Center Parcs with a Greyhound – Our holiday with Niko!

Hi everyone! Recently, we went away on an enchanting family trip to Center Parcs and we took Niko with us. We had the most fabulous time, and it made our memories even more delightful to know that our snooty was there, so I felt it might be helpful to share our experience with other like-minds who may be considering a future doggy-friendly trip away!

Previously, we have taken our pooch, Niko, on a fair few staycations; however, despite being massive lovers of Center Parcs, we had never thought to take any family dogs along with us before – honestly, I didn’t ever really realise we could! So, when my parents booked this family holiday and chose to bring along Bertie the Beagle (Niko’s very best friend!), we jumped at the chance to bring our noodlehorse along. Now, anyone who knows Niko will know that he can be an extremely anxious boy, so entering a new environment can be incredibly stressful for him initially.

When we arrived at Elveden Forest, Niko was rather panty-panty, which is not unusual for him, but we were warmly greeted at the check-in desk by a lovely lady, who was very excited to welcome Niko particularly! She explained some basic rules: the main one being that dogs must always be kept on-lead (except in the few designated areas), mainly because there are other people, bikes, other dogs and some cars moving around the village. This was music to our ears, as greyhound owners, because it meant that no barmy dogs with no recall whatsoever could bounce all over nervy Niko throughout our stay – bonus! He could enjoy meeting other dogs on-lead, with a few sniffs, but would not feel overwhelmed like he sometimes can do. (The lady also explained that there are, of course, many different woodland animals living in the area but, as Niko rarely notices a squirrel a foot ahead of him, this would not be an issue for us.)

Once we arrived at the lodge, we were impressed to firstly notice the wooden floors throughout, as well as leather sofas. Therefore, dog owners did not need to worry about dog hair or any potential nervous accidents, as the lodge was clearly cleverly designed for easier cleaning. The front window also featured a sign, bringing attention to the fact that it was a dog-friendly lodge. Also, the windows appeared to be very sound-proof indeed, given that we could see one of our neighbours had a barking alsation at their window, but we could not hear him outside. After exploring the lodge, Niko quickly made himself at home, once he had settled a little, and found his favourite spot on the sofa. Throughout our stay, when we went out and left him for any swimming slots or dinners, we pulled all the curtains across (particularly across the glass back door) and left the television on, just to keep a calm environment. He was never left really for more than two hours at a time and, according to our doggy-cam which we brought just in case, he seemed to actually enjoy the “down time”, away from us crazy, excitable humans!

Walkies with Niko around the forest were simply gorgeous – I feel like I noticed the stunning beauty and the mesmerising effect of this special place even more so with Niko there, as I had more beautiful moments to soak it all up. One of our funniest moments was when Niko encountered a small muntjac deer in his path – Niko, of course being our darling nervous boy, completely froze and had such a puzzled look on his face!

The dog-friendly lodges were all in the same areas, with a small dog pen available nearby for Niko to be let off the lead safely with Bertie the Beagle and have a little run around in. This was not large enough for him to reach full-greyhound-speed, but more just gave him the opportunity to have a little more freedom while he stretched his legs.

Another brilliant find at Elveden Forest was that their Lakeside Starbucks is dog friendly, with the kind staff appearing to jump at the chance to give Niko his puppucinos! Also, dogs were allowed around the village centre, with water bowls being available outside for them. I noticed a great number of dogs throughout our stay and I could not work out if there had been such a large increase in them or if I just had not noticed them all before, as I had never had a dog with me myself. Either way, it was a joy to see!

Overall, we absolutely adored having the opportunity to have Niko with us on our family trip, and my parents also enjoyed having Bertie with them. After all, they are part of the family, so why should they miss out?! Niko was absolutely exhausted on our way home and seemed to thoroughly enjoy his exciting trip! I commend Center Parcs for making it possible for people like us to include our precious pooches. I understand that, for some dog owners, this destination might not be suitable for them – for example, if they constantly wish for their dogs to be off-lead or if their dog has a particularly high prey drive and would therefore find the wildlife potentially stressful. However, for us, the trip was just spectacular and we have already rebooked for next year, with the dogs joining us too! This time, we are going to give Woburn Forest a try!

For any more information, please don’t hesitate to visit my ‘Contact’ page. I hope this little write-up might have been helpful!

Love and snoot kisses,

Berry x