THEY planted plastic daffodils in the Lake District last year. Like most things these days, it was all to do with global warming.

Wordsworth's "fluttering and dancing" blooms were hoodwinked by the mildest winter since 1914 and came out to dance a few weeks too early - then inconveniently withered and died before the Easter holidays.

So the staff at South Lakeland Parks came up with the solution of sticking 100 artificial flowers into the ground around its holiday homes in Windermere to avoid disappointing the tourists. Which just goes to show that whatever the doom-mongers say, mankind will always find a solution to the challenges of climate change.

It also sets a new standard in customer service. If South Lakeland Parks can meddle with the changing of the seasons, what else will they do to cater for their guests?

Setting off in mid-May for a week's stay at the firm's White Cross Bay site, we were naturally expecting the park to have sorted out some fine weather by the time we got there. Perhaps they are working on that for next year.

Traditional

This was our first holiday as parents, taking our one-year-old son for an introduction to the traditional British summer break. Just to keep him company, we took along his granny and grandad - who was about to celebrate his 60th birthday - plus his two aunties and their boyfriends. It would have been a shame to leave grandad's pet Cairn Terrier home alone, so he came, too.

Our party of 10 took up two standard wooden lodges at White Cross Bay, which had good facilities with each sleeping up to six. The lodges could have been cleaner and better maintained, but there was plenty of room for all of us and the extra equipment needed to take a baby on holiday.

For the youngest member of our party, the highlight of his trip to the Lakes was seeing his bedtime stories come to life.

Children's books do not generally feature the sights and sounds of the Manchester suburbs. These days, they are nearly always about penguins. In fact, if you are thinking of writing a nursery book and it isn't about a penguin then forget it -you won't get published.

Rabbits

There aren't many penguins in the Lake District either, but there are the rabbits and steam trains which inspired Beatrix Potter and the Rev Wilbert Awdry. Both writers were lovers of the Lakes, with the creator of Peter Rabbit living her final years in the Cumbrian village of Sawrey and the man behind Thomas the Tank Engine a regular visitor to the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.

The literary associations are generally lost on a one-year-old but every morning he was able to look out and watch the dawn gathering of Peter Rabbits outside. A priceless moment.

And there was pure delight when we met up with a real-life friend of Thomas at the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Steam Railway. The 3.5 mile journey on a steam train goes through Newby Bridge with the engine, carriages and stations perfectly preserved to look much as they must have done when British Rail closed the branch line in the 1960s.

Back at White Cross Bay, there are excellent facilities, including a large restaurant and bar, swimming pool, launderette and tennis courts. The lodges are large enough for communal meals and we threw a lively buffet party for grandad's 60th.

We were so comfortable in our Lakeside lodge that within 48 hours we decided to buy it and come back every year. A six-figure quote from the on-site sales staff put the dampeners on that idea but we could still be tempted... if they throw in some plastic penguins.

FACTFILE: We travelled as a guest of South Lakeland Parks, which owns nine premier holiday parks across The Lake District and north Lancashire, where you can buy or hire quality static holiday homes, luxury pine lodges, as well as camp and tour. To order a brochure, book a holiday or find out more information, please call South Lakeland Parks on 015395 69830 or go to southlakelandparks.co.uk For full details on holidays at White Cross Bay, phone 015395 69835 or visit the website in southlakelandparks.co.uk A week's break at a lodge in White Cross Bay costs from £353-£809 depending on the time of year and style of accommodation.

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