A Relaxing Mid Week Break at Darwin Forest - Review

It is no secret that we love to be in the countrside, that we love to be at one with nature and out enjoying the fresh air.

So when we were invited for a mid week break at Darwin Forest in one of their Classic Vogue lodges I am not sure who was more excited, me or the children.

Sat in the beautiful Peak District between two of my favourite towns, Bakewell and Matlock, it is a wonderful location and with plenty to see and do in the area it is the ideal base to explore this wonderful part of the country.

Since you can't get into the lodge until 4pm we first headed to Bakewell, it is a stunning town full of wonderful independent shops, cafes and of course Bakewell Puddings. We spent the day there, eating chips by the river, looking in the shops and playing on the park.

The children were rather impatient to get to our home for the week, perhaps my biggest mistake was showing them everything that was on offer at Darwin Forest.

On arrival we were greeted by a friendly receptionist who gave us our key and explained where our lodge was, we drove around looking for our lodge and it was just so quiet and peaceful, the trees all beautiful with their changing leaves and colours.

We eventually found our lodge and it sat there looking all inviting in the cold and wet, with just a single light making the lounge glow a warm orange, it was super toasty and warm when we got inside and just what we needed on what wasn't the best autumn day.

With a modern kitchen/diner, lounge, bedrooms and its own veranda, it was such a lovely place to call home for the week.

I bought all of our luggage in and set about making tea, the kitchen was well equipped and had everything we needed for our stay, including dish clothes, tea towels, dishwasher tablets and washing liquid. So you don't need to worry about bringing anything really other than your food and maybe some tinfoil and cling film.

We had a picnic tea and sat in the toasty warm lodge looking out through the warmly lit trees, it was wonderful and with the log effect fire it felt so snug.

Our beds were comfy and warm and we all slept soundly, even though the rain fell through the night and into Tuesday, but not to fear, the rain did not stop play.

With a swimming pool on site we headed there first thing, as did a lot of other people, however it wasn't too busy and we had a good swim about. We drove that morning not really knowing how far it was to walk in the rain, but to be honest everything is within easy walking distance and wasn't too much effort being relatively flat.

Photo courtesy of Darwin Forest

After lunch we headed to the soft play centre, fortunately the children are still both of an age where they enjoy soft play and they made friends and had a great time. As a single parent this sort of thing is great, it means I can grab a hot cup of coffee and sit and read for a short time whilst they enjoy themselves.

It is a big soft play area and so the children didn't get board at any point, they also offer a good selection of food, perfect for hungry tummies. There is a charge of £3.50 per child, but for a few hours of fun this isn't too expensive and is about what we'd normally pay.

Wednesday saw the sun shine bright, sending down a gorgeous golden glow from the leaves above. So we headed out into the woods on the woodland walk and to find the trim track. We spotted a few rabbits, plenty of birds and an absolute abundance of fungi along the woodland floor. The golden leaves carpeting the floor made this a wonderful time of the year to be visiting, wrapping up warm in layers of jumpers.

After our walk we headed to the mini golf course for a quick game, it only cost a £5 and was a great way to spend an hour and for the first time ever I got a hole in one, a complete fluke I'm sure. Afterwards we popped to the park, whilst it was dry we made the most of it.

Since the children had enjoyed it so much the day before, we headed for another few hours at the soft play, it gave them time to blow off steam and me a few hours just to relax, since I was on holiday too.

Afterwards we walked back through the woods to get changed so we could head back out for some tea. I thought it would be nice not to have to cook for one of the evenings so I booked us in at The Foresters restaurant on site, it has a good varied menu including some classics like chilli, pie and pizza. They even have a take away menu, perfect if you don't fancy cooking but would like to eat back in your lodge.

After we'd finished eating there was time to pop into the games room which is just next door, it has pool tables, air hockey and some other arcade games. I got to teach the kids the pleasure that is pool, although not particularly easy with a little 5 year old and an ' I don't need you to show me how' 8 year old, but we had fun and afterwards we wandered back through the woods, listening to the owls hoot.

Once back in the warm cabin we watched The Great British Bake Off, it has been a bit of a guilty pleasure for the children the past few weeks and we haven't watched the last one yet, although we know who won.

