Playmates Play Centre

When I was in primary school I used to have my birthday parties at Playmates, and several people have recommended it as being particularly suitable for toddlