Centerparcs Longleat

Centerparcs is a lovely place and Longleat is beautiful. Our woodland lodge was modern and clean and nice enough to be happy to stay at home in in the evening. However, the parc itself I thought was a bit expensive. The swiming pool which is free is fantastic, but unless you want to do that every day you will end up spending out a lot of money on the other activites available. We thought we would play crazy golf one day and I presumed it would be no more than £4 each, £17 was the actual cost. Just for 2 of us. They have a huge amount of activities on offer which all sound great fun but they all cost alot of money and if you want to use the spa don't expect to pay less than £40 to £50 each and that is without any treatments. The pancake house was also a disappointment. We went on Shrove tuesday and I chose a traditional lemon and sugar pancake. I don't know about you but I expect pancakes to be quite thin - this pancake was more like an omlette. Far too thick and it soaked up the lemon and sugar like a sponge so you could only taste bland mixture. Not good. I think you would be better off renting a lovely self catering cottage in the area.There is plenty to do and places to visit. We took ourselves off to Cheddar Gorge for the day - a very pretty and quaint village which happens to have some very famous caves in it! Definitely stop in at Derricks tea shop and have the tea and scones - the specialist teas are fabulous and the scones are delicious. We were almost tempted to go twice in the same day it was that good. The caves are fascinating and you get a gadget which you tap numbers into to hear info on the caves - don't feel obliged to listen to all of them though - I thought some were less informative than others and to be honest slightly on the boring waffly side! If you do go, ask one of the guides to point out a horse shoe bat - they are quite rare but they like living there. They are tiny creatures and you won't spot them unless a guide shows you with their torch. Bath is also only half an hour away and it is well worth a visit - they have a lovely mixture of boutique shops and a modern shopping centre and of course the new bath spa which is a bit expensive but I thought well worth the money.