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Just back from a weekend stay at White Cross Bay with Park Resorts, in Windermere. We went with our two oldest grandchildren (cousins), both not quite 5yrs old.

We went expecting a Gold Caravan and we were very pleasantly surprised to find that we had been upgraded to a Lodge. To say it was luxurious is an understatement. We decided it was better appointed than our own house! It had 3 bedrooms, one with bathroom ensuite. It also had a dishwasher and washer/dryer that we hadn’t expected. We were also given a very generous Welcome pack which was very welcome indeed.

White Cross Bay was easy to find, just between Windermere and Brockhole. The check in was easy and with a site map it was easy to find our lodge, although we were at first unsure where to park our car, but actually there was plenty of room round the corner, just outside the door. Reception staff were very polite and very helpful. I had to mention a couple of things that weren’t working properly and they were very apologetic and said they would get them sorted, and they did.

Initially our grandchildren were very disappointed about the Lodge, as they really wanted to sleep in a caravan, but they were soon very happily deciding where they were going to sleep and which part of the wardrobes they were going to use.

The Park site was nicely set out, with lots of cul de sacs, and nooks and crannies. It made it a bit of a challenge to find the lake but it was perfect for keeping the traffic at a very slow speed which is great when you have Mini Travellers with you. It was also a very quiet park, except for our 2 when they were playing outside as we had a ‘secret garden’ next to the decking which was perfect for adventures.



The pool was a hit, it was a decent size and the three times we went in it wasn’t overcrowded at all, in fact plenty of room for jumping in!. The changing rooms were communal with decent sized cubicles that were big enough for 2/3 to get changed easily. There were also 2 hair dryers and a spinner for swimming costumes, which was great. The pool also had a special chair/hoist to help disabled people in and out of the pool. The Lifeguards were very vigilant and were very quick to say if someone was running, attempting to dive or similar.

The children’s playground was OK; it had 2 swings, 2 baby swings, climbing net, balancing bars &chains, a barrel to balance on, parallel bars, hanging tyres. Certainly enough to keep our grandchildren occupied for half an hour while I made tea.

There was a small shop next to the Reception for all your basic needs, which we didn’t need to use as we’d taken or own food and we’d been give the welcome pack too.

The Bar/Restaurant/Entertainment area was in the main building with the Reception, Pool and small Amusement Arcade. There was a very comprehensive menu and plenty of choice for the children and the food came quite quickly. The food was good quality but the fish and chips were excellent. While we were waiting for the food the children were getting restless so they went to get some colouring papers and crayons from a big stand. There were no crayons, just papers. I went to ask for some and was told they had none left at all. Our granddaughter then said “that’s rubbish, why have they left the pictures out if they haven’t got any crayons?” fair point I thought!!

Staying at White Cross Bay was a great base for getting around the area of Windermere, it was only 5mins down the road to Brockhole where we were going to catch a boat to go to Wray Castle. Brockhole was a great place to visit, I think you could spend the whole day here, http://www.brockhole.co.uk/ The Adventure Playground was ideal for our 2, it was packed with rope walks, slides, swings, scramble nets and zip wires! There were Tree Top Walks and Tree Top Nets for older children or adults, boat hire, pony hire, gardens, cafe and much, much more.

When we decided it was time to go and get the boat to Wray Castle, we went to the jetty and tried to work out the times of the boats, it was very complicated! However the very kind man in the ticket office explained that we had to go to Ambleside first then Wray Castle, that seemed a fuss but it worked out well as we cruised the Lake too.

 

 

After an ice cream at Ambleside, we got back on the boat and went to Wray Castle and spent hours there. I’ll write about that separately. Back to the White Cross Bay, more swimming/jumping in and then dinner in the Restaurant, back to the lodge with 2 tired but happy children, they had no problem sleeping that night.

On Sunday morning, it was more swimming/jumping in, playing in the playground while I prepared lunch for our granddaughter’s early birthday lunch.

Sadly it was then time to pack up and head off home. We’d definitely look at staying here again, as it was a great location and a really good site.

NB: We were invited to visit White Cross Bay as guests of Park Resorts but all views and opinions are our own.