Harbour aimed at older children, and Venture Bay directed to younger ones. Longleat, Longford and Woburn also have a slide called Typhoon, however Woburn’s is different, as Longleat and Longford’s Typhoon is a funnel slide, each containing two small funnels. ** The first two expansions had slides manufactured by

Proslide ProSlide Technology, Inc. is a Canadian designer and manufacturer of water rides and water park resorts. They design and manufacture both traditional slides and innovative rides such as water coasters, funnel-shaped Tornado slides, and Bowl sli ...

, with the remaining four have Van Egdom build the slides. Elveden and Woburn’s Tropical Cyclones were Tornado 45s, and Woburn’s Typhoon being a Pipeline. Sherwood, Elveden, Longleat and Longford’s Tropical Cyclones were Cyclone 50s, and Longleat & Longford’s Typhoons were Crazy Cones. * ''Village Square/Plaza'' – The main hub of restaurants and shops as well as other facilities such as Guest Services and the medical centre. * ''Sports Plaza/Jardin Des Sports'' – Contains most of the indoor sports facilities such as

squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

courts,

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

courts,

pool Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

and

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...

tables,

gym A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

nasium, table tennis tables, golf simulators, indoor wall-climbing and an

aerobics Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness (Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, Muscle, muscular strength, and ...

studio. There is also a themed restaurant, a sportswear shop and a newsagent. * ''Boathouse'' – For all water-based activities on the lake including

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

, fishing,

pedalo A pedalo (British English), pedal boat (U.S. English), or paddle boat (U.S., Canadian, and Australian English) is a human-powered watercraft propelled by the action of bicycle pedal, pedals turning a paddle wheel. Description A pedalo is ...

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

, mini captains and raft building. * ''Aqua Sana'' – The village

includes various themed rooms as well as a central pool with hot tubs. * ''Activity Den'' – The village crèche. * ''Leisure Bowl and House of Games'' – A

ten-pin bowling Tenpin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler bowling form, rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned Tetractys, evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The goal is to knock down all ten Bowlin ...

alley and coin-operated

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...

s. * ''Country Club'' – Contains additional restaurant and leisure facilities at some villages. * ''Shops/Retail'' – Includes supermarket "ParcMarket", toy shop "JustKids", gift shop "The Store Room", sweet shop "Treats", swimwear equipment shop "Aquatique", the "Aqua Sana Spa Boutique", and clothing retailer

Joules The joule ( , or ; symbol: J) is the unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). In terms of SI base units, one joule corresponds to one kilogram- metre squared per second squared One joule is equal to the amount of work don ...

. Some shops are owned by Center Parcs, whilst the rest are operated by the Nuance Group. JustKids and The Store Room replaced "Funtastic" and "Natural Elements" respectively in 2012.

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

cafés were introduced to all villages in 2008.

Food and drink

More than twenty food and drink options are provided by external chains operated under concession and by internal brands.

