Is this the most sustainable family holiday in the UK?
The Bluestone National Park Resort is both an epic family haven and a pioneering sustainable business, leading the way in innovative answers. Rebecca Miles visits to find out how it combines the two.
People say it’s what’s under the surface that counts, but at the Bluestone National Park Resort in Pembrokeshire, what’s on the surface counts too. Because this holiday park is the first business in the world to recycle disposable nappies, the bane of bins the world over, and use them to make and lay tarmac on its new roads for some significant surface-level sustainability.
This next-level innovation is just one of the many sustainable initiatives Bluestone has. Others include having the first water park to be heated with locally-sourced biomass instead of oil and building its own 11-hectare solar farm to help it become net zero by 2040. The wonderful thing about Bluestone is you can come on holiday here, and if you wish to, remain blissfully ignorant about all this ‘do-gooding’. These efforts aren’t rammed down holidaymakers’ throats.
Yes, there are precise recycling guidelines and electric vehicle charging points, but Bluestone is first and foremost a place for families to come and have fun, and that’s exactly what we do. Founded by William McNamara 15 years ago, he had the vision of turning his huge, intensive monoculture dairy farm, between Narbeth and the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, into a joyful, vibrant and natural place for families to come on holiday and for children to roam free in. Looking across the 500 acres of wooded valleys and rolling hills from the park’s entrance, it’s hard to imagine what this landscape must have looked like 20 years ago.
Today, the car-free site is full of trees, a lake, and 344 well-spaced out lodges and cottages that can sleep up to 14. Most of Bluestone is designated a nature reserve and there are over 100 indoor and outdoor activities for families. The main hubs include the Blue Lagoon water park and pool, the Serendome, a huge covered playpark with a Sky Walk, sand and water play zones, the outdoor amphitheatre Cloud Theatre, and the Steep Ravine, with high ropes courses and woodland adventure activities.
We, my husband and I , and our six-year-old daughter, quickly settle into a playful rhythm of free-range exploring, organised activities and plenty of eating and drinking during our four-night stay. We’re self-catering (as all the accommodation is) in one of Bluestone’s two-bedroom Ramsey lodges, overlooking the lake. When we visit during the February half term, the annual Winter Lights Festival is in full swing, where Mr Wonder, a silly and accident-prone wizard, has made a host of unusual installations appear around the lake. The illuminated enchanted trail is full of surprises and sets a playful tone – favourites include the shadow puppet theatre, the drum machine that lights up the nearby trees and the flashing neon stepping stones.
Despite it being half-term and the resort at near-full capacity, Bluestone never feels crowded. The only time we notice how busy it is is queueing for the water slides in the Blue Lagoon Water Park.
Looking across the 500 acres of wooded valleys it's hard to imagine what this landscape must have looked like 20 years ago.
Spending time in this vast dome, where a lazy river, wave machine and inflatable slides keep both adults and children entertained, is one of a handful of free activities in the resort. The others are the Hive, full of inflatables, climbing towers and a super-sized soft play, the sand and water play in the Serendome, the playground in the village centre and the woodland walks (seek out the Troll Bridge and Fairy House); everything else must be booked and paid for in advance.
Speaking to other families here, it’s clear that Bluestone gets under your skin. Only one of the many families I chat to is visiting for the first time – everyone else is on a repeat visit, some with grandparents in tow. And there’s much disagreement about the best age for children to be to make the most of it. Our six-year-old is young enough to be enchanted by the mystical magic of fairies on the Secret Village walk and Mr Wonder, old enough to clamber and climb through the vast indoor soft play climbing frame in the Hive and independent enough to enjoy the adult-free film and fun night, but not yet old enough for the more adventurous activities, such as coasteering, stand up paddleboarding, archery, high ropes, and bushcraft fire lighting.
The roam-free ethos means there’s no obligation to stay within the resort. Some of the activities – mountain biking, coasteering and canoeing – take place further afield on the rivers and coastline of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Children need to be eight and older to do these, so instead we hunt for fossils on Barafundle Bay, go rock pooling at Freshwater West and enjoy windswept ice creams in cutesy Tenby.
We can’t leave Tenby without picking up some fresh fish from Simply Seafoods, a little hut right on the harbour, to cook back at our lodge. Another evening we eat at the Oak Tree restaurant in Bluestone, which like all the restaurants, cafes, takeaways, and stores in the resort sources as many ingredients as possible from local suppliers.
