Center Parcs Woburn Forest

We have just returned from a wonderful weekend at Center Parcs Woburn Forest. It was our 12th visit to Center Parcs, but first to Woburn. Even though we knew what to expect from a brand that as become part of our family life (we have been visiting ever since Joe was born). We were super excited to be visiting a brand new Center Parcs. 

On first impressions the village was impressive, the pool complex in the village square was so impressive. Extremely modern yet reflected the lake and greenery around it, to blend into the surroundings.

We had a few issues with our lodge, as when we arrived at 3pm it had not been cleaned, as a result was as the previous occupants had left it. I was lucky that Mike from maintenance was walking past as I ushered Joe out of the lodge. He was great, contacted guest service straight away, who had us moved to a nice clean woodland lodge within 20 minutes.  

As it was slightly further out, we were provided with bikes. Guest services were so helpful, are were very concerned that we were happy to enjoy the rest of our break. I must say in reflection they dealt with it in a very professional and speedy manner, these things happen in life don't they? It is how it is dealt with that is important. Within an hour we were unpacked in our beautiful spotlessly clean lodge with a glass of wine and anti pasta.

Below is our little Lodge Vlog, I always like to know what accommodation looks like in real terms rather than photos. So thought this would be a nice idea to show the lodge. Please bear in mind, I am no Steven Spielberg. But it does show off how beautiful our lodge was.

My Kitchen Story, the Centre of Family Life

 When I was offered the chance to write about my kitchen by the lovely Fairy Platinum and Brit Mums https://www.facebook.com/fairydish, and how it is the heart of my home. It got me thinking about what an integral part of our home our kitchen is. Some people’s kitchen is somewhere to cook and make a drink and really that is it. Our kitchen is the centre to our daily life, the hub of our home.

We inherited this kitchen when we moved into our home, it looks lovely when it is clean but trust me it is soooo high maintenance the black gloss cupboards must be cleaned 3 times a week to keep them looking shiny. Every finger print shows, and it seems not one of my family understands the concept of a door handle.

I like to keep it light and bright by adding a little bit of colour. I love cup cakes so I bought a cup cake canvas, which is so colourful.  I also like to buy fresh flowers; I love lilies, and always have an orchid on my windowsill to add a little extra colour.  


The little chicken egg is a real egg that Joe decorated last Easter. I dread to think what would happen if it broke, the smell would be horrific but I just can't bear to part with it, it is so cute.

The black and white pictures are photo's we have taken on our family travels, each one has a special family memory attached to it. A bit of a photographic diary of our travels.

We spend most of our time in the kitchen when we are at home, in fact we don't venture into the lounge until around 8pm at night or later. We tend to chill in the kitchen; the boys do their homework, research and listen to music. Joe will often sit and draw. It's a place we all congregate and chat, we always eat together in the kitchen, giving us time to catch up on each other’s day.

We all like cooking and baking often try out new recipes. The boys are much more likely to bake cakes than a healthy snack. Chris is an excellent cook and has always been the main cook, purely for the fact he is much better. 

I have developed a real passion for cooking over the last few years, and have really started experimenting with my cooking. I put it down to the fact that I love spending time in the kitchen, it's such a lovely room to be in, and well laid out, making it easy to cook in.

It's also a great party room and is the hub of our social life, we have built a network of friends with children, so tend to visit each others homes, rather than getting babysitters and leaving the children behind. It's great as our children enjoy being part of this; we often have visitors and have had some memorable evenings with lots of laughing with all our wonderful friends and family. And trust me after nights like these the fairy platinum really has it work cut out.  

So yes our kitchen is definitely at the heart of our family and social life, it's a family area, research and homework space, it's a great social area, and a chilled out haven after a long day at work. Probably the most important room in our family home. This post is an entry for "My Kitchen Story" linky challenge, sponsored by Fairy Platinum.