Controversies

In September 2022, Center Parcs made the decision to close all of its UK locations for the funeral of Elizabeth II. This included moving all check-ins scheduled for Monday 19 September to the following day, and asking that all guests already present vacate the site by 10am and not return until 10am on Tuesday. The company later partially reversed this decision, after widespread ridicule and derision by the UK media and customer complaints. It later clarified that guests may remain on site, but that they would be prevented from leaving their accommodation on the day of the funeral. This statement was later amended, with guests told they'd be able to walk around the sites on that date if they wished. However, guests due to arrive on the Monday were still to be denied access to the site, causing disruption to travel plans for many.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web, title=About Us, url=https://www.centerparcs.co.uk/company-information/about-us.html, publisher=Center Parcs, access-date=9 January 2018 {{cite web, title=Company Information , publisher=Center Parcs, url=https://www.centerparcs.co.uk/company-information.html, access-date=10 January 2018 {{cite web, title=History , publisher=Center Parcs, url=https://www.centerparcs.co.uk/company-information/about-us/history.html, access-date=10 January 2018 {{cite web, title=Sherwood Forest Holidays, url=https://www.centerparcs.co.uk/discover-center-parcs/uk-holiday-locations/sherwood-forest.html, publisher=Center Parcs , access-date=9 January 2018 {{cite web, url=https://www.centerparcs.co.uk/content/dam/centerparcs/maps/download-map/Sherwood-Forest-Village-Map.pdf , title=Sherwood Forest Village Map , publisher=Center Parcs, access-date=9 January 2018 {{cite web, title=Center Parcs Shops {{! Shopping , publisher=Center Parcs, url=https://www.centerparcs.co.uk/discover-center-parcs/shops.html, access-date=23 August 2023 {{cite web , url=http://www.press.centerparcs.co.uk/Press-Releases/Center-Parcs-Whinfell-Forest-30-Million-Invested-And-A-New-Name-24.aspx , title= Center Parcs Whinfell Forest £30 Million Invested and a New Name , publisher=Center Parcs Press Office , date= 2 January 2006 , access-date=30 December 2010, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009115619/http://www.press.centerparcs.co.uk/Press-Releases/Center-Parcs-Whinfell-Forest-30-Million-Invested-And-A-New-Name-24.aspx, archive-date=2011-10-09 {{cite web, title=Holidays & Breaks in Ireland {{! Short Family Breaks Ireland, url=https://www.centerparcs.ie/, website=Center Parcs Longford Forest, Ireland, access-date=10 January 2018 {{cite web, title=Restaurants {{! Food and Drink, publisher=Center Parcs, url=https://www.centerparcs.co.uk/discover-center-parcs/restaurants.html , access-date=3 January 2020 {{cite news, url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/1910618.stm, title=Holidaymakers escape resort fire, work=

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, date=4 April 2002 {{cite news, title=Center Parcs bought 'for £2.4bn', url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32976212, work=

, date=2 June 2015 {{Cite news, url=https://www.blackstone.com/media/press-releases/article/brookfield-agrees-to-acquire-center-parcs-from-blackstone, title=Brookfield Agrees to Acquire Center Parcs from Blackstone, publisher=The Blackstone Group, language=en, date=2 June 2015 {{Cite news, url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/02/canadian-investment-firm-buys-uk-center-parcs-business-in-24bn-deal, title=UK Center Parcs sold to Canadian investment firm for £2.4bn, last=Rankin, first=Jennifer, work=

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, date=2 June 2015, language=en-GB {{Cite news, url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-17706800, title=Holiday park 'boosting economy', date=14 April 2012, work=

, language=en-GB {{Cite news, url=http://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/center-parcs/pressreleases/center-parcs-unveils-the-height-of-luxury-with-new-treehouse-accommodation-1070302, title=Center Parcs unveils the height of luxury with new Treehouse accommodation, work=

Mynewsdesk Mynewsdesk is a brand newsroom and multimedia public relations platform where companies can set up newsrooms to publish and distribute their content simultaneously publishing it on social media or embed the newsroom to their own site. Mynewsde ...

, date=9 August 2010, language=en {{Cite news, url=https://blooloop.com/link/center-parcs-sherwood-forest-revamp/, title=Center Parcs Sherwood Forest to receive £15m revamp , work=Blooloop, date=1 August 2017, language=en-GB {{Cite news, url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/6244877.stm, title=Bosses at camp apologise over bug, work=

, date=9 January 2007, language=en-GB {{cite news, last1=Robinson, first1=Dan, title=How Center Parcs Sherwood Forest has changed over 30 years, url=http://www.nottinghampost.com/news/business/how-center-parcs-sherwood-forest-357867, work=

Nottingham Post The ''Nottingham Post'' (formerly the ''Nottingham Evening Post'') is an English tabloid newspaper which serves Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and parts of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire. The ''Post'' is published Monday to Saturday ...

, date=22 August 2017 {{cite news, last1=Robinson, first1=Dan, title=28 new lodges built at Center Parcs as part of £6.3m upgrades, url=http://www.nottinghampost.com/news/business/28-new-lodges-built-center-842326, work=nottinghampost, date=28 November 2017 {{cite web, title=Center Parcs Sherwood Forest, url=http://events.experiencenottinghamshire.com/venue/center-parcs-sherwood-forest/, website=events.experiencenottinghamshire.com, access-date=10 January 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110234220/http://events.experiencenottinghamshire.com/venue/center-parcs-sherwood-forest/, archive-date=10 January 2018, url-status=dead Tourist attractions in England Hotels established in 1987 Companies based in Nottinghamshire Brookfield Corporation Center Parcs Hospitality companies of the United Kingdom