Over weekend we took a break to the Haven park Lakeland's. This park is nestled in the quiet village of Flookburgh in the Lake District. If travelling by train then I would strongly advise pre-booking a taxi to pick you up from Cark train station well in advance. The taxi companies seem to be one man bands up that way and get very busy.
The park was very clean and peaceful. Like the majority of Haven parks, there is an arcade, club, restaurant, indoor pool and a whole host of additional activities and entertainment. At Lakeland there is also a large lake and man made sand spots to resemble a beach.
We chose a 3 bedroom Prestige caravan which had a spacious living/dining area, flat screen large tv and bedding included. However the bedroom area was very narrow and there was only one toilet which is a little disappointing considering these caravans can fit 8 people.
The on-site shop was fairly reasonable, even the character souvenirs were not over priced. Unless you drive, this is pretty much your only option for buying food and essentials as it's quite remote up that way. There is a chip shop onsite too and a restaurant. In the club in the evening they also open up a hot dog/burger outlet.
Entertainment was okay. Nothing special while we were there. The kids loved the party dances and games. My 2 girls both got on stage to play the games and both won. I won the adult dance contest and got a bottle of wine.
The Haven team do work very hard and often long hours. They did seem slightly short staffed at times but the kids loved what was on. The entertainment is fine for younger children but I did find it was very much lacking in anything for older kids and teenagers.
The majority of day time activities and sports come at an additional cost and if you have a large family then this gets expensive. Izebella did the aqua gliders in the pool, Jordanna chose aqua jets also in the pool and Ryan chose to do Kyaking on the lake. Each activity was £10 meaning I spent £30 in just one day.
As you can probably tell, the weather stayed perfect all weekend for us. Had it rained or been bad weather then I think we would have been quite bored. There are a few activities that are free, mainly the nature rocks, nature trails and bug hunts which Ryan took Izebella on.
The arcade was pretty quiet, I imagine it will be full come half term week. I will say that it looks very fresh, clean and modern with all the machines on and working. Those 10p machines are so addictive as lots of little prizes inside them.
The pool is a good size. There are no slides unfortunately but there are rain buckets which tip water down. My kids seem to love going under these. The pool was warm and open most of the day. It closes at 5pm which is when the pool activities take place. Changing rooms have lockers and free hair dryers.
I was a bit disappointed that the outdoor pool was not open. Apparently it will be at the end of this month but there was nothing on the Haven website to indicate that it would not be open. Given the lovely weather it would of been ideal.
The scenery is lovely with lots of ornamental features around the park, such as the stone toadstools above, which remind me of a fairy garden. It's a lovely park and great for a weekend break. Without a car I don't think I'd like to stay for a week. It's a remote place with very little around it, tho a beautiful area if you can get about and explore.
I paid approximately £225 for a Friday to Monday break. This was for 7 people (3 adults and 4 children) in a Prestige 3 bedroom caravan.
