Can you tell me where Center Parcs holiday camps are located

Asks jellybean

A. Center Parcs has 13 holiday villages, they can be found in the UK (3 venues), the Netherlands (5 venues), Belgium (2 venues), France (2 venues) and Germany (1 venue).

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Q. When did Center Parcs begin

A. It has been going for over 30 years now, its first holiday village De Lommerbergen opened in 1968 in the Netherlands and contained just 40 villas.

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Q. Is Center Parcs environmentally conscious

A. All of their villages are environmentally conscious - Center Parcs claims that every aspect of its operations from its selection of new sites to its day-to-day operating procedures are directed by care for the environment.

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The layout of the central features and the villas are built to harmonise with the surroundings, with the minimum amount of trees removed, and extensive planting and landscaping implemented. In some cases more than 500,000 new trees and comparable quantities of plants and bushes have been planted as part of the environmental programme of a village.

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In the creation of the streams, lakes and waterways, the provision and movement of the water through the system is carefully planned and controlled, with the introduction of appropriate aquatic plants to attract animal life and birds. In addition, herds of deer, ducks, swans, wild birds, rabbits and squirrels are all permanent residents of the villages.

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Q. What type of holiday does Center Parcs offer

A. It offers an activity holiday in a secluded village complex, with high quality accommodation and lots of water sports. The focus of each village is its Subtropical Swimming Paradise. This comprises a transparent dome that houses various water activities including a wave pool, water slides, children's pools, saunas and Jacuzzis. Inside this construction the temperature is always 84 degrees, and the landscape features rocks, tropical plants, trees and flowers. Each village is family focused and geared towards providing a fun-filled short break - with lots of activities and facilities for children and babies. It also offers business breaks.

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Q. Do the villages offer any other activities away from the water

A. There is life outside of the Subtropical Swimming Paradise! You can also play tennis, squash or golf or go riding; you can have a workout or a beauty spa; and back on the water sailing and wind surfing are also available.

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If you take advantage of Center Parcs' Spa and Aqua Sana facilities you can steal time away from the children and imagine you are on a health farm - treatments include aromatherapy, reflexology, dry flotation and seaweed body wraps. In the Spa saunas, Turkish baths, whirlpools and plunge pools are all on offer, together with calm relaxation areas.

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As each village is so big you can explore by bike (available to hire) or on foot following nature trails�- or just heading off and doing your own thing. In addition to this, you can take an aerobics or art class or watch a film at the cinema. Every village has a facilities board near its entrance detailing all the activities you can enjoy, they often vary at different locations.

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Q. Are there any activities geared specifically towards children

A. Apart from the water activities inside the dome, your children can join one of the children's clubs�- which all offer two and a half hours of supervised activity�- and are designed to be stimulating and exciting for children, while giving their parents a break. Each club is split into ages: Crickets for the 3-5 years; Dragonflies 5-8 years; Adventurers 8-11 years and Trackers 11-14 years.

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Q. How big is a village

A. In terms of the land it covers, each village is approximately 100 hectares and contains approximately 650 villas.

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Q. What are the villas like

A. Surprisingly for standardised accommodation, the villas are really nice. You can choose from one to four bedroom villas and they all have spacious living rooms and a well-equipped kitchen, central heating and a furnished patio. They also have 13-channel TV and an open fire. There is a supermarket on site and several restaurants if you don't want to cook in your villa.

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All the villas are single storey and blend into the woodland setting of all the villages. In the UK there are two types of villas to choose from - executive and comfort.

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The executive villa is the posher of the two; it has good quality furniture and furnishings, all co-ordinating of course. It includes en-suite bathrooms; some of them even have a dishwasher and their own saunas. The comfort villa is similar to the executive with well-maintained and clean rooms, just without the luxurious add-ons. Wooden cots and high chairs are available in all villas on request.

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Q. Where are the Center Parcs villages located in the UK

A. Sherwood Forest, Elveden Forest and Longleat Forest.

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Q. Have the villages been affected by foot and mouth

A. None of the villages have been closed during the outbreak, but disinfectant barriers have been installed at the entrance of each village as a precaution. In addition, Center Parcs will consider cancellations, refunds etc. for parties that operate farms or smallholdings, or associated occupations. Some pony rides and country cycle rides are also cancelled. Although dogs are welcome (at a charge of �24.50 per dog) the organisation requests that they are not brought into a village if they have been on or near farmland.

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Q. How much does it cost to stay there

A. It depends on the length of your stay and what type of villa you require, and of course the numbers in your party. But to give you some idea, a group of four people can stay for a weekend in mid-July in a comfort villa for �404 in Sherwood Forest or �518 in an executive villa.

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By Karen Anderson