All the restaurants, cafes, and stores in the resort source as many ingredientas as possible from local suppliers
Many of those suppliers are based in the neighbouring town of Narberth, a small market town with a thriving high street of independent businesses. We’re spoilt for choice on where to eat but settle on Ultracomedia, a Spanish deli and cafe. It’s so good, some friends at the next table have travelled for over an hour. We eat so well during our stay I’m secretly pleased we missed out on booking one of the limited numbers of electric golf buggies families can hire to get around the sprawling, hilly resort. Instead, we huff and puff our way up the hills on pedal bikes, gleaning a mite of pleasure in feeling virtuous in our exercise.
To attempt some semblance of balance on the child versus grown-up activity swingometer, we book Evie, our daughter into an afternoon of child care at the Nature Art workshop and head to the award-winning Well Spa in the village centre. After a couple of hours of relaxing in the Thermal Suite of saunas, steam rooms, ice pod, and hydrotherapy pool, I settle in for a hot stone massage in one of the treatment rooms. And just like the rest of Bluestone, it gets me on the surface as well as under it.
Travel kindly
Sustainable family holidays take many forms. Essentially holidays with purpose, these picks offer a mix of supporting locally owned operations, helping countries recover from natural disasters, and lower carbon footprints, all while providing priceless family memories.
Take the Canals in Holland
One for all three generations of the family, opt for a Le Boat holiday in Holland and it’s easy to reach its base in Vinkeen without flying. It’s either three and a half hours drive north-east of Calais, or 8km from the closest train station at Abcoude. Once on board one of the Le Boats reliably family-friendly boats – that sleep from four to 10 people – you can be in the heart of Amsterdam in four and a half hours, trendy Utrecht in four, and among the windmills, tulip fields and famous cheese-making towns of Gouda and Edam in two to four days. Spend a week on the canals and everyone on board, from the youngest to the oldest won’t want to get back on dry land.
Camp under the stars on Safari in South Africa
For an adventure to cherish, book the family on Intrepid’s road trip through South Africa and Eswatini and pitch your tent in some of Southern Africa’s greatest game reserves. With a mix of accommodation in hotels, permanent tents and camping with basic facilities, where everyone is expected to pitch in and help set up camp, this is a rare opportunity to camp under the African night sky. The centrepiece is the chance to see the ‘Big Five’ game of Africa in the Kruger National Park, but also worth travelling for its camping near a watering hole in the Hlane National Park, visiting a Zulu village and taking a guided hike through Blyde River Canyon.
See the sublime in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has had a rough old time of it over the past few years, and by visiting you’d be playing an important part in supporting the local economy and communities, who rely so heavily on tourism. Despite being an island, Sri Lanka is bigger than you likely imagine so focus on seeing a few parts of it well, rather than all of it in a rush. In two weeks, you can expect to reach coast to coast as well as exploring the Cultural Triangle in the centre of the island and the peaceful tea plantations around Kandy. A holiday to remember, there’s even the chance to spot elephants on safari.
Travel by train across Europe
Embark on your own modern version of the European Grand Tour and give your children a taste for Interrailing with a train journey across Europe, taking in four cities in four countries. For budding historians there’s no better city to start with Rome (reached by train from London St. Pancras with an overnight in Geneva), before travelling onto Zurich. Paris, and Amsterdam. A wonderful eye-opener for children of all ages to see some of Europe’s oldest and most culturally important cities, the train journeys between each city will be almost as enchanting as the destinations.
Coastal Capers in Turkey
Help Turkey recover from its most powerful earthquake in 80 years on an active family holiday in the picturesque seaside town of Kas on the Turkish Mediterranean coast. Base your brood here for the week with Explore and expect a packed itinerary of sea kayaking over the ruins in Kekova Bay, canoeing down the Xanthos River, daily snorkelling sessions, and walking through the foothills of the Taurus Mountains. Aimed at families with children of all ages, the average age is 11.
Take a rite of Passage down the Pacific Coast
Send your teenagers off into the big wide world with one last hurrah – an epic road trip along the Pacific Coast of America with an eco twist – hiring an electric vehicle (EV). Charging points along the Californian coast are so numerous that this is one of the best US road trips to do in an EV. Starting in San Francisco and spending over two weeks travelling south to the sandy coves of Laguna Beach, it’ll be a holiday to remember and full of iconic moments, including catching the surf in Big Sur, celeb spotting in LA, and generally soaking up the laid-back Californian vibes along the route. Check out our curated Spotify playlist inspired by this itinerary here.
Feeling inspired?
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