Haven a Great Time in the Lakes

One of the ways to avoid the expense, time restrictions and weather unpredictability of foreign holiday, is to stay in the UK. Haven Holiday Parks proved to be a great solution for our family.

A couple of years ago our six-year-old son Harrison fell in love for the first time; with a six foot elephant called Anxious. Consequently we’re now obliged to take the kids to a new Haven park at least once a year.

For me, the best time to do this is during autumn half-term, which has always been the most awkward time to book a foreign holiday. It’s a squeeze to fit in anywhere long haul and most of Europe’s weather is unpredictable, except the Canaries which means prices are generally at a premium around Halloween. So last October we decided to visit Haven’s Lakeland resort on the bay of Morecambe, a short drive from Lake Windermere.

Getting to the camp was easy enough, and a welcome break from enduring long-term parking and security at Manchester Airport. In fact, round about the time we’d have been boarding the plane had we gone abroad, we are already picking up the keys to our two-bedroom prestige mobile home, dropping off our bags, and heading straight to the swimming pool.

Harrison and Ella have become pretty confident in the water over the last couple of years, and both took their first ever lesson at a Haven. So I’m pleased to notice that the excellent lessons still cost just five pounds per child, which is cheaper than our local pool. Not that we need them on this holiday because we’re happy to all splash around in the pool and whizz down the waterslide together.

We stay in the pool for an hour or so before we decide to check out more of the site. It’s nice not having to drag the children from the pool; they leave willingly, safe in the knowledge that we’ll be back again in a few hours. So around about the time we might have been landing had we chosen to fly to France, we’re out boating on the camp’s onsite lake. Well – we are near the Lake District after all. It would be rude not to jump on a vessel of some description, so we start off on the canoes. Ella, who is four at the time of our visit, loves having her own paddle on the canoe, but steadfastly refuses to put it in the water for fear of it getting wet!

Afterwards mum and the kids try out the pedalos, while I try my hand at stand-up paddle boarding. Of course Harrison wants to give it a whirl as well but he’s too young, and it’s one of those water sports where you’re highly likely to end up in the water, which is too cold at this time of year for younger children.

Any disappointment he feels is tempered when he tries out a junior Segway on the way back from the lake. My wife Alena and I had such great fun learning to ride Segways at Haggerston Castle a couple of years ago, that we had to let him try his hand on one.

It’s remarkable how much quicker kids take to these things than adults, and before long Harrison is whizzing around the AstroTurf and performing ninety degree turns to the delight of Ella, who cheers him on from the side-lines.

By dinnertime I’m ready for a nap, it’s been such a hectic day. There’s no way I’ve got the energy to cook! But luckily there’s the Mash and Barrel bar/restaurant (now known as Lakeside Bay) right next to the Segways.

Once we’ve refuelled ourselves it’s time for the Seaside Squad’s show in the Live Lounge- the camp’s onsite entertainment venue- so we head straight there for Harrison to be reunited with Anxious the (costumed) Elephant and for Ella to dance herself into exhaustion, while mum and dad discuss which lake to visit the following day.

We decide on Windermere since it’s the closest, and after a surprisingly warm night in the mobile home – it is late October and we are on the north-west coast after all – we’re up early and getting ready to hit the lake…
…once Harrison and Ella have been on the Turbo Paddlers and Aqua Gliders that is, which we were talked into booking as we left the swimming pool the day before.

It’s hard to say which of these two the kids enjoy the most. Both are fantastic fun for 4-8 year olds and they only cost £5 per session too, which I feel is excellent value. And then, after stopping at the trampolines and crazy golf on the way to the car, we finally get to set off to the longest lake in England, beautiful Windermere.

The southern shore of Windermere is only a twenty-minute drive from our camp, and there’s an aquarium and passenger ferry service in the village of Lakeside (which shouldn’t be confused with Lakeland, the name of the Haven camp). But we decide to head further up the lake until we reach the car ferry which links the western shore to the eastern one. From here it’s a lovely half mile walk along the shore to the touristy town of Bowness-on-Windermere.

It’s not the warmest of days but the sun is shining and the kids are happy to walk along the shore counting the boats and enjoying an ice cream. It takes us around half an hour to walk what could easily be done in ten minutes, but Ella and Harrison want to name every boat they see bobbing in the water. When we finally reach town we find more boats moored up with numbers on them, and the kids refuse to move any further until they’ve jotted down every single number. I’ve heard of train spotting but never boat-spotting.

Once they’ve logged every vessel on Windermere we enjoy a lovely lakeside lunch in town and then head back to the car. But before hopping in it and driving back to Lakeland for more fun and activities we jump aboard the car ferry- minus our car- to check out the western shore and enjoy the cheapest cruise of the lake going, just £1 each! Once we disembark it’s just a short stroll up the hill to Claife Station, the ruins of a residence that’s now looked after by the National Trust.

It’s a magnificent view and one I could sit enjoying all day, but impressed as they are Harrison and Ella are itching to get back to the swimming pool. They’ve got another Turbo Paddler session booked at six o’clock.

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