A high quality holiday park in the Lakes
For our weekend in Cumbria, we stayed in a luxury static caravan at the award-winning Silverdale Holiday Park. Just off the M6, with views of Morecambe Bay, Silverdale makes for an excellent weekend break or stopping off point on a long trip south. You can pitch your own tent or caravan or rent a static caravan or camping pod.
Silverdale Holiday Park is very family-focused, with secure entry, a large swimming pool (plus toddler pool and a sauna), an all-day family-friendly restaurant and bar, all set within 100 acres of woodland enjoying stunning sea views. For the kids, there are several outdoor play areas and a football pitch as well as a games room and a small soft play for the little ones.
In the area
Mention the Lake District and most people think of hill walking, Wordsworth, Beatrix Potter and…Lakes. Except for Beatrix Potter none of these are likely to excite young children but as we discovered the Lake District is jam-packed with fun family activities which even your youngest, whingiest family member should enjoy. With stunning scenery and just a few hours down the M6, Cumbria makes for an ideal family destination for a weekend break or holiday.
Our weekend highlight was Brockhole, the Lake District Visitor Centre on the shores of Windermere where our youngest (5) spent hours on the Treetop Nets and adventure play ground while our eldest (9) was thrilled by the Treetop Trek. Similar to Go Ape but set up to accommodate younger children, the Treetop Trek generated two hours of climbing, balancing, swinging and seriously wobbly high up excitement! A continuous belay safety wire means you never need to unclip as you test your climbing and balance skills along rope ladders, rope bridges, monkey swings and a final zip wire which takes you right down to the shore.
At Brockhole you can also go on a boat trip, rent family rowing boats or individual canoes, rent bikes, play mini golf, take pony rides and go on nature trails or just picnic in their extensive grounds with lakeshore views. There’s a café and outdoor coffee bars. (Make sure you put enough in the car park meter as it’s easy to lose track of time!)
Next we visited the Lakeshore Aquarium at the southern banks of Windermere which the children thoroughly enjoyed. The up-close encounter with the characterful otters proved most memorable. You can also pick up a lake cruise here or take a trip on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. There’s a lovely hotel just here called The Swan Hotel and Spa which we have stayed at before. Other family friendly activities we didn’t get time to visit include; the World of Beatrix Potter and the Lakeland Motor Museum.
Reviewed by JW Patrick (with kids age 9 and 5)
USEFUL LINKS:
Holgates Silverdale Caravan park: www.holgates.co.uk/silverdale
Lake District National Park Authority: www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting/thingstodo/
Go Lakes: www.golakes.com/