We went to Bainland Country Park because we the senior parents are 70. The youngest of five grandchildren is not yet 3. The place was spot-on for everyone. The four oldest children (age 5 to 10) took bikes and cycled endlessly, safely on the site, and in the adjacent forest. Adults could have taken/hired bikes. two adults tried golf for the first time on the 9 hole course, all holes par 3. The golfing equipment was loaned out by the centre at no extra charge. One mighty golf tee shot went into the forest running alongside the course. Surprisingly it was visible in the stream between the trees and fairway alongside a dead owl! Surely the wayward shot had not killed the owl. Most likely not but if it had what do you call a dead owl shot? It was very sad to see a dead owl but proved the woods were full of interesting wild life.
We rented two lodges. They were excellent. Spacious, well maintained and with outdoor hot tubs. During the first week in April 2013 the wind was still coming from Siberia so we admired but did not use the tubs. We used plenty of the other activity facilities including the swimming pool. The pool is the only disappointment on the site. It is too small. We had to book when we wanted to use it. We did not go the beach; it was too cold. If it was beach weather I am not sure we would have gone more than once since I calculated the nearest beach is 25 miles away.
The pottery painting was the biggest hit with all the children. They were never short of some interesting activity. The sun trap by the lodge door was the hit with the 70 year olds. The delightful staff at all parts of the site were a hit with us all.
One parent did receive message from home from older off-spring: "We have completely run out of food and are so desperate we are going to have to eat the cats", which just proves the lack of an apostrophe can cause a misunderstanding.
We consider Bainland Country Park is nearly all its website says it is.
