I have to admit I wasn’t overly thrilled at the prospect of a long weekend away, finding it hard to see past the mounting workload as I took a day off work, and the organisation required for travelling with two young boys.
My husband Chris worked until midnight the evening before to ensure he could have Friday off work – was it really worth it?
And then there was the journey, three hours and 20 minutes door to door. With two small children. Oh joy.
Sure enough, as we pulled into the petrol station to fill up the car soon after leaving the house my eldest son Ben, four, asked “is this our holiday?”
Twenty minutes later “are we nearly there yet?
Thirty minutes later “how many minutes left now mummy?” and so it went on.
By the time we arrived at the Ribby Hall Holiday Village, 22-month-old Oliver was covered head to toe in stickers (to alleviate Ben’s boredom) and Ben had lost all interest in our four day short break and wanted to go home.
But as we unlocked the door of our three bedroom cottage, which overlooked the picturesque duck pond, we all acquired a new lease of life. It was superb.
The accommodation was immaculate – a self confessed stickler for cleanliness, I loath dusty surfaces and stained sinks. I wasn’t disappointed.
The cottage had everything we needed, from a fully equipped kitchen to en-suite bathroom, dishwasher, CD and DVD player, plenty of clean towels, coffee, tea, you name it.
Desperate to stretch our legs after the long car journey we made straight for the Sports and Leisure centre.
The pool area was fantastic, with two great slides, a toddlers play area, Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna and hot tubs.
We spent hours waiting at the bottom of the slide for Ben, a confident swimmer, as he plummeted into the water legs above head at 100 miles an hour, emerging from the depths of the water with a huge grin on his face.
And we took it in turns to keep an eye on Oliver whilst he went up and down the toddlers slide time after time after time, whilst the other person went off to enjoy 10 minutes of solitude in the sauna or steam room.
This was the life.
The food outlets in the village were first class. That evening we ate in Nigel Smith’s restaurant; a fine dining eatery with an a la carte menu every night of the week, and a fish and chips special on Mondays and Fridays.
The staff in the restaurant were patient and attentive, turning a blind eye to Oliver shouting at the top of his voice and eating the colouring pencils, and Ben trying to set light to the napkins by placing them on top of the candles.
On reflection, choosing such a classy restaurant for our first meal wasn’t my wisest decision, but the fish and chips were the best we’d ever tasted, the service was the best we’d ever experienced, and the Pinot Grigio put a smile on our tired faces.
The following day we enjoyed a relaxing breakfast at our cottage, after which we fed the ducks, and headed out for a walk around the village to see what facilities and activities were on offer.
There is plenty to do on-site including horse riding, fishing, golf, mini-golf, boating, cycle hire, tennis, climbing wall, swimming and the gym, and so much more.
Ribby Hall is set on 100 acres of tranquil and picturesque land, the perfect landscape for outdoor activities whilst feeling ‘at one’ with nature.
We were slightly restricted in what we could do with a 22-month old in tow, but we made the most of our stay by visiting the horses, each of whom was greeted with a “moo” or “baa” from Oliver, and cycling round the village on the four-wheel cycle. The rest of our day was spent in the pool complex until our pruned fingers and toes could stand no more.
But the highlight of this day was the evening entertainment. Every Friday and Saturday night guests are treated to family entertainment from the in house team, which includes anything from dancing and circus acts to face painting and the “party in the dark”.
The entertainment takes place in the Bar and Grill; to be honest I didn’t have high expectations for the venue; figuring mediocre pub grub would be on the menu. Again I was pleasantly surprised. The food was well cooked, well presented and delicious.
This family venue was perfect for the children as they could run around at their own leisure, leaving us to relax with a pint at the edge of the dance floor.
I wasn’t sure how receptive the boys would be to the entertainment as Ben in particular is incredibly shy and hates performing.
But an hour later my bashful four-year-old was spinning plates and strutting his stuff with the best of them, attempting to follow the dance moves and instructions from the host. The entertainment team were encouraging, enthusiastic and lively.
And despite being a step behind everyone else and often moving in the wrong direction, Ben won first prize for “trying so hard”. We were so proud.
On Sunday we visited the horses again much to Oliver’s delight, and Ben was treated to a 15 minute escorted horse ride on Hamish.
There are a variety of horse rides available, from private lessons to carriage rides. This means novices can enjoy rides on the smaller horses, whilst more accomplished riders could make the most of the ‘ride out’ services.
We also took the children to the soft play area, where they spent a couple of hours jumping into the ball pools, playing football, and careering excitedly down slides.
We were determined to experience as many culinary delights as possible, but by Sunday evening we were exhausted and desperate to ‘chill out’.
Luckily the cottage was so homely and comfortable that we welcomed the opportunity to spend time indoors relaxing, so we ordered takeaway pizzas from The Bistro and settled down with a DVD.
And just before the boys went to bed it started to snow, a perfect end to a perfect stay.
On Monday morning, we packed up our stuff, said goodbye to the ducks and got in the car. Ben shed a few tears when he realised we were on our way home because despite me promising a trip to Spain in a couple of months he “wanted to stay on THIS holiday”.
It had been a fabulous fun-filled weekend, and one we won’t forget in a hurry.
If you would like any more information on Ribby Hall Village please free phone 0800 085 1717 or visit www.ribbyhall.co.uk quoting RHV255.
Emma Elsworthy
Emma is a mum of two, member of TheBabyWebsite and works for South West News Service |
Bluestone Wales
