There is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing. We ventured to Arborfield Recreation Ground near Reading, but seemed to leave the dry weather behind and headed towards the rain.
However a little bit of water, and some wet play equipment wasn’t going to put off. We found this awesome playground and had a lovely morning here playing.
There is a free car park just outside the park itself which is very handy, and there is plenty of spaces. The main park is actually fenced off so it’s safe for the children to run around once inside and explore at their own leisure. Outside of the park there is a large playing field where is great for kicking a ball about, a picnic shelter for when the warmer weather arrives, a large wooden climbing obstacle, a zip line and a basket swing. Although aimed at slightly older children my toddler still enjoyed using this equipment too.
Inside the park there is a lot of different equipment to keep various ages occupied – this was great for us as there were things for both my 2year old and 3year old. The usual selection of swings, which my two love to spend the majority of the time on (you think they would rather run around!) A roundabout, which again they like to sit on – and I’m the crazy one pushing them round and around. I see a theme here at parks where they just sit and I’m the one getting a work out!
In the middle of the park there was a wooden obstacle course, where they could walk along the balancing beam, climb a cargo net or try the stepping poles. This was a great way to improve their balance and coordination, a few failed attempts at completing the course but it was alot of fun and gave them a challenge.
There was a smaller climbing frame which both children were able to climb and explore. Noah loved using the metal ladder to reach the top, whereas Isabella chose the wooden step route instead. Once on top of the climbing frame there were two ways down – a fireman’s pole or a double width slide. This was great as meant both toddlers could slide down at the same time.
Now for the main part of the park (I’ve left the best to last) was the Castle. This was huge and again some sections were easily reached for the toddlers. Having their own preference to reach the top again, it showed me that this was suitable for various ages. Noah loved going to the top and looking through the binoculars to see what was happening up above.
Isabella preferred the lower level which had a lock and key which she spent ages playing with. It also had puzzles on the bottom of the castle where you can move the rat to safety. Both Noah and Isabella loved the castle and their pretend play came into force where we were pretending there was water all around the castle and we had to be the quickest to “swim” to the safety of the castle.
Or If you have a four legged friend then this is a great place to walk them too, either around the field itself or through the wooded area. There is also a lovely collection of commemorative and memorial trees to be seen. You can also explore the path and brook that runs alongside the grounds, accessing it in the far left hand corner. This also takes you to woodland and farmland, from where there are various rambling routes to discover.
*There are no toilet facilities on site*
