Our Summer Holiday – Sherwood Forest with Forest Holidays

I know it seems so long ago now that we went on our summer holidays, I’ve been struggling with my health, etc, but wanted to record and share our wonderful holiday we went on back in July. For the past few summers we have piled everything in the car and headed to Nottinghamshire, the Sherwood Forest area to be precise, it takes us about 5 1/2 hours or so to get there. We love it there and the children have wanted to go back year after year. There is a plethora of activities to do and never a dull moment to be had.

This year we booked and stayed with Forest Holidays Sherwood Pines after my friend Mum in the Madhouse recommended it to me, we hadn’t stayed here before and I have to say it was amazing. I have recommended it to anyone who asks and if you seem any of my social media feeds, especially my instagram I posted lots of pictures of the amazing Log Cabin. I was in awe from the minute we pulled into the Forest. The check in is simple and easy to get to. The shop is well stocked and next to a lovely little play park, with a tree house and a slide,  that the kids can get out and stretch their legs. Aria spent a lot of time in this park, it is perfect for younger kids. I took a wee video of the cabin if you want a look.

Sorry it’s the wrong way round, next time I will fix that and there will be a next time. Inside the cabin there are all the facilities you’d need. We had a 4 bedroom cabin, a double master bedroom, double room and two twin rooms. There master had an en-suite bathroom and there were two other luxurious bathrooms one downstairs and one upstairs. All beds were made up to look super comfy and the bathrooms had lovely toiletries all  towels you’d need.

The living room is open planned, with a stunning log fire, which I wish we could have tried and has huge glass windows which are wonderful, the forest streams into the living room. There is a large comfy sofa, big enough for the whole family to snuggle on and a flat screen tv you can get films on and even order food from the shop and spa treatments, yes really, very cool. There were some problems with the gas due to the hot weather, it was so warm. Coming from Scotland, it was tropical, anyway they updated us on the tv when it came back on, etc. It was very helpful and big plus points.  We did op for wifi, well I did have tweet, instagram, etc, but we did limit our online screen time. The kitchen has a microwave, fridge, freezer, hob, oven and all the cutlery, plates, etc that you could need. We loved sitting down at the gorgeous long oak table and having family meals together. We don’t get to do it as often as I’d like due to work, so we make the most of our time together as a family.

One of the biggest highlights of the cabin is the amazing hot tub outside. I’ve never stayed anywhere with a hot tub outdoors before and we loved it. The boys had a great time hanging out in it and a lot of the time we spent time in and around the cabin playing board games, walking through the vast forest and splashing about in the hot tub.  The hot tub is cleaned each morning and a cute little rubber duck is put on to let you know it’s clean. Also outdoors is a large patio area, big enough for some football, a table for eating alfresco and a BBQ space for disposal barbecues. We had a barbecue a few times and it was great sitting out in the sunshine.  There was a Tesco not far away so we could pick up everything we needed, or the shop onsite did them and meat packs, which are excellent and great value. The boys in and out the hot tub, it was bliss. We had the best weather, it didn’t rain once.

The forest surrounding the cabin is quiet, peaceful, tranquil and just heavenly. I loved just sitting outside and listening to the birds and nature, I could have moved in, relaxing at it’s best. It is also lovely to walk around in, it’s safe as there are very little cars, plus there are lots of little paths to go off exploring in. Everything in the cabin is designed to be a home from home and even more luxurious in fact. There were little wooden carved snails on the wall and wooden carved owls on the banister. The bathrooms were bright and stunning and the beds were so comfortable. The children swapped beds and bedrooms each night as we had spare, it was hilarious.

The cabin has some books listing the ranger-led activities that can be arranged in the Forest Retreat which are fantastic, there is archery, bush skills, forest ranger sessions, crafts, dusk walks, den building and more. We did the woodland craft session which was suitable for all ages, having a toddler limited us to the activities we could do altogether. At £24ish for all three I thought it wasn’t too bad. We went for a walk through the forest with other families, the rangers explaining about the forest as we went. The children had to collect various different items along the way, pine cones, leaves, twigs and some bugs. At the end of the trek we put them all together and built a bug hotel for our little creatures. It was amazing to watch and a lot of fun. We all had a great time doing this. The boys have done archery last few years so they gave it a miss this time, but we did watch it and it looked great fun.

We have been to Sherwood Pines Forest Park a few times, but staying in the Forest Retreat we were literally a 5 minute walk. Sherwood Pines is a wonder in nature, it has two huge playgrounds suitable for little kids and the older ones too, which our kids all enjoyed and we met a few friends there too, a den building area, a Superworm Trail, which we had fun following, the Gruffallo trail, which we didn’t manage to do and many many more activities. There is so much to see and do and just being in this part of the forest is safe relaxing and enjoy able for both the children and the adults. Go Ape is also here, but neither of the boys wanted to give it a go. Maybe next time. We did however hire bikes, which come at a discounted price when staying with Forest Holidays. We hired bikes for both boys, myself and my husband got a bike with a seat on the back for Aria. It was very reasonable and we hired them for two hours. We did the family bike trail, this is about 3 miles and to be honest was enough for all of us. It was extremely hot, but we had a great time. I’ve not been on a bike for years, but as the saying goes you never forget, ok you can be a bit wobbly though! Or very wobbly in my case. There are three different bike trails for different levels of biking experience. I think it is an excellent resource, one I’ve been searching for back home. The cafe also gives a discount and even does quite a few Gluten free items which please my husband. Sherwood Pines Forest Park is a must visit if you are in the area. With a vast range of activities and just getting out into nature.

Close by there are loads to do and visit, this time we went to Wheelgate Park which is a great theme park/playpark/waterpark place with animals, it really is a great day out and worth the money. If you are in the Sherwood are you have to check out The Major Oak, it is magnificent. Honestly, it’s something worth seeing. Whilst we were out int he great outdoors, we had to have some snacks and what better than freshly picked strawberries? A few miles down the road there are some fruit picking farms. These beautiful plump strawberries looked great in the wooden fruit bowl on the table in the kitchen. These are just a few places to visit near Sherwood Forest, there are many more to explore, this is why we’ve been back time and time again. However, staying with Forest Holidays in the Forest Retreat there was more than enough to keep us busy.

The hot tub definitely made the holiday as did the amazing surroundings. Forest holidays have literally thought of everything, from the stunning decor throughout, to the robes and slippers for the hot tub, to plastic wine glasses for the hot tub, to ordering food packages though your tv/media centre it is the perfect family holiday. There are so many places close by to visit, but within the park and walking distance there is an endless amount of activities for all ages. Everyone of us LOVED this holiday. It was perfect. We hope to be back next year, if not, we will definitely stay with Forest holidays again.

Our Summer holiday of wonderful memories. Where did you go this Summer?