On Thursday we had a slow morning doing some Halloween crafts and the children played outside, later that day we headed out so my son could have an archery lesson. We'd had a look at the list of activities before we arrived and my son really liked the idea of archery, so I booked him in for a session when we arrived.

I was a little worried about how he'd get on but I needn't of, he was a pro and Dan the instructor was really patient. It looked like everyone was having so much fun and almost instantly I regretted not booking myself on the course too. The session cost £12 and I feel this was worth it, my son had so much fun and it was definitely the highlight of his week.

With everything from bikes to hire, archery, a swimming pool, gym, tennis, woodland walks and the soft play, there really is something to do in all weathers. This makes Darwin Forest the perfect all year round location. I didn't use the car all week and it felt like I had actually had a break, I loved being able to walk everywhere, it made everything so much more relaxed. The lodges are all well equipped and some even come with hot tubs, this would definitely be the icing on the cake and I am already planning our return visit.

After a wonderful week we finished it off with a trip to Matlock and Matlock Bath, both great towns in different ways. Whether you love vintage and antiques or arcades and a walk down the river with some chips, they are both wonderful little towns.

*We received a midweek break at Darwin Forest to form this review, all words and pictures unless otherwise stated are my own.

Exploring Clumber Park

At the weekend, we were invited to Clumber Park, to explore the grounds by bike and enjoy some of the facilities on offer.

When we have visited previously, we walked around the pleasure grounds near the chapel and played on the woodland play park, so the cycling was a first for us, not just here but I don't think I had even sat on a bike since I was about 12 or 13!

After parking the car, we headed first to the cycle hire centre, where the staff kitted us out with bikes, helmets, a lock and a map of the cycle routes, as well as offering advice on which route to start off with and where not to ride. 

As the children do not ride, my husband had my son on a tagalong bike and I had my daughter on a seat on the back of mine. It was a bit wobbly at first, but got easier as we went along. Traveling by bike meant that we got to see parts of the park that we had not seen before. Past the village of Hardwick, on the other side of the lake, there are fields, full of butterflies, insects and birds of prey, it was wonderful to be able to stop and look at these.

The view from the other side of the lake is amazing and I am quite sad we haven't seen it before, it is definitely a walk or ride we will be taking again. The cycle paths are flat and steep in equal measures, though if you don't mind dismounting, then you can follow the flat path along the edge of the lake.

With the kit Clumber Park gave us, we had binoculars and bug spotting kits so the children enjoyed being able to spot the wildlife across the lake and beyond.

After we'd been round once we stopped for lunch, there was a short wait for lunch from the restaurant itself so we opted for the BBQ outside. 

My daughter chose the child's lunch box which contained a freshly made sandwich, mini cheddars, cheese and crackers, yoghurt, biscuits and a drink, not bad for £4.50. I had the pork cob, hubby had the burger and my son had the sausage cob, with two portions of chips and a couple of beers it came to £31, it certainly filled us up for the rest of the day.

Afterwards we payed a visit to the second hand bookshop and the discovery centre, this is a great little spot to chill out with lots of space to explore, sit and read, learn and play.

After another cycle round the lake, we headed up to the walled garden, you have to pay to get into this area unless you are a National Trust member, it isn't much though, it's free for children and then £3.65 per adult without Gift Aid.

You could spend a good hour and a half  to two hours in the garden and they run talks and tours too, as it heads towards the summer holidays they also have lots of activities for children with the new Sunflower Alley opening this week.

There are so many beautiful flowers and areas to explore in the gardens, from the fruit and herb gardens to their many varieties of rhubarb. It was great to be able to get up close and personal with so many different plants, many of which we hadn't seen before. There was a bug house kit in the bag of goodies we were given so we took a look at the ones in the garden, which made the children excited about making this.

We really had an amazing time at Clumber Park, getting to see so much on the bikes was great and although my legs ached for days afterwards, it was by far the best way to see and explore. As a final treat before we left we headed over to the cricket pitch where there was a match on, we had an ice cream and then took it in turns to fly the pocket kite from the gift shop.

These things are normally something we might overlook in the shop, but actually they made our day out that little bit more special.

Clumber Park is a great place to visit this summer with so much to offer, see and do whether it is just to kick a ball around, go exploring in the woods or go biking round the lake.

NB: We were given free entry to the park, cycle hire and meal voucher to form this review. All opinions are my own.