Ale, music and enjoying life.
Return to Keldy. Forest Holiday Review
Having been to Keldy before (my Forest Holiday Keldy review) I was pleasantly surprised when we won a weekend holiday to one of their Forest Holiday locations. Given a choice of where in the UK to go I decided on Keldy as I’d been to this location before and really enjoyed it.
Sherwood Hideaway Review
We were looking to get away to Europe for a late Summer’s break in September 2016. There was plenty on offer but these late last minute deals are there for a reason. Every time I checked a review for a hotel in Greece or somewhere I was met with shocking reviews. So in the end we decided to look at getting a cabin somewhere away from in all in England.
We’d done one of these forest holidays before and I immediately looked to go back but they were booked up. My second choice was “Sherwood Hideaway” on the edge of Sherwood Forest.
We booked one of the “Woodland Rustic” cabins. Just 2 years old the cabin was stunningly presented. Spotless on arrival and feeling very modern we were suitably impressed.
We were incredibly fortunate with the weather – The temperature was around 27C on the Tuesday and Wednesday we were there with blazing sunshine for the rest of the week apart from Friday when it rained (we were leaving at the checkout time of 10am Friday so we weren’t really bothered).
To enter the forest was a 50 meters walk from our cabin. Parts of the forest have been shaped into walkways. One morning I decided to go for a run and it was ideal. I was getting over a recent calf injury and it started playing up so I had to cut my run short but the forest is ideal for walking and running.
There’s a great walk just a few miles from the cabin that leads you through farm land to Thoresby Hall. Set aside the best part of a day for walking there and around the estate, taking in some food then the walking back.
The double patio doors lead out onto decking complete with ratten furniture and a hot tub. Perfect for unwinding after a days exploring.
Cheers!
Pouring down on our last day.
Forest Holidays – Keldy Cabins
Keldy Location
Just back from 5 days Forest Holiday at Forest Holidays Keldy. Located in the heart of the North Yorks Moors there’s 2 sites close to each other that “Forest Holidays” offer. Keldy and Cropton. Doing a bit of digging before I decided to go for the Keldy location. From the reviews Keldy seems to be located further into the forest whereas Cropton sounds like the cabins are located in a field.
Arriving at Keldy around 5pm on the Monday I was advised that the cabin wasn’t quite ready yet as the cleaners were still working on it. No big deal, we were offered free drinks while we waited and we can’t have waited any longer than 30 mins.
Keldy Cabins
Our cabin (number 16) was ideal – Located very close to the main reception/shop cabin but in a position that was surrounded by trees and not overlooked (unlike some of the other cabins around us). If I was to stay at this site again I’d probably pay the extra money to reserve cabin 16 for this reason.
Although it was nice to get away from civilization there was plenty to do on the site itself. We did the “Night Walk” on the Tuesday evening which promised top end quality night vision goggles for spotting the forest’s wildlife. It almost started badly with the organiser/ranger (Gareth) failing to shout out in the reception area (where we were told to meet). Thankfully, I was walking around the reception (first at the front, no sign of anyone then at the back where he seemed to be waiting). The night vision kit was a bit frustrating, wires wouldn’t stay connected it really needs a bit of an upgrade. That said, Gareth seemed to know his stuff and was very professional throughout the walk. Well worth the 10 quid.
There’s plenty of signposted forest walks to keep you occupied for a few days – we did quite a few of them including one that ended in a pub!. There’s plenty of walks for dog owners and the ratio of dog to people was pretty high. I managed to go on a run early one morning around the forest as well. Walking to the Cropton site one day I realised the reviews I’d read are correct, the cabins were mainly gathered around a field and didn’t feel as welcoming as Keldy.
Points to note; There’s no Wifi or phone signal on site. If you’re lucky you might get the odd 1 bar signal whilst out walking. Not always a bad thing as most people would get away to avoid technology. You can upgrade to get WiFi and Sky Sports in your cabin for £40 – I chose to decline as I’d only be interested in the occasional WiFi usage and little else. You could get on WiFi at the reception if you needed to grab your email.
The pizza’s ordered through room service and delivered to our cabin were pretty good for the money – worth doing one night when you can’t be bothered cooking.
All in all an enjoyable 5 days and we’ll probably be back at some point.