The 10 Best adventure playgrounds
No matter how chilly it is outside, come half term, you're going to need to tire out the children. Try one of these for size
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Your support makes all the difference.Winner of the London Adventure Playground of the Year Award in 2011, Toffee Park is an open-access playground that encourages children to engage in creative and physical play. The playground includes a tree house, allotment and nature garden, clay oven for firing pots and making pizzas, aerial runway and a multi-sports area.
Free, toffeeparkadventure.co.uk
This playground offers something for everyone: mini animal farm, high-ropes course, wacky swings and a quad-bike racetrack. The inside play area features one of the biggest Astra slides in the country and lots of dressing up for keen thespians. Also on site is a hair and beauty studio, nursery, fitness suite, pottery barn and riding school.
From £5.50, creepy-crawlies.co.uk
Go Ape runs sites nationwide but this new London outpost is set to open on 15 February. Set in the middle of beautiful woodland, just a 10-minute walk from Cockfosters Tube station, it boasts giant swings, rope bridges and zip wires. It's not a cheap family day out, but you won't forget it in a hurry.
From £24 for children, goape.co.uk
Spanning over three acres and boasting one of Yorkshire's best adventure playgrounds and picnic areas, children of all ages can enjoy a range of activities including climbing nets, zipwires and aerial walkways against the backdrop of the 18th-century Treasure House.
£5, harewood.org/families/adventure -playground
Set in the heart of the Peak District, Chatworth House's adventure playground opens for the February half-term, with climbing forest and trailer ride. There's also a farmyard and petting area, and daily milking demonstrations.
£6, chatsworth.org
Located in the grounds of the Belfast Castle Estate, Cave Hill opens at the weekends for children from ages three to 14 to explore cradle swings, spring rockers, slides and bicycle roundabouts. For older children there is a thrilling space net and aerial runway to play on.
£2.30, belfastcity.gov.uk/belfastcastle/adventureplayground.asp
Oasis Children's Venture is an open-access local charity based in Stockwell, London. It has a nature garden, karting track and adventure playground for children to enjoy challenging and exciting activities.
Free, oasisplay.org.uk
{8} Bodelwyddan Castle, North Wales
Open at weekends, Bodelwyddan Castle is set in 260-acre grounds that also contain a maze, First World War trenches, walking routes and woodland life. The play area in Rabbit Wood features swings, slides and climbing frames for younger children.
{9} Aerial Extreme, nationwide
Aerial Extreme offers nationwide High Ropes Adventure Courses to tackle the tree tops through obstacles such as rope bridges, zip wires and balance beams. Children from 1.1m (3ft 6ins) tall can scale the heights, apart from in Stoke-on-Trent where minimum height is 1.4m.
Tickets from £15, aerialextreme.co.uk
{10} Honister Via Ferrata, Cumbria
This frankly terrifying system of metal hooks, rope ladders and zip lines has come to the Honister Pass in Cumbria. Like Go Ape on steroids.
£35, honister.com
Click here to view UK Tours and Holidays, with Independent Holidays.
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