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

  

New Forest Show

The New Forest Show 2013 has now come to a close after three fantastic days of excitement. This is the second year in a row we have attended the show and we definitely went all out with our amazing Regal Symphony unit; which was available to buy at the show for the special price of £97,995 including decking and all interior furnishings. We also took a camping pod along with us, which drew a lot of attention from camping fanatics as well as glampers who saw it as a great alternative to a tent.

We were located opposite the West Ring, which meant we got a great view of all the equestrian events that were going on throughout the three days from show jumping to in hand championships. Our favourite was the pony club mounted games, which saw various pony clubs compete against each other in a range of races such as the three legged sack race. These were fast paced and definitely drew the crowds to the West Ring.

The New Forest Show was a definite highlight in the Shorefield Holidays calender and we'd like to thank everyone who came along to our stand at the show. We hope to see you at our next show which is the Bournemouth Air Festival, which runs from 29th August to the 1st September.

You can take a look at more of our pictures from the New Forest Show on our Facebook page. WI

   

Something for the Weekend

It's Friday, which means it's that time of the week where we let you know what we're up to this weekend and hopefully inspire you with some ideas.

This Saturday we're hoping the sun shines for our Shorefield Summer BBQ, which will including a variety of fete games, food, children's entertainment, a tombola and possibly a guest appearance from one of our resident squirrels. All funds raised will go to the RNLI to help save lives at sea, so it's all for a great cause. Everyone is welcome and entry is free so why not pop along any time from 11am to 4pm  for some BBQ fun, weather permitting of course. WI