Retreat at The Greenhouse Christian Centre, Poole

In early December last year, I stayed at The Greenhouse Christian Centre in Poole for four nights and I had the most amazing time. Some of that was because I met profoundly with Jesus and the Holy Spirit did a lot of healing work in me, but much of that was possible because I was staying in a wonderful and anointed retreat centre with a hospitality-focused team. It's therefore my joy to share with you a review of my time at The Greenhouse Christian Centre. 

Location

The Greenhouse Christian Centre is actually located between Westbourne and Branksome but has a Poole address. It is just under two miles to Bournemouth town centre and nearly five to Poole. You can easily get a train into Bournemouth mainline station and catch a bus, or if you get off the train at Branksome it is about a 10/15 minute walk, depending on how leisurely you want to walk. 

I found the location really convenient as someone who travelled by public transport, as the quaint town of Westbourne is about a ten-minute walk and there you can find coffee shops, restaurants, take-aways and shops. Or you can get to the woodland chines and access the gorgeous Bournemouth beaches by walking for about 20 minutes. 

It would be easy to find my using a sat nav if you are driving and there is plenty of parking available.

 

5 Reasons we Loved our Stay at Shorefield - Oakdene Forest Park,

We were away on holiday last week and what an amazing time we had. It was the week when it was 28 or 30 degrees heat every day and I know we are supposed to be grateful for the hot weather but come on, have you ever stayed in a caravan in that kind of heat?

Luckily for us it was a fabulous caravan and that made the world of difference. We were staying in Dorset on the edge of the Hurn and Avon forest at a Shorefield holidays park called Oakdene Forest Park. My parents had stayed there when I was at Uni in the area over twenty years ago but they said it is unrecognisable from the park of those days.

Every year for the first week of the school summer holiday the kids and I go away with my parents, brother and their dog. Normally we stay in a house in Poole but we were all gutted to find out late last year that the landlord we rent from, had sold the property and thus we weren't at all sure what to do as houses for 7 people and a dog can be so expensive. As I browsed the internet in early January I came across some great deals for Shorefield parks and because of their January sale I managed to secure a really decent price for the two caravans. I paid £374.25 for each caravan plus £28.00 for the dog.

I'd booked for a Monday to Friday short break and we all agreed that we needed longer, so next time it will be a full week for us. Officially you can't access your caravan until 4pm on the day or arrival and then have to be out of it by 10am, so that only gives three full days which didn't feel long enough. I had called in advance and asked about early arrival and whilst there was no guarantees, I'd say it is worth doing this as both of our caravans were available for us at 2pm. This meant we were unpacked and in the pool by 3pm!

Fun for all Ages at Mighty Claws Adventure Golf, Bournemouth

Whilst on holiday in Bournemouth recently we headed to the new Mighty Claws Adventure Golf which is situated over by Littedown on the way to Christchurch at Play Golf Bournemouth.

I grew up holidaying in Bournemouth and Boscombe and it was always a key part of our holiday to have a game of crazy golf. Back in those days it would have been in the Boscombe gardens and I can still recall many of the holes from the course. In recent years I've been taking my kids and my parents on holiday to Bournemouth so we have carried on this tradition and played crazy golf each year. The place we have chosen to play has been in Bournemouth gardens opposite the band stand.

However, this year we broke with tradition and took a drive over to the newly opened Mighty Claws Adventure Golf and played there instead. My son was really resilient at first as he loves everything to stay the same but by the time we had played two holes he was converted. The course is just brilliant. It is so well themed and I'd say that at 13 and 10 years my kids are too old to be into dinosaurs but it isn't just for little kids at all as it is so well done. They really must have spent a lot of money as the dinosaurs are animation too and move and make noise.

Birthday Party Fun at Go Ape (Moors Valley, Dorset/ Hampshire)

It was my twins 10th birthday last week and they enjoyed an evening out with my husband and I but due to school and all sorts of end of term commitments there wasn't a big fun birthday adventure. So to rectify this gaping hole Go Ape stepped forward with a Tree Top Junior adventure for the girls and their brother to enjoy whilst we were on holiday in Dorset.

We tried out Go Ape at Bedgebury in Kent back in April and all three of them loved it, so they were super keen to go back and had we been home rather than on holiday I'd have happily booked a Go Ape party for the girls and some of their friends.

8 Great Places to Visit as a Family from Bournemouth/ Poole

As a little girl, my family often took me on holiday to Dorset, to Bournemouth and Boscombe to be more precise and through those visits, my love for the area grew. So much so that I then lived there for three years whilst at University and boy what fun did I have. Again my love for the area heightened and it was naturally the place that I then took my kids to recreate all those fabulous childhood memories.

