I'm really excited to be able to write this Bluestone Wales review and share our experinece of our short break at Bluestone National Park Resort. We had a great time and we really didn't want our mini break to end. The children (Harry aged 6, Daisy aged 3 and Oliver aged 6 weeks) all really enjoyed their holiday and have talked about it a lot since. (well Oliver just slept for most of the holiday, but he seemed quite happy!)
Bluestone Wales Review - A Short Family Break Away in the UK
Bluestone National park resort is located in the beautiful Pembrokeshire countryside in Wales. The resort is full of wooden lodges with a small 'village' in the centre. In the village you will find a village shop, a play area and places to eat. There is also a spa (although we didn't get chance to visit).
At the other side of the resort there is an activity centre with a soft play area and a swimming pool. In the activity centre you can book activities to do during your stay (although I do recommend booking these in advance if you can as lots of the activities sell out.) There are all sorts of activities on offer. We went during the week so most of the activities were aimed at younger children, there were shows, crafts and adventures to go on. For older children we spotted a climbing wall and the zip wire looked fun.
One of our favourite places to visit, which is a short walk away from the activity centre was camp smokey where there is an area to toast your own marshmallows.
Accomodation at Bluestone Wales - Ramsey Lodge
We stayed in a Ramsey lodge or 'our upside down house' as the children called it. The lodges are each set in their own space and they have a small outside seating area. There are no cars allowed on the resort (except for on arrival and departure days) so the area is really quiet and it is safe for the children to use their scooters on the paths outside the lodge.
The accomodation inside the Ramsey lodge is perfect for a young family. There are 2 bedrooms next to each other downstairs and a living space upstairs. One of the bedrooms is a double and the other bedroom is a twin and they both have an ensuite (one with a bath and one with a shower). We pushed the two twin bed together so that Harry and Daisy could share one huge bed.
Upstairs the main living area has everything set up for a family of four. There is an area with sofas, a coffee table and a television as well as a dining table and a kitchen area. The kicthen has a dish washer which was brilliant for us as it meant we could easily wash all of Olivers baby bottles.
We took Olivers bed from home with us as he is still in his side by side cot but if you have a slightly older baby with you there is a travel cot and high chair available to use.
The resort is spread out across quite a large area. There are some truely beautiful views and a lake to walk around. It is quite a long walk between the village and the activity centre, but you can rent a buggy if you think it will be a little far for you to walk.
The kids loved our buggy 'Enid' and I was really grateful for it as I think it would have been too much for the children to walk back home after doing the activities.
Activities at Bluestone Wales
The area around the resort is beautiful so we spent quite a bit of our time enjoying the countryside. There are some lovely walks and we especially enjoyed exploring the woodlands around camp smokey. We had typical english weather during our visit which included lots of rain, but it didnt ruin our fun!
The kids had their scooters with them which definitely made the long walks a bit easier for them.
At camp smokey you can buy marshmallows to toast on the open fire. YUM!
Activities at Bluestone Wales - Panning for Gold
Harry really wanted to give panning for gold a try (Daisy was a little less keen as she was too cold, but she had fun!) This activity is done really well and lasts about an hour. You are met by Smokey who takes the children to the little stream behind camp smokey and talks about panning for gold. The children are then taken upstairs where they meet Smokeys friend Digger and they have a go at panning for gold themselves. Smokey and Digger are really funny and their humour had Harry in hysterics.
The children left very pleased with their 'gold' bar necklaces.
Activities at Bluestone Wales - Art and Crafts
Daisy loves making things so we really wanted to book her onto one of the art and craft workshops. There are quite a few to choose from but you need to book ahead as we only just managed get onto the workshop as they were able to add an extra child on.
We did the fairy lantern session. The children met a fairy who took the time to get to know all of the children before guiding them through how to make their own fairy house. Daisy loved making her fairy house and didnt want much help at all!
We took the fairy houses back to our lodge and the children put them beside their beds. They looked brilliant with the little tea lights that they were given shining through the cellophane windows.
Activities at Bluestone Wales - The Secret Village
You are met in the village by a fairy or hobbit which take you off in search of the fairy village. We had lots of fun shrinking down to fairy size and then collecting magic dust as we went on a walk to hunt for fairies.
We eventually found the fairy village where we spotted the Tooth Fairy and Tinkerbell's house!
Entertainment at Bluestone Wales - Shows
There are lots of different shows to get involved in at Bluestone but you must book in advance as when we were staying most of the shows sold out. There are dinner shows, ranger shows, live music and shows where you can meet the woody wild characters.
We went to watch the Huwie Hedgehog show at the village hall. This show was aimed at the under 5's so Harry was a little old for it. He did like his zoomer dudes wristband that all the children were given at the start of the show though and he even collected one for Oliver so he didnt feel left out!
The Huwie Hedgehog show is really interactive and gets the children up and moving. They can join in the dances, follow the characters as they go off on an adventure around the hall and do some colouring.
Daisy absolutely loved the show and when they said that children could go up to meet Huwie hedgehog at the end of the show she was first in the queue.
Even Oliver (who slept for most of the holiday) woke up for the show and quite enjoyed the music and lights.
Blue Lagoon Swimming Pool
One of the highlights for the children was the blue lagoon swimming pool. The pool is quite impressive with lot of different areas to explore. There are flumes, a lazy river, a wave machine and a fenced off childrens area for babies and toddlers.
Harry and Daisy totally loved the lazy river which takes you outside and we went around again and again! Even Oliver was able to join us in the pool for a short time. There are deck chairs around the edge of the pool so it was easy to take him to the side of the pool and keep him warm while the older children spent a bit longer in the pool.
Well if you hadn't guessed already we totally loved our time at bluestone and we would love to return. It is the perfect place to go to with a young family and it is easy to create just the right mix of activities and quiet time. The lodges are well equipped and we were all really cosy in our lodge. So yes, we would totally recommend Bluestone Wales as a fantastic place to go on a short break away with a young family. Here are Harry and Daisy's reviews of the holiday.
Would We Recommend Bluestone Wales?
Well if you hadn't guessed already we totally loved our time at bluestone and we would love to return. It is the perfect place to go to with a young family and it is easy to create just the right mix of activities and quiet time. The lodges are well equipped and we were all really cosy in our lodge. So yes, we would totally recommend Bluestone Wales as a fantastic place to go on a short break away with a young family. Here are Harry and Daisy's reviews of the holiday.
Bluestone Wales Review by Harry (aged 6)
Bluestone is amazing. I loved the swimming pool it was very cool. I liked hunting for gold and I got a piece of gold to keep. I liked the park because it had a swing and slide. I loved our upside down house. I like that the lounge and kitchen are upstairs and that they are stuck together. I liked toasting marshmallows but most of all I liked eating the marshmallows that we toasted.
I liked our upside down house and the top lounge. I loved the show with the hedgehog in it. I liked our toasted marshmallows as a snack and I liked looking for fairies. We found one fairy and got some magic fairy dust that was pink.
Disclosure: We were invited to Bluestone Wales for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are our own as always. Thank you Bluestone we totally loved our break away.
Bluestone Wales Review by Daisy (aged 3)
I liked our upside down house and the top lounge. I loved the show with the hedgehog in it. I liked our toasted marshmallows as a snack and I liked looking for fairies. We found one fairy and got some magic fairy dust that was pink.
If after reading this review you would like to book a break away at Bluestone for yourself head over to the bluestone website for more details.
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