I mentioned to the Center Parcs people that perhaps I wasn’t the ideal person to write about the place, as I didn’t think it would be, well, all that good. Instead of being miffed, they were positively excited.

“Great,” they said, “you’re just person, because we know that you’ll have a really good time.”

Despite friends whose judgement we trust raving about the Center Parcs experience, we’d always resisted the pull of the pines, thinking it would be a glorified Hi De Hi in the woods for folk with not much imagination, but whose oh-so-casual weekend bags are crammed with Boden outfits.

I mean, it’s all draughty huts and regimented activities for outdoors types schlepping from one rope-swinging pursuit to another before swimming in a big bubble, right?

Wrong.

Lorraine Gibson stayed in a 2 bedroom executive lodge (suitable for up to 4 people) at Longleat Forest, the price for this style of accommodation was £499.

Short breaks at Center Parcs start from £239 for a family of 4 in comfort accommodation (book early for best price and availability). For more information or to make a booking, please visit: www.centerparcs.co.uk or call: 08448 266 266.

• Spa Session, £26-£36 per 3hrs

• Adult bike hire, from £22 for weekend

• Childs (7-14yrs) bike hire, from £12 for weekend

In fact, so wrong we didn’t just eat our words, we had them with a side order of humble pie at one of CP’s many family-friendly eateries, while our four- and six-year-old daughters rampaged safely in the climbing area, close enough for us to keep an eye on them (well, close enough for us to ignore them for a half an hour while we discussed how surprisingly enjoyable our stay had been).

Getting there set the tone. We went to Longleat Forest, which only took about an hour from Bournemouth. We’d heard tales of long queues just to get in, but it took minutes. It’s a drive-through system where, instead of a Happy Meal, you get a happy staff member who quickly runs you through the best way to get to your “hut”.

Only it’s no hut. We expected a superannuated shed, but what we got was a large two-bedroom lodge that would give a boutique hotel a run for its money, all squishy sofas, cool wall canvasses and hi-tech kitchen gadgets. Both rooms had en suites, one with walk-in shower. Plasma TVs in three of the rooms kept the kids quiet as we unpacked, and lounge doors opening on to a secluded patio (leading directly into woodland, leading to a lake). Just when it seemed things couldn’t get more idyllic, a young deer stopped by and a family of ducks waddled up for some of the organic bread that came with the welcome pack (bursting with goodies including local preserves, organic bacon, free range eggs, a decent bottle of vino and various other posh “essentials”). Suddenly things didn’t seem so bad.

And yet – there was still the bike thing.

To me, Center Parcs is all about the cycling and I hadn’t been on two wheels since I was eight. I was dreading it and had already announced that if I was rubbish, the rest of the family could cycle and I’d follow on foot.

But you know what they say. Some things you never forget.

I took to two wheels like a pro. We all did. Well, apart from our youngest who preferred to ride in a trailer like the Queen of Sheba.

It helped that the weather was glorious, but there are loads of indoor things to do anyway.

Speaking of which, we were both booked in for a half-day at the Aqua Sana Spa while the girls were entertained at the Time Out Club. But with weather this good, and the boating lake calling, we were reluctant to head indoors.

However, various indulgent treatments and a much-needed chill-out on comfy day beds later, it was two very laid-back parents who collected the two jolly, face-painted, handmade-cake toting youngsters.

We did cycle rides and picnics (the supermarket has normal prices no dearer than your local one), we went 10-pin bowling, I had a mud flotation treatment that had me floating on air afterwards, we shopped, we swam (it’s not a bubble, it’s a dome covering parts of a huge rainforest-style pool complex that includes a bubbling hot tub, a lazy river where the water just bobs you along, and rushing rapids, where you tumble and crash your way to the bottom). Great fun.

But it ain’t cheap.

The cycle hire, activities, spa treatments, childcare, meals and water-sports all cost extra (prices vary, so you need to visit the website) so it can soon add up. But you do get what you pay for and everything we tried was good value for money – so budget to suit your means.

Were we won over? Well, I’ve just bought myself a bike!