It's been quite nice for the last three years as my parents and more recently my brother have joined us for a weeks holiday in Poole and thus we really do create some of the old memories. I thought it was high time that I shared some of our favourite places to visit as a family when we are staying in the Bournemouth/ Poole area of Dorset.

1.  Blue flag beaches
This really is the obvious place to start as Bournemouth and Poole (particularly Sandbanks) are renowned for their glorious sandy beaches. Numerous awards have been won and many areas have lifeguards during the summer months so you can enjoy them safely with your family. A personal favourite of ours is Alum Chine as it is never too crowded, there is a lovely play park right close to the sand and you can catch the land train along the promenade to Bournemouth town centre. Parking is limited so we tend to park on street for free and walk through the beautiful chine to get to the beach. Sandbanks is also amazing but can get much busier and the parking is more expensive too.

Visiting National Trust Corfe Castle #CountryKids

I posted last week about our trip out on the Swanage Railway and one of the stops we made was for Corfe Castle as they have a station right in the heart of the village. As members of the National Trust, there was no cost to us to visit the castle ruins but if you are visiting without membership it will cost you £20.45 for a family with two adults and up to three children at peak times. So it is no-where near as expensive as some attractions but to be honest you are probably only going to spend a couple of hours there.

Family Fun on the Swanage Steam Railway

Last week we were away on holiday in Poole. We visit every year and absolutely love the area, there is so much to see and do in Dorset and despite the fact that I have taken probably in excess of 30 holidays and lived there for four years I have never yet grown tired of it. I've now visited most of the main attractons of the area and some call you back time and time again and others are a once only visit.

On this holiday my family and I travelled on the Swanage Railway, which was a first for us and I can honestly say it won't be a last. What a nice addition to any family holiday, it is like a little trip back to the past. I chuckled as my kids looked horrified when they realised that the train door could be opened as the carriage moved (of course we didn't and you wouldn't) but it got me talking about my college days and jumping on moving trains - ekk!

Perfect Journey Stop - Avon Heath Country Park, Dorset

At least once a year we travel to Poole/ Bournemouth to take a holiday or mini-break, I love this part of the country and having spent a few years living there whilst I was at University it feels like a second home to me.

The coastal journey from East Sussex to Dorset is pretty long and there can be some horrendous delays along the way so by the time we reach Ringwood we are desperate to lett he kids get out of the car and to run some energy off. The Avon Heath Country Park is located on Birch Drive just off the A31 an it has everything we need (and more) when we make a stop-off.

Family visit to Kingston Lacy, National Trust (Dorset)

Whilst holidaying in Dorset we decided to use our National Trust membership and go to visit Kingston Lacy and boy were we glad we did, what a great place!

It is really set up for accommodating the kids in the holiday periods, my younger two did a 'spot the teddy bear' hunt and JJ did a classic treasure hunt around the inside of the house with fairly tough clues. They all enjoyed it and got a badge each at the end. There was a cost of £1 each but as I have a membership, this was all I paid out that day and of course, I did not mind.

The house itself is in wonderful condition and is very large, it was a pleasure to look round and it is always good to get to chat to the kids about how things were in years gone by.

Outside the house, there is so much space that even on a busy day you have loads of room to run free and for the children to have fun. There are tons of walks and trails across the 8,500-acre property and this includes working farmland, woodland, formal gardens, a south lawn, Japanese water garden and even a community gardening project where there are a few animals that the children can feed. It is wonderful and diverse, just look -

There are a number of places across the site where you can buy homegrown produce and flowers for a donation and it is lovely to take some home dahlias or gladioli that have been grown there. There are also some amazing flowers on-site and if like me you enjoy photography, you will be right at home here -

Probably my children's favourite part of the day was the living history.  Before we set off in the morning my 10-year-old JJ groaned that we were off to an 'old house' and then after his time with the laundry maids learning hands-on how to use a washboard and mangle and then going through all the pieces in the study suite he declared it was an awesome day and he had no idea why he did not want to come here. I had to laugh!

We broke our day up with a visit to the restaurant and there was the option of an assisted service restaurant or a more casual coffee shop. We sat outside in a beautiful courtyard and enjoyed sandwiches and soup. It is not cheap but it is tasty and the homemade soup was excellent, as was the cream tea. There are also some beautiful picnic areas on site which you can use.

In the 6 hours we were at Kingston Lacy, I think we only saw a small part of it, we found one kiddie tractor ride area but did not make it to the two other children's play areas that were advertised. We would definitely visit again and it was a great day out for all our family.

We are happy to recommend a visit to Kingston Lacy with the family.

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Check out all our other National Trust reviews over here. 

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