Christmas at Shorefield Holidays

Christmas is our favourite time of year at Shorefield Holidays and to celebrate we have lots going on at our parks. So if you're staying with us you're in for a treat!

At Shorefield Country Park there's plenty going on for the whole family; our Christmas events kick off on the 23rd December with festive Kids' Club. Over Christmas, your little ones can enjoy Festive Finger Puppets, Festive Finger Painting, Christmas Critters, Snowflake Spinners and much more. In the evening there will be visits from Cyril and Cybil every night of the holiday as well as all your usual favourites such as Party Dances, Quizzes, Family Bingo as well as special cabaret nights where you can see the likes of Maximum Robbie and The Motown Sisters.

Oakdene Forest Park have lots going on as well; festive Kids' Club begins on the 23rd December and throughout the holiday there will be activities such as Christmas Decoration Making, Christmas Card Making, Crimbo Movie Time and Santa Cyril will be popping in for a couple of activities. In the evening Cyril and Cybil will be making an appearance as usual and alongside Family Bingo, Quizzes and other fun activities there will be cabarets acts performing. Chicago Hit Squad will be singing the hits of the Blues Brothers and the Buddy Holly Band will also be performing.

You can see a full listing of events for both Shorefield Country Park and Oakdene Forest Park on our website and don't forget to post your festive pictures on our Facebook page!

Finally, on behalf of everyone here at Shorefield Holidays, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We look forward to seeing you in 2014.  

New Forest Brilliance in Business Award

We were extremely delighted to have received a New Forest Brilliance in Business award this month. We were selected for our commitment to excellent staff training, career development and mentoring support, all of which have enhanced our performance and the experience that all our guests receive.

The New Forest Brilliance in Business awards scheme is an annual event that celebrates the achievements of local businesses, highlighting good business practice. Seven specialist categories, of which the Training and Development award is one, recognise companies demonstrating high levels of achievement within their core business and in specialist areas including investment in the workforce, enterprise and innovation, entrepreneurship, development of technologies and green policies. 

David Goldsmith, Group Sales Manager and Simon Bransgrove, Marketing Manager attended the award ceremony and networking evening on our behalf. Simon said ‘we are extremely honoured to accept this award on behalf of all the team, across all our parks. It is fantastic to receive recognition for everyone’s efforts. We are really proud that so many of our guests, be they holiday makers, leisure club members or guests attending private functions, return year after year and it is our staff that feature in all the positive feedback we receive.’

Something for the Weekend - No Tricks Just Treats this Half Term

It's Friday, which means the weekend is almost upon us as well as half term! Of course it's extra exciting because Halloween also falls in the same week as half term. So we thought for this weeks 'Something for the Weekend' we would let you know what spooky activities you can enjoy at our parks.

At Shorefield Country Park we have a whole host of events including kids club activities such as Pumpkin Carving, Spell Books, Creepy Critters and many more. Then in the evening get the whole family together for fantastic fancy dress themes, Family Prize Bingo, Resident Entertainers Shows and much more including the fantastic Soul Party Band on Wednesday 30th October. There's also Pumpkin-Fest in the Country Pumpkin, a beer festival with a spooky twist on Friday 24th and Saturday 25th October from 6pm till midnight. There will be various ales, ciders and nibbles for you to try as well as a fantastic atmosphere.

Nearby, at Lytton Lawn Touring Park, be prepared for Halloween Fancy Dress on Wednesday 31st October which will be followed by a trick or treat wander around the park. Once again there will be a small prize for the best decorated pitch during the week so bring along your fairy lights and make Lytton Lawn shine. The fairy light competition will run from Saturday 27th October until Saturday 3rd November with the winner being notified after half term; so even if you are not here for the whole week you can still enter.

Next on to Oakdene Forest Park; we will have some great kids club activities running throughout half term including Goosebump Story Making, Pumpkin Carving, Trick or Treat Bag Making and much more. Then in the evening, as usual there will be lots going on to entertain you including Halloween Gameshow Bonanza, a Rocky Horror Tribute Show on Tuesday 29th October as well as the very spooky Horror Walks running throughout Halloween night on Thursday 31st October. You can also take part in some Halloween themed Go Active activities including Killer Crossbow, Zombie Archery, Swamp Water Walkers and more.

So let us know what you got up to this Halloween half term at our parks and don't forget to post your pictures on our Facebook page.

