Center parcs visit photo heavy

The visit to Center Parc at Whinfell Forest yesterday was great. Mr Mog and I enjoyed ourselves very much. We had a fun filled day with nary a hiccup(well just one) The location is brilliant, not far from the motorway but when you get there it is like going back in time. No cars allowed on the site, loads of people cycling and lots more walking. There was so much to see. Lots of fungi, lots of squirrels, a joyous day with our family. We took lots of pics as you can see here are a few of them. One very good idea, They have special bicycles for disabled , where the able bodied person cycles and there is a seat attached to the front for the less abled. I didn't try it though as I didn't think Mr Mog was up to cycling me round the forest:)
There was so much to see and the house my DD had was in a great position, well off the beaten track to the centre and with a slope of woodland below them where badgers and squirrels went. Apparently you can specify a property if you wish but if you hadn't been before you wouldn't maybe know which you wanted? They took potluck and this was one of the basic models. Lovely watching the sunset over the forest from the patio:)
There was a lot included for your payment such as the swimming and the water slides but it seemed as if all the activities cost an arm and a leg. Luckily my grandsons adore the outdoors so being able to cycle on and off paths was ideal for them. The colours were at their best and the goddess was certainly with us. It rained all the night before and up to 8am. It cleared as we got to the place and we had a red hot day with sunshine throughout. Then as we got in the car to leave the rain started. The journey home was horrendous, gales and torrential rain where we could barely see. Luckily its only an hour away but weren't we lucky to have such weather?
Can you see the squirrel on the feeding box? It was hard to get clear pictures they are so fast.
The only real drawback was the food places. Bearing in mind it was half term, the place was full. several of the restaurants didn't open until the evening leaving asmall number to cater for all. This meant long long queues for food. We went to Bella Italia, a massive place. Over half of it closed up. Many waitresses but what seemed like just 2 in the kitchen cooking plus a washer up. We queued for a table at 2pm and were told to come back at 3 as the kitchen couldn't cook faster. There were only around 9 tables full. As I struggle to walk and there were empty tables we asked if we could sit and have a drink while we waited. Eventually when they found a person who could understand what we were asking they let us. Most of the waiting staff seem to be Eastern European with a very basic understanding of English.
The meal when we did eat was great, but surely Center parcs on a busy weekend you ought to have more cookin g staff and more places open?
That aside it was fabulous and these photos are just a sampling, we snapped lots of the grandsons which we will treasure as they grow so quickly. The eldest is 11 on Saturday. His other present from his parents apart from the Center parc visit is a day as a zookepper at our local wildlife centre. He wants to be a vet so you can imagine how excited he is about this:)
Well enjoy the pictures, they will give you a little idea of our day. Today did nothing way too tired after yesterday but a nice tiredness