History
The first Center Parcs holiday village in the United Kingdom was opened in July 1987 and named Sherwood Forest. It is located near Ollerton and Boughton in Nottinghamshire. Two years later a second village was added, at Elveden Forest, near Brandon, Suffolk.
In 1994, Center Parcs opened its third UK village, called Longleat Forest near Warminster in Wiltshire. The village has fewer lodges than Elveden Forest and Sherwood Forest due to the steep topography of the site.
In 2001, Center Parcs took over a holiday park with a similar set-up near Penrith in Cumbria which had originally opened in 1997 under the name Oasis Lakeland Holiday Village. It was rebranded as Center Parcs Oasis Whinfell Forest but in 2006 the 'Oasis' was dropped from the name and it is now called Whinfell Forest. The set up at Whinfell is slightly different in that the style of accommodation is more akin to Scandinavian-style lodges, the main centre of the village is under cover, and there is no country club like at Elveden Forest and Sherwood Forest.
In April 2002, the central plaza and sports centre at Elveden Forest was destroyed by fire. One member of staff was treated for smoke inhalation but there were no serious injuries. In the summer of 2003, after extensive re-building which saw the plaza replaced with a new open village square, Elveden Forest reopened. Whilst it was closed, the rest of the village was also improved including the refurbishment of the country club and the addition of a spa and new three- and four-bedroom lodges.
Read more about this topic: Center Parcs UK
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