Sharing is caring!

This November, we took a mid-week break in South Lakeland Leisure Village.

The “village” is located between the A6 and M6, just a couple of miles north of Carnforth (Lancashire), close to the south Lakes. Access from the M6 is convenient and especially easy when approaching from the south.

The location South Lakeland Leisure Village makes visiting either the Lake District or the Yorkshire Dales simple, as both are no more than 35 minutes away from the site. To visit the north Lakes or the eastern and northern Dales however, would take considerably longer.

Finding South Lakeland Leisure Village was reasonably straightforward although the signing off the A6 and A6070 roundabouts could have been clearer.

South Lakeland Leisure Village occupies of an area of just under one square mile, containing lodges, a spa/gym/swimming pool and restaurant/bar, all located on the edge of a small lake.

We stayed in one of their Platinum Lodges with a view over a small lake. The Platinum Lodges are the Leisure Village’s premium accommodation and our lodge consisted of three bedrooms (it can sleep up to six), a bathroom and a spacious open plan lounge, dining room and kitchen area. Outside the lodge was a decking veranda with a hot tub and a pleasant view over a small lake.

The lodge accommodation was generally high quality, although as would be expected of prefabricated lodge type buildings, the walls were quite thin and noise travels through them easily.

The bedrooms were well appointed, and the master bedroom contained an en-suite bathroom and small dressing room/area.

The kitchen was well equipped with a large hob, oven, grill, microwave, kettle, dishwasher, washing machine and toaster – all of which appeared to be brand new! However, the main issue that we had with the accommodation was the lack of quality kitchenware. There was no chopping board, the kitchen knives were very blunt, the pans were tiny, with all having the non-stick coating peeling off and some of the plastic utensils were partially melted from previous use. This made it difficult to prepare food and detracted from the otherwise superb kitchen and its appliances.

I’m not sure how possible it would have been to prepare food for 6 people with the utensils and crockery supplied. (Please note we did speak to the staff about this on our departure and they were very surprised about what we found and it sounded like it would be rectified straight away).

The lounge contained a large TV and two comfortable sofas behind which was the dining area with a large dining table with chairs that would comfortably seat six for a meal.

The whole lodge was very nicely decorated and had free Wi-Fi.

Outside the lodge there was a decking veranda containing a table and chairs overlooking a lake. Also on the veranda was a hot tub that would accommodate four adults. It was a very pleasant area and we would have spent more time here had it been summer and not November with the temperature in low single figures! The hot tub was great, and our two boys especially loved being in it after dark on a cold November evening! The lovely experience of the hot tub was however a little tainted by the proximity of the M6 motorway which was a couple of hundred metres away.

The other facilities at South Lakeland Leisure Village were in a central location and included the Gym, Spa, Swimming Pool and a restaurant/bar. These all looked to be really high quality although we only made use of the swimming pool during our stay. The pool and changing facilities were very good. The changing facilities were warm, clean and included a family changing room which is helpful when dealing with a 4 and 2 year old! The pool was clean and reasonably large, allowing part of it to be laned off for those wishing to get “some mileage in”! There was no separate children’s pool but this didn’t stop us from having lots of fun.

The spa and gym facilities, although not used by ourselves, looked to be high quality and the spa offered a wide range of treatments.

There are also lakes nearby that can be used for fishing and sailing.

Beyond those activities already mentioned, there was not a great deal for children to do on site, although there are plenty of things to do only a short drive away. With information brochures at the Bar, you can take your pick of child or adult friendly activities. We had a day out in Ambleside and Kendal which was lovely.

Overall, we enjoyed our visit, with the facilities being excellent on the whole and the staff at South Lakeland Leisure Village were very helpful.