Shorefield Holiday Park Review
Shorefield Holiday Park
and Beaulieu
Reviewed by Lilias Campbell
I grew up on ‘camping’ trips to British holiday parks, graduating from tents to caravans to static homes as my parent’s budget allowed, then starting again in tents as a student. Now I have a family of my own – two very small boys and a husband and I am keen to share the experience, my husband however has been sceptical. We have had a couple of stays in typical static homes since our first son was born and whilst we have always had a nice time we have found it far from a luxurious experience. By the time you fill the place with all the children’s equipment it feels rather cramped and then confined to our home in the evenings we have felt the need to whisper so as not to disturb the babies. Our budget doesn’t allow us to upgrade as far as a cottage. However our trip to Shorefield Country Park showed us that there is a fantastic alternative within our means – a hot tub holiday in one of their spacious lodges.
Shorefield Country Park is a holiday park on the coastal edge of the beautiful New Forest, ideally situated for the many activities the Forest and surrounding areas have to offer and crucially just an hour and a half drive from London, making this an easy get away and an excellent choice when travelling with small children. The Park is home to a variety of accommodation spanning a range of budgets from chalets and typical static homes to beautiful New England Style lodges and even a luxury 6 bedroom house.
We stayed in a Superior Lodge with four bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (one en suite) and a large open plan living area it was anything but cramped and far from spending our evenings whispering and watching TV we enjoyed our own private hot tub! Ours was one of older style lodges on site (not New England style) and although it was slightly worn around the edges it was very clean and well equipped with everything we needed, including a washing machine and a dishwasher. Our lodge had a decent sized veranda to sit out on in the summer months but no other outside space and many of the plots did seem to be quite limited in that respect – this would only be a problem if you hope for outside space for children to play.
The park itself is well maintained with some great facilities including indoor and outdoor pools, a gym, two children’s play parks (although one of these is extremely small), a large function room, two bars and a games room. Throughout the year there is a busy entertainment programme for both adults and families, sadly we weren’t able to sample this during our short out of season stay but some regular guests we spoke to rate it very highly. There are also options on site to give you some time off from cooking with a friendly family bar serving a decent sized menu (we highly recommend the sticky toffee pudding!) and in peak season an Italian bistro with take away options.
Our personal favourite facility was the onsite Elemis spa, which offers an extensive choice of beauty and relaxation treatments. I enjoyed a fantastic massage on our first day there which I would highly recommend to de-stress and put you in holiday mode. Not to be left out my husband had a hot stone massage which he thoroughly enjoyed. As with any spa, treatments aren’t cheap but they certainly add a great touch of luxury to your stay.
There is plenty to do locally. The New Forest offers many activities such as walking, cycling and horse riding and is just 3 miles away from Shorefield. There are nearby beaches and lovely towns such as Milford on sea and Lymington to explore and attractions such as Peppa Pig world and Beaulieu (see below) around 30 – 40 minutes away. If you don’t fancy driving at all it is possible to arrange cycle hire and you can even walk to the beach.
We spent an afternoon at Beaulieu which was voted the best large visitor attraction 2013 by Visit England. It is an attraction of two halves with one end a homage to all things motoring and the other a beautiful stately home. If you love cars (I don’t) this is the place for you. There is a large area dedicated to the TV programme Top Gear, Beaulieu have rescued many of the cars the team have attempted to destroy over the years and there is the opportunity to view some exclusive Top Gear footage and ride in a race track simulator (for an additional charge). Inside the national motor museum there is an incredible collection of vehicles and even a small ride which takes you through the history of motoring (a big hit with children) but it was the James Bond exhibition that really seemed to enthral my husband. My two year old particularly enjoyed the monorail which takes you around the whole site – we had to do a full loop as buggies aren’t allowed on meaning we couldn’t get off at the other end – this was however a bonus as far as my toddler was concerned! The house and abbey are much more up my street, however buggies are not allowed into the house and with an extremely heavy 5 month old in tow we weren’t able to access this part of the attraction. There is a great play park for children that kept my two year old busy for quite a while. Beaulieu has a huge amount to see and do, you could easily spend an entire day here, however it wouldn’t be my first choice with a young family as so much of it is either inaccessible to buggies or requires a bigger attention span than under twos can muster!
Rating: 4.5/5
For more infomation or to make a booking with Shorefield visit shorefield.co.uk.
