Center Parcs reveals first look at new UK holiday village costing £400,000,000
The holiday park has revealed virtual images of the new village (Picture: Center Parcs Scotland)
Center Parcs fans have been given a glimpse of what the brand new holiday park will look like when it opens in 2029.
A new video takes us on a virtual tour of the site, featuring familiar amenities, such as waterside lodges, the Aqua Sana Forest Spa, Sports Plaza, and the Subtropical Swimming Paradise.
The iconic swimming pool (Picture: Center Parcs Scotland)
Guests will be familiar with the look of the new site (Picture: Center Parcs Scotland)
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Center Parcs is the UK’s most visited holiday park, known for its woodland setting huge variety of activities, and signature rapids.
Here’s what we know about the new Scotland Center Parcs so far.
What do the new Center Parcs pictures reveal about the Scotland site?
Waterside lodges are currently only available in Elveden (Picture: Center Parcs Scotland)
Frequent guests of Center Parcs will see that the new park has everything you’d expect from one of their villages.
The Subtropical Swimming Paradise is adorned with foliage, a transparent greenhouse-like ceiling, and features both indoor and outdoor pools and waterways.
There is also a child’s play area, with a small slide and lots of places to splash around in.
A swanky new Aqua Sana Spa will also come to Scotland (Picture: Center Parcs Scotland)
Images also reveal that this village too will have a Pancake House – a much-loved family friendly dining option – although we’re yet to see if there will also be a Treats (the confectionary shop) or on-site Cafe Rouge or Huck’s American Bar and Grill.
Unsurprisingly, this site also has some of the newer features, not in place at all Center Parcs forests.
This site will also be family friendly, with a child’s area at the swimming pool (Picture: Center Parcs Scotland)
Every site has a lake with a sandy beach (Picture: Center Parcs Scotland)
For example, there will be Waterside Lodges, which are currently only available to book at Elveden Forest, Suffolk.
These two-storey detached lodges feature a wood deck and balconies for views over the ‘loch’, which has a sandy beach.
The Aqua Sana Forest Spa is also featured, and while no specific details have been revealed, it’s speculated that the Scottish spa will offer state-of-the-art features.
For example, at the Aqua Sana Forest Spa in Sherwood Forest, Nottingham, there’s a treetop sauna, not currently available at any other village’s spa.
Lots of opportunities to relax and unwind (Picture: Center Parcs Scotland)
Colin McKinlay, CEO of Center Parcs, said: ‘It’s fantastic to share a visual representation of our proposed Scottish village with the local community.
‘The flythrough video and 3D model really help bring the plans to life.’
Where is the new Center Parcs?
The first ever in Scotland, the new park will be in the Scottish Borders, north of Hawick and south of Selkirk – around a 90-minute drive from Edinburgh and Newcastle, or two hours from Glasgow.
In a statement, the firm praised the ‘picturesque location’ for its ‘rolling hills and open countryside providing stunning scenery at every turn.’
The proposed site is in the Scottish borders (Picture: Metro Graphics)
It’s a stunning spot for a new village (Picture: Center Parcs)
The village, which is expected to cost between £350 and £400 million, will be able to accommodate 3,500 guests at a time.
Although Center Parcs has yet to reveal a specific opening date, McKinlay said it is expected be some time in 2029.
Plans show space for 700 holiday lodges (Picture: Center Parcs)
Center Parcs previously claimed the new site was necessary as its ‘existing villages are pretty much full all year round and we feel there is strong demand for another Center Parcs in the UK.’
The company also added that picking a site in Scotland was no coincidence, with its website reading: ‘We have a lot of Scottish families who visit Center Parcs already and this is a great opportunity to keep their economic impact in Scotland.’
Center Parcs will plant ‘thousands of trees’ on the local grasslands (Picture: Jeff Holmes JSHPIX/Shutterstock)
The new site will have the all-important swimming pool and rapids (Picture: Center Parcs/PA Wire)
There are currently five Center Parcs in the UK: Whinfell Forest, Sherwood Forest, Longleat Forest, Elveden Forest, Woburn Forest. There’s also one village in Ireland: Longford Forest.
Each of these villages was developed in existing woodlands and forests, but this time, Center Parcs will be planting its own, in a process known as afforestation.
‘Thousands of trees’ will be planted on the site – which is ‘currently mostly open grassland’ – to create a brand new woodland, in what the company calls ‘a bold, new approach’.
The plan also prioritises heritage and environmental significance, with additions like wetlands, meadows, and lochs, as well as improved screening to protect neighbouring properties and natural beauty.
'I've been to every Center Parcs in the UK'
Metro’s Lifestyle Editor, Kristina Beanland, shares her memories of growing up going to the restorts.
I’ve been going to Center Parcs with my family since I was in primary school.
As a child, I signed up to some weird and wonderful activities: from street dance (picture the instructor as an older Raygun) to an oft-regretted two days making a music video to Madness’ Baggy Trousers (I was about nine at the time, and was more of an S Club fan).
There was also a few bizarre years when I was big into circus skills. I’m still yet to find a real-world use for my diablo practice.
As I got older, I was lucky enough to call Center Parcs my retreat amid GCSE and A-Level stress. A place to revise among the quiet, before throwing myself head first down the rapids for some light relief.
Mind you, whatever my age, cycling up the hills (particularly those in Longleat Forest) has become no easier – to the point where I’ve now ditched the two wheels for two feet instead.
I’ve celebrated some pretty important milestones in a Center Parcs village: the final episode of Friends, and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, to name just a few.
I’ve visited the village up in Cumbria, the one down in Bedford, and all the others in between – meaning I’ve been to every single one in the UK (although I haven’t ticked the Irish site off my list).
The village in Woburn is small and compact, and less than an hour away from London, but my favourite is probably Elveden, with its huge lake (try cable water skiing) and award-winning water ride, the Tropical Cyclone.
I only have happy memories (apart from that one time my mum tore her Achilles during an ill-fated game of badminton, but that’s a story for another day), and now the visits are less frequent, but still just as fun. Circus skills have been swapped for spa days, and I’ve been drunk on a bike on more occasions that I care to admit here.
Now, we’re joined by my young niblings – a new generation of my family is becoming equally as obsessed with Treats (iykyk) as I am.
Center Parcs is far from a budget holiday, but it’s worth saving up for – I can’t wait to go back.
This article was first published on November 6, 2024.
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