Aug 05, 2015 13:40 BST

The Enid Blyton Estatejoins forces with CenterParcsThe Enid Blyton Estate has joined forces with Center Parcs to celebrate aSummer of Adventure with families across the UK. The two brands areworking together to inspire families to get out and experience everythingthat the outdoors has to offer.

With activities including an opportunity to create your own short storyrecalling the fabulous summer adventures you’ve had and a guide to how tobuild your own hide-out, it’s an irresistible call out to families everywhereto get more active and involved in creating wonderful and adventurousmemories.

The Famous Five has been one of Enid Blyton’s best-loved collections sinceits release in 1942. Almost three quarters of a million copies of the 70th

anniversary editions of The Famous Five books have been sold since 2012.In May 2015 Hodder Children’s Books released new covers for the next fivebooks by some of the most highly respected and well known children’sillustrators - Five On Kirrin Island Again (Shirley Hughes), Five Go Off ToCamp (David Tazzyman), Five Get Into Trouble (Polly Dunbar), Five Fall IntoAdventure (Babette Cole) and Five On A Hike Together (Tony Ross).

Generations of children and parents have joined the friends on their manyadventures - from spending the weekend hiking in the countryside tosolving the mystery of kidnapped Timmy!

The Summer of Adventure campaign was inspired by a recent survey,commissioned to mark the release of the new covers for The Famous Fivebooks, which found that playing on devices and watching films are provingfar more popular for children than playing outside (83% vs. 63%).  Childrenspend less time creating their own adventures, using their imagination andspending time outdoors in the fresh air compared to their parents’generation.

From the outset, Center Parcs was very eager to get involved in thecampaign and agreed that family adventures need to be profiled moreprominently – not least because they have a deep understanding of the factthat families who learn together and play together are much moreproductive.

Center Parcs welcomes more than 400,000 families each year to theirVillages and works diligently to evolve new activities and concepts thatmeet with current family demands and desires.

Sue Goddard, Group Leisure Manager at Center Parcs, said:

“It’s fantastic to be a part of the Enid Blyton Estate’s Summer of Adventurecampaign. Nostalgic activities such as climbing, forest crafts, den buildingand woodland games are still as popular as they have always been and wehave been introducing more and more to our offering.  Our guests lovethem! The wholesome things families can do together are still very populartoday and long may that last!”

Anne McNeil, Publishing Director of Hodder Children’s Books, said:

“This exciting partnership is a real call to action to involve children inactivities from den-building to story-writing. It links creative play, readingand learning in a unique way. Enid Blyton, herself, would have thoroughlyapproved. What could be a better way to celebrate the reissue of five classicadventure titles than to link with Center Parcs in this innovative way? Letthe fun begin!”

View the Summer of Adventure website here:

http://enidblytonadventureday.co.uk/activities/

Notes to Editors

1. Center Parcs has five Villages across the UK; Sherwood Forest inNottinghamshire, Elveden Forest in Suffolk, Longleat Forest inWiltshire, Whinfell Forest in Cumbria and Woburn Forest inBedfordshire which opened to guests on 6 June 2014

2. As the leader in the UK short break holiday market, Center Parcsregularly achieves average annual occupancy in excess of 97%

3. Center Parcs offers weekend, (Friday to Monday) or midweek(Monday to Friday) breaks and welcomes over 2 million guests eachyear, with 96% of guests expressing an intention to return

4. The Center Parcs concept is to provide a range of high qualityaccommodation, shops, restaurants and exceptional leisure facilities,carefully nestled amongst 400 acres of protected forest environment

5. This concept originated in Holland in 1967, with the first UK CenterParcs opening in 1987. Center Parcs is now a separate entity in theUK

6. Center Parcs has been awarded the following accolades since 2008:the Green Business Award for Biodiversity Protection, Visit Britain 5Star Rating, Hospitality Assured, Biodiversity Benchmark - LandManagement, Carbon Trust Standard, Good Spa Guide Award,ISO14001, Investors in People

7. Center Parcs has recently been announced ‘Best Family HolidayProvider’ in the Tommy’s Awards for the eleventh year in a row

Contacts

Simon KayPress ContactHead of PRpress.office@centerparcs.co.uk01623 821600

Emily BeaumontPress ContactPR Executivepress.office@centerparcs.co.uk01623 821600