Dog Friendly Holidays

With a canine population of eight million and rising, it’s no surprise that the UK has a burgeoning market in dog-friendly holiday accommodation. From B&Bs and campsites to luxury hotels, more and more establishments seem keen to embrace four-legged guests.

At Shorefield Holidays we welcome dogs at our parks; being a company of dog lovers, we draw on our own experiences so we can help provide a fantastic experience for our four legged guests as well as their owners.

Lesley Lawrence, the Shorefield Holidays Marketing Director, says that we sold 14,000 ‘dog nights’ in the first nine months of 2013, across five of our six holiday park sites in Dorset and Hampshire. So popular have these breaks become, that dogs are now permitted in some of our top-of-the-range lodges with hot tubs, rather than being restricted purely to the more basic accommodation. “It is extremely popular and fifty percent of our guests return year after year,” she says.

Of course, it’s usual to impose a supplement to cover the costs associated with clearing up after pets, such as dehairing, carpet shampooing and disinfecting. At Shorefield, all units that accommodate dogs are equipped with a Dyson dog hair vacuum cleaner.

It's not only our accommodation that is great for dogs; the local area is full of places for dogs to explore including fantastic beaches and the nearby New Forest, a dog walkers favourite. Some beaches, such as Milford on Sea, allow dogs all year round but generally you will find most will allow dogs from October to April.

We've got a whole page on our website dedicated to pet friendly holidays, so you can find out more about what our parks offer to you and your four legged friend.WI

The Marathon Man

You may remember a couple of weeks ago I was going to meet Simon Reed, who is in training for the next London Marathon. Simon is currently being trained by Jon and Maggie, two of our Fitness Instructors at Shorefield Country Park; Maggie has given us an update on how Simon is getting on with his training.

"I started training Simon Reed about seven months ago. He came to me asking for my help! Simon had to pull out of last year’s Marathon 2013, at the last moment, due to injury.

Since March 2013 I have been working with Simon to reach his goals and one of those is to running the London Marathon 2014 injury free, with in four hours. We have been working on improving core strength, increase flexibility and improving muscular tone in a functional (day to day life) way.

Simon and I are just about to embark on his cardio training for the marathon and Simon also attends running club with Richard Penn in a Saturday morning. Simon is very committed to his training sessions with me every Sunday morning at 7:30am and so far we are on track. Well done Simon for sticking with your training".

Good luck to Simon and we'll be catching up with him in November to see how his training is going. WI

Hurst Castle

On Saturday I visited Hurst Castle, a place full of history as well as beautiful views of the South Coast and the Isle of Wight. There are two ways you can get over to the castle, you can walk the 1.5 miles from Milford-On-Sea on the shingle spit or take a ferry which leaves every 20 minutes from Keyhaven or Hurst. We opted for the ferry from Keyhaven which took about 10 minutes and cost £5.50 for a return each.

Once we arrived we were amazed at the size of the castle; two large wings were built in the Napoleonic wars and they surround the original castle built by Henry VIII. Due to its diverse history there is plenty to explore, including barracks and shell stores from its time as a manned fortress during World War II, large 38 ton guns from the Napoleonic wars, the area that Charles I was thought to be imprisoned before his trial and execution in London and much more.

It took us a good hour and half to make our way round the Henry VIII part of the castle as there was a lot to look at. Most of the rooms were accessible and once you had climbed to the top of the castle there were amazing views over to Milford and the Isle of Wight, making it the perfect photo opportunity. We then made our way over to the other wing which featured more of the World War II historical items and rooms such as the laundry, barracks and a theatre which is thought to be the only surviving World War 2 ENSA theatre.

I would recommend Hurst Castle as place to visit if you are staying at one of our parks; it does take quite a while to explore fully and some of the rooms are completely empty which means you do have to use your imagination a bit. However, it is a very important historical landmark and very much worth a visit especially for the views.

 You can see more photos on our Facebook page. WI    

Something for the Weekend

It's Friday which means it's that time of the week again where we let you know what we're up to this weekend. 

I will be heading to Hurst Castle which is located a short drive from Shorefield Country Park and Lytton Lawn Touring Park. The castle has had a long and varied history; built by Henry VIII in 1544 and also where Charles I was imprisoned in 1648 before his trial and execution. In the 1870's the castle was modernised during the Napoleonic wars and during World War II it was manned with gun batteries and searchlights. It is now opened to the public and has great views over to the Isle of Wight, making it ideal for photo opportunities.

On Sunday I will be meeting one of our dedicated leisure members,Simon Reed, who is currently in training for the London Marathon. He will be running in aid of the Stars Appeal, a fantastic cause which aims to raise £650,000 to provide a much needed second CT scanner for Salisbury hospital. We look forward to updating you about his progress each month.

We hope you have a fantastic weekend, make sure you check back next week for pictures from this weekend's activities. WI

Something for the Weekend

It looks like autumn is on the way, there is a slight chill in the air and the nights are starting to draw in. There is still plenty to do both on and off our parks though, including our fantastic open weekends which are coming up this Saturday and Sunday.

Firstly at Shorefield Country Park we have our Health and Fitness Open Weekend (14th & 15th Sept, 10am - 6pm), a perfect place to warm up in the autumn and winter months. We'll have a whole host of offers, including free classes and taster sessions on the day, free health checks and free swim and and sauna. You can also join the gym for just £30 for a five week trial with no commitment, making it ideal if you want to get back into fitness. There will also be a representative from our functions department on hand to answer any questions you may have about planning your event at Shorefield Country Park including Christmas (only 14 weeks and 5 days to go!).

Once you've popped into Shorefield Country Park, head over to Merley Court Holiday Park for our Holiday Home Sales Open Weekend (14th & 15th Sept, 10am - 5pm). There will be £10,000 off holiday lodges and we'll even provide you with a tasty complementary lunch as well, which you can then work off at our Health and Fitness clubs. There are only four lodges left at Merley Court, so make sure you come and see us. 

We look forward to seeing you over the weekend. WI

Corfe Castle

This weekend I decided to visit Corfe Castle, a place full of history perched on a hill overlooking the beautiful village of Corfe. The castle was partially demolished by Parliamentarians in 1656 but there is still plenty to explore despite this and there are often re-enactments and events going on throughout the year which are very interesting. One such event was happening on the day I decided to visit, which made the experience all the more worthwhile.

The re-enactment was the perfect way to find out more about the history of the castle; in this case the moment the castle was captured by Parliamentarians. Alongside the re-enactment there were plenty of stalls and those dressed up were very convincing in their roles, even asking on my entrance to the castle if I was a Parliamentarian or a Royalist.

I definitely recommend a visit to Corfe Castle; not only is there an abundance of history but the views are beautiful, especially when you see the steam train pass through the countryside. There's also plenty to explore in the village of Corfe including pubs, restaurants, shops and just a short drive away there is Studland Beach as well as Swanage.

You can see more photos on our Facebook page. WI    

Bournemouth Air Show Review

We picked a great year to return to the Bournemouth Air Festival; firstly the weather was beautiful everyday which meant people made the most of the sunshine and packed the beaches (and our stand). Secondly 2013 proved to be a record breaking year with 1.3 million people attending the free festival.

Our stand, a brand new 2014 Regal Autograph, proved to be very popular with many festival goers. Its eye-catching position on the beach meant that we saw hundreds of people everyday, most of which were very impressed with our top of the range unit.

We had a great time chatting to all the people who came to see us over the four days and we even managed to catch a few glimpses of the Air Festival ourselves. A definite highlight were the Red Arrows, who wowed the crowd with their impressive display.

You can see more of our pictures on our Facebook Page. WI 

Bournemouth Air Show

Prepare for take-off between Thursday 29th August and Sunday the 1st September as Shorefield Holidays are going to be at the Bournemouth Air Festival. We'll be taking a Regal Autograph holiday home with us to give everyone a glimpse of what we have available on our parks.

You can expect breath taking aerial displays from the flying teams and spectacular acrobatic performances. A highlight being the Red Arrows who will be displaying on the first three days of the festival as well as other fantastic displays from the Sea Vixen, Vulcan, Chinook, RAF Tucano and many more. There will also be lots happening on the land including music, children's workshops, children's entertainment, fireworks and more.

If you are worn out and need to hit the eject button on the excitement for five minutes; then pop in and say hi to us at our stand near the Bournemouth Pier. WI

Something for the Weekend

The three day weekend is nearly upon us which means it's that time of the week again where we let you know what's going on in the local area as well as our parks. The promise of high temperatures for this Bank Holiday weekend has meant that all our parks are now full! So we thought we'd focus this blog on what our lucky guests can look forward to this weekend.

If you're staying at Shorefield Country Park we have lots to do for the whole family. For the kids there's a wide range of kids club activities from biscuit decorating to mini golf and for Mum and Dad there's the relaxing Reflections Elemis Day Spa. We still have some slots available over the bank holiday weekend but make sure you book quickly as appointments are limited. In the evening, kick back with a pizza from the Bistro and enjoy our family entertainment, you never know Cyril the Squirrel might even make an appearance! We also have the fantastic cabaret group Lola and the Hot gang performing some great party hits which will have you dancing the night away. 

At Oakdene Forest Park, there's a whole host of activities to keep you entertained. There's kids club also running at Oakdene, where the kids can enjoy daily themed activities such as 'Under the Sea' and 'Lights, Camera, Action'. Go Active activities are also available at Oakdene, where you can enjoy Water Walking, Archery, Crossbow and much more; however slots are filling up quick so make sure you take a look at our Go Active Schedule and give our Reservations team a call on 01590 648 331 to book your space. On Saturday evening we have the very popular Stiletto Duo performing hits from Blondie, Cher, Pat Benatar, Journey, Queen and Kate Bush!

Of course, if you're staying at any of our other parks you are welcome to enjoy entertainment and facilities at both Oakdene and Shorefield.

We hope you all have a fantastic weekend and let us know what you get up to on our Facebook page.

Local Produce Evening among the vines at Setley Ridge

Local Produce Evening among the vines at Setley Ridge 

I often pop in to Setley Ridge farm shop as they stock a great selection of local produce from the New Forest, Isle of Wight and Hampshire. Jane and Andy the proprietors are available to talk me through the products giving me often interesting information about what's on sale. The shop has recently won an award as the "Best supporter of Local Produce" which was presented at the New Forest Show by the Earl of Wessex. Whilst in conversation with Jane earlier this year she told me about a series of local produce evenings being held over the summer, I booked four places for Saturday 10th August.

A tour of the Vineyard and talk on wine production at Setley Ridge

The evening began with a tour or the vineyard and an explanation of how the wine is made at Setley Ridge. Paul who is Jane's brother gave us the tour of the vines and explained the wine production. After the tour and talk was an opportunity for tasting the wine, which we all enjoyed enormously.

Mum, Paul and I on tour in vineyard

After the tour and wine tasting was the dinner under the vines with the menu being sourced from either within the New Forest or from its surrounding borders. As you can see from the photo below the setting was magnificent and a really unique place to experience such wonderful produce expertly cooked.

A wonderful setting for dinner

The starter as with all of the food was served on a sharing platter and comprised an interesting take on a New Forest breakfast alongside chicken livers, bruschetta and pigeon breasts.

Crispy Pork Belly with Andy's Piccalilli

Dishes served  for the main course on the night included: Local Roasted Free Range Chicken, Crispy Pork Belly with Andy's Piccalilli, Local Wild Rabbit Thai Style, Tear and Share Lamb Shoulder with Oven Baked Tomatoes and Venison Sausage and Cannellini Bean Cassoulet with Setley Red Wine Jus all served with great locally grown vegetables and freshly baked bread.

A fantastic dinner, the food was delicious and there was plenty of it

The highlight of the food was for me definitely the puddings which came as a Strawberry Meringue Cream Roulade and a Raspberry and Blueberry Bakewell Tart, both were amazing and served with a New Forest Fruits coulis

Bakewell Tarts and Strawberry Meringue made using local fruits

Last on the menu was a Selection of New Forest Marque  cheese from Lyburne and Loosehanger  these were a great compliment to an amazing showcase of the food and wine that is being produced in and around the New Forest.

Delicious cheese and coffee

Everyone I spoke to at the event was wowed by such a fantastic experience, I am going to be booking again for next year and I'm sure most people who attended will be doing the same. I recommend Setley Ridge as a foodie destination to anyone enjoying a New Forest Holiday with Shorefield.

Follow the links in this blog for more information or call Setley Ridge on Tel: 01590 624682 BL

As mentioned what a great place to have dinner!

Something for the Weekend: Review

The sun returned on Saturday, just in time for our Summer BBQ in aid of the RNLI. The BBQ certainly drew the crowds and it was great to see so many people enjoying the numerous stalls that were dotted around.

The children were also kept busy with Biscuit Making and a surprise visit from Cyril the Squirrel, who paid a visit to the outdoor pool and almost ended up having a dip himself. To round off the afternoon, the RNLI demonstrated one of their model boats in the pool which entertained not only the children but the adults as well.

The RNLI raised a total of £384, which will go towards helping lives at sea. Thank you to everyone who came along and donated to this fantastic cause. WI