CenterParks Longleat, with Thomas - Day 3:The Howling

A slow start to the day is becoming the norm.  The overnight snow had left white patches on the ground, but there was so little it looked like a heavy frost.  Last night was supposed to have been the coldest of the winter so far, with temperatures predicted to drop as low as minus five.  I don't know if it was that cold because the temperature in the villa was quite constant and warm.
We eventually ventured out into the cold, and got as far as the Sports Bar.  We booked a pool table for an hours pool.  Like the bowling, my recent experience is non-existent, so I played badly even by my poor standard.  Thomas seemed to enjoy the environment of the sports bar - perhaps it was the endless TV screens showing mostly the same thing, but weirdly some are slightly out of sync.  One or two have different programs.
From the Sports Bar, Jo and I took Thomas back to the villa, while Liz and Ray went to the Aqua Sana for a spa event.  On the way, we looked for the bird hide.  It is next to a small pond which was still frozen over at 4pm.  Just up the bank at the back of the pond is a villa with very noisy children playing.  We instantly blamed them for the lack of birds, but a few moments later the real reason became apparent. A cat came prowling through the scene, obviously intent on something we couldn't see and unaware of our presence, it went on its way.  The few birds there had been were already gone, and so it was our turn.  We made our way back up the hill on the way back to the villa.  We had not ridden on the 'train' yet, when we arrived at the stop it was just a couple of minutes away.  Frantically we tried to disassemble the push chair as the 'train' arrived, we were still trying as it left, so we gave up and walked back.
Once back in the warm Thomas was soon complaining that he was too hot but even unwrapped he was not happy.  Pointless was on the TV, but having it on was pointless - we couldn't hear it above his cries. Eventually, after I swaddled him and rocked him he dozed off, but not for long - in less than 30 minutes he was back at full volume.  At four months, a child knows his mother and father; he also knows when they are not around and protests accordingly. Even the flames from the log fire, which had so fascinated him last night, had no effect.  We decided to take him for a walk - back in the bear suit, back in the push chair and on our way up the hill, the volume and frequency reduced slowly.  Near the end of Cascade Way, we met mum and dad coming the other way - all is well for the rest of the night.

CenterParcs Longleat, with Thomas - Day 4: The Railway Children

After a reasonable night we were still up late, the morning is spent on breakfast in the villa - nothing special, although I have now worked out how the microwave works so I can cook my porridge the way I like it.
After lunch we went to the pool for a last visit.  We decided to get the 'land train' - a vehicle pulling either two or three coaches seating about 20 per coach.  Very basic, but very necessary on this huge site.  As we drove past some of the people in the villas close to the road waved.  Why is it not just called a train - even without rails road train would work better.  When was the last time you saw a sea train, or an air train.  All trains go on land as far as I know.
Arriving at the pool later than planned we moved dinner back half an hour to get a reasonable amount of time there.  Thomas was seated in his 'flotation device' and was really enjoying being pushed through the water.  At one point he was kicking his legs and moving through the water under his own power, the direction of course was quite random, but I like to think that he realised that it was his action causing the movement.  While the others went off to go down some of the bigger slides he stayed with me, and we went out deeper, where the water was warmer.  By now it is dark outside and the atmosphere was changing inside the pool - the temperature outside was close to zero, inside it had dropped and the water at the edges cooled down quickly.   Thomas was feeling the cold.  Out in the middle the water was still warm so he enjoyed that more.  He was happy to get his mum back though. Then I tried a little swimming   The pool is not designed for straight swimming, but along the divider it is possible occasionally. After a few widths I was tired, and wondering how my shoulder would hold up.
We left the pool, getting washed and dry in the changing rooms and headed to dinner at Las Iguanas.  The service was good and appropriately attentive, the food was nice enough, if a little on the spicy side.  Anyway we all enjoyed ourselves.  The only slight disappointment being the beer - Brave Red Ale - a craft beer, which lacked body, although the taste was OK.

CenterParcs Longleat, with Thomas - Day 2: Water World

After a reasonable night's sleep, I comment about the beds and the shower.  The bed is comfortable and large enough for me not to have feet sticking out of the end.  The way the duvet is placed on the bed, and tucked in with a very large sheet, means that the duvet only reaches to my chest.  The chalet also cools down quickly, so Thomas was cold during the night.  The central heating is set to automatically return to its default plan after a certain amount of time, so trying to make it stay on overnight seems to be impossible. The shower is good, and I enjoyed a good stream of hot water for the duration - no fluctuations in pressure or temperature.  Refreshed by a good night's sleep, we are planning to visit the pancake house for breakfast.
Today, we walked the 1.5 miles to the Plaza, and arrived at the pancake house in time for a late breakfast.  The pancakes are very good, I had a Smoked Salmon and rocket pancake.  The others also had a sweet one after their savoury one, but I refrained.  Thomas was offered various tastes from the pancakes, most of which caused him to dribble excessively.
After that, it was on to ten-pin bowling.  We had an hour booked and managed two games.  I played badly and could not achieve my usual level of accuracy, so overall I was well beaten. Nevertheless, we all enjoyed ourselves, passing Thomas around, so we could take our turn.  He put up with all of that without a big fuss.
Then to the pool, to introduce Thomas to the water.  The baby flotation devices are expensive, so we decided to look after him, but a couple offered us theirs, as their son had grown out of it.  There are still lots of kind people in the world, and we were very happy to accept their kind offer.  He seemed to enjoy the freedom it provided and was happy kicking his legs and getting some movement.  We were sat just in the wave pool, when the wave started we sat on the edge.  He enjoyed the wave crashing next to us and watching it splash the people next to us - that was perhaps the most entertaining thing for him.  Later we left Liz and Ray in the pool, and took Thomas to get a cup of tea (for us, not him).  We fed him and almost immediately he slept, he barely finished his milk.  Eventually it was just him and I, dozing in the chair - him properly asleep and me nodding off and waking up.
When Liz and Ray returned from the pool, we started the return journey to the villa.  We waited for the 'train', but it was full, so we walked back, down the valley and up the other side.  I pushed him all the way - exercise complete for the day!

CenterParcs Longleat, with Thomas - Day 1: Lost in space

The journey to CenterParcs started, as all holiday journeys do, not with a single step, but 20 minutes loading the car.  We decided to take the petrol vehicle, mainly because it has more space. Also, because I haven't got as far as signing the electric one up for charging points yet.  Then we traveled six miles in the wrong direction to meet with Liz, Ray and Thomas and to pick up some of their luggage.  The convoy (just two vehicles) set off down the A13 to the M25. For most of the journey the traffic was reasonable, there were only ne or two small jams.  We stopped at Fleet Services on the M3 for lunch - Burger King.  The temporary facilities are really quite nice, very open and airy, but warm enough none-the-less.  The most notable thing about the services, which I could just about have got to, was that all the re-charging points appeared to be cordoned off. The remainder of the journey was uneventful, and Thomas slept for most of the journey.  Then we drove into Longleat Forest, the signs are clear enough, but I had no idea where I was in relation to anything else.  Maps are provided, but they need magnification to be of real use. 
The accommodation is clean, warm and modern - much nicer than I was expecting. There are TV's in every bedroom and also one in the lounge / diner / kitchen.  The storage space in the bedrooms looks small, but is more than adequate. The bathrooms are also very modern. The first order of business after exploring the rooms is to get the devices connected to WiFi - that was much easier than expected.
Waiting for us was a large box of Krispy Kreme Donuts - very welcome, and logs for the wood burner (more on that later).  The donuts just underlined what lunch had already proven - sticking to the diet this week is going to be impossible.
After a while, Liz and I took the cars off site and parked them in the car park, then walked into the Plaza. Jo, Ray and Thomas walked from the chalet and we met at the bowling alley for a drink.  Prices are a little high, but I suppose that is to be expected.  At least they have Doombar.
The walk back in the dark was confusing for me, but Liz knew where she was going.  We are about 1.6 miles from the Plaza, so a return trip should be enough for my daily walking requirement, though I will have to move faster than I did tonight.  I would have expected to get a better view of the Milky Way on a clear cold night, especially as the lights are all dim, low level and mainly under fir trees, but it wasn't so different from Billericay.