Last Updated on 20 May 2024 by Colette
This post features a hosted stay
After a summer of adventures packed with days out, holidays and camping trips we were ready for a change of pace in September, for a return to routine and a bit of normality.
However, the first two weeks back left us all feeling drained so I was super grateful to past me for planning our Darwin Forest trip for the middle of September. It felt perfectly timed for an escape from real life with no expectations or pressure to do anything. (I don’t know about you but I find it really hard to have a weekend at home with no plans – if we’re not out and about I want to be making the most of the time to get stuff done around the house and tick off that never ending list of DIY tasks)
Darwin Forest is in the beautiful Peak District (specifically Matlock in Derbyshire) and about in 1.5 hour’s drive from our home in Manchester – but it might as well have been another world for how far away from home and real life we felt over the course of the weekend!
Generally check in at Darwin Forest is after 4pm but our particular lodge allowed check in from 2pm. In reality this didn’t matter as we had to wait to get the kids home from school before we could set off anyway. The check in process was quick and painless – the kids and I waited in the car for a few minutes whilst Dave went in to Reception. We quickly had our keys and were excitedly unlocking the door to our luxury lodge.
Often when you book accommodation on line I think it can be difficult to judge size etc – and sometimes pictures can oversell a property. Not in this case. We walked in through the front door and gasped – the main living space of the Glade Exclusive is absolutely stunning.
We raced through the property excitedly checking the rooms and assigning them to the kids – with two twin rooms we were able to put the girls in together and give Ben his own room. They were thrilled to have a tv in their room and their own bathrooms! (You can read a full review of the accomodation here)
Although there is a small convenience store on site selling essentials, a number of supermarkets will deliver to Darwin Forest (they just ask you to book your delivery to your lodge number for between 4.30pm and 8pm to ensure you’re all checked in and sorted). We took all our groceries with us – a bag of curry for the first night, tuna pasta bake for the second night and lots of lovely picky bits for lunches. We spent around £80 on a shop for the weekend which is quite a bit but we weren’t exactly being a frugal and it was certainly less than had we eaten out all weekend. In fact, the only other money we spent on site over the weekend was a round of drinks at the bar on Saturday afternoon. (Gin in the sunshine? Yes please!)
There’s such a wide range of activities on offer at Darwin Forest – some paid (such as archery or body zorbing) which need booking and others free that you can just turn up and use. Because we were only there for two full days, we quickly filled our time up with a woodland walk, the Trim Track, the park, swimming pool and hot tub… In fact we struggled to fit in everything we wanted to do even without adding in paid activities – we could have easily stayed for five days.
Determined to be as relaxed as possible, we had a really slow morning on the Saturday – the kids enjoyed lounging around in their pj’s, watching rubbish on their tablets. We eventually got dressed and went out into the woods.
The woodland trail took us about an hour I think – we were in no rush though and took great pleasure in pottering around the woods with the sun streaming through the trees, birds twittering and the kids laughing – it was one of those beautifully simple things that fills your heart with joy and gratitude.
By the time we got back we were all more than ready for lunch – we took advantage of the large decking area and comfortable outdoor furniture to enjoy what was probably our last alfresco meal of the year!
The afternoon was spent enjoying the autumnal sunshine – playing in the park (which in all honesty is a better suited to children younger than mine – they were fine for about half an hour but soon felt they had exhausted the space) and then the Trim Track which was a firm favourite for all of us.
The Trim Track features a number of obstacles / activities and took us ages to complete. Mainly because the kids wanted to complete each task over and over again – there were a few times where we had to wait out turn or move on because other guests were waiting behind us. But really it was very quiet and we felt very much that we had plenty of space to explore without getting in anyone else’s way.
For me, the little surprises like a wooden naughts & crosses game, a draughts set or a village of wooden fairy houses were a real highlight.
Once we’d finished the Trim Track, we went back to the park where the kids played happily together whilst we enjoyed a drink in the sunshine at the Foresters Bar before heading back to our lodge for a long awaited dip in the hot tub!
Having our own hot tub was easily a highlight of the weekend for the kids who had never used a hot tub before and complained that we didn’t have one at home!
Saturday night saw a cosy night in with pasta bake for tea and the kids choosing to watch films in bed which they thought was pure luxury! Dave and I didn’t complain as it gave us chance to snuggle up together and read (I say read – I was reading, he was watching stuff on youtube!)
On Sunday morning, the kids took advantage of the dry weather and quiet space to ride their bikes & scooters. Although there are cars on site, these are parked in set spaces outside the lodges and we didn’t really see much movement so we felt they were fairly safe to ride and play freely – in fact our biggest concern was that they might disturb other guests. You can hire bikes at Landal Darwin Forest but we had taken ours with us – got to get our money’s worth out of that expensive bike rack! (If you want to try a ride off site, why not pay a visit to The Monsal Trail – a beautiful, traffic free route for cycling & walking about 20 minutes drive from Darwin Forest)
Mid morning we went for a swim in the indoor heated pool. The pool is quite small but there were two lanes for proper swimming and then space for the kids to play and mess about a bit. It was quite busy when we got there but it quietened down towards lunch time. The steam room and sauna are available for extra charge – you can also book a range of beauty treatments.
After lunch we took a final dip in the hot tub before packing up and heading home. Our booking at Darwin Forest was for three nights but obviously we had to get home for school. However, this did allow us a really relaxed last day making the most of lodge and site facilities. The check out for luxury properties is later than the standard and you are welcome to use all the Darwin Forest facilities until you are ready to leave.
All in we had an absolutely glorious September weekend at Darwin Forest – we were extremely lucky with the weather but had it not been so sunny it would have been really nice to cosy up in the lodge reading, watching films and playing games.
We think that Darwin Forest is a really fabulous alternative to Center Parcs and will definitely be returning! If you want to book your own stay – check out Landal Darwin Forest and let me know what you think!
Why not watch our video from the weekend:
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