The Forest Centre & Millennium Country Park — Attraction in Marston Moretaine

After heading here for a walk and the intention of a picnic one Sunday we were left a little disappointed. Firstly, as many others have pointed out, the number of signs regarding the parking charges is excessive, even before you’ve reached the car park. This immediately gives a commercialised feel to the place and takes the edge off what they’re trying to achieve. While charging for parking isn’t too bad in itself, the level of cost seemed a little excessive and no option to pay for partial hours if you don’t want to stay for, say, half a day. The feeling of high charges wasn’t justified by the rest of my experience either…

The path round the lake is of decent quality and suitable for all walking capabilities. But with both sides being lined with thick bushes and tall trees there isn’t actually much view of the lake at all. In fact, half way round it starts to get a little boring. Add to this the fact there’s hardly any signage about the wildlife or vegetation and you don’t really know what you’re looking at. Sure, for planting trees and creating a natural environment it’s great, but ending up with somewhere worth walking round is less successful.

It’s also disappointing that there’s only a handful of benches around the entire lake. What few options there are were already taken up by others, so you best have stamina to get round in one go, especially if it’s a busy day! Our aim of having a picnic during the walk was further hampered by the lack of any open space - it’s literally the path and trees, little else. On the South side of the lake (if you go far enough) there is more expansiveness but it’s all overgrown so for anyone other than dog walkers its rather unusable.

It was also rather surprising to not find any rubbish bins surrounding the main lake on the walk. We never got a chance to eat the intended food on the visit but it still felt as though the area was a little unwelcoming to visitors. Fortunately there remained no visible sign of rubbish, so either there’s plenty of staff patrolling and tidying or visitors are respectful.

Before returning to the car, since we’d had to pay for the whole afternoon, we decided to have a drink at the cafe in the sun. There’s a full bar in the building, with fridges of soft drinks, draught beer and spirits available, and it’s nice to see that the prices for that weren’t too excessive. The main dining area has a very canteen feel to it, but that’s expected for such a place. Although full-on dining wasn’t an option late into the afternoon, it was nice that the range of cakes and savoury snacks were still available and both tills were still staffed. There’s also an ice cream freezer which was well stocked, welcomed by everyone in the hot weather.

As well as the indoor seating there’s a number of picnic benches on a lawn outside; purchased food only to be consumed though! Although this was nice in the sun there were minimal activities or things to admire and, much like the rest of the area, more could be made of it. One other thing which is worth noting is that the gate to the whole park close early evening, so don’t expect to have any moonlit walks or watching the sun set in the summer.

Overall, as a public area which encourages visitors, I was left rather disappointed. It can provide a walking route away from roads sure, but little else. Which is a real shame because as a charity trying to maintain the local area it could have real purpose. But following our day out it’s unlikely we’ll return since it seemed to offer little more than...

Ever wanted to go try somewhere new? Well, I did. On first impressions, the Park isn't too bad. I had my bike with me.

So, from start, parking wasn't too much of an issue but am get the feeling there isn't enough for parking for all visitors. Then, the issue of having to pay for parking on mobile. If you didn't have one, then you can pay using cash too. Online paying isn't too much of a problem for me, but for other generations?

So, having all registered and paid up, I put my bike together and started exploring the Park. On initial perception, I was looking forward to it, the views, the lakes, the routes, and the large wind-turbine. In fact, the latter was the best element of this flying visit. Hearing the gentle whoosh-whoosh of the blades was hypnotic, and also seeing up-close the enormity of it.

The views, the routes, and the lakes however was a little let-down. It was a very warm day, and I was looking forward to the cool breezes coming from the lakes as I'd cycled around, but alas no. Much of the waters edge was bordered by shrubbery and mounds, so be prepared for a lot of disappointment here. You can stop at the waters edge, but only if you were prepared to go off-track and through the shrubbery. In this case, walked with my bike.

Though, I didn't visit the visitor centre myself, there were queue's for the WC. I'm not marking down on this element.

Overall, it was a pleasant days visit, but can't help feel that this was a one-off as I'm getting the feeling that there should've been something more. However, I will visit again but not soon. Off to get an...

I cannot recommend the forest centre enough for hosting a wedding.

We booked ours in November for April (probably a little crazy considering Covid-19 was still very much present), not long after we entered a lockdown and period of uncertainty as to whether we would be able to go ahead, but despite busisness being affected our wedding co-ordinator, Helen stayed in touch and kept us updated.

We got the go ahead and the venue looked lovely with the chair covers and seating arrangements, along with a large amount freedom to decorate how we wanted. Helen surprised us with a beautiful drinks table that fit our rustic theme, which was a lovely added bonus.

We were fortunate to have such beautiful weather and our day went so perfectly.

Sending so much thanks and gratitude to Helen, Tracy, Steve, John and the rest of the team for helping create the perfect day. You really are the dream team. A special mention to Helen for being so incredible throughout our journey with you and to Tracy, having only met you on the day, you were a breath of fresh air and I felt incredibly calm due to you just being amazing with sorting out anytbing we needed.

This venue is also a charity, the money you pay into your wedding helps sustain the forest, something that appealed to me and my now wife. So if you're looking for a venue, the Forest Centre with all its surrounding beauty and fantastic staff, should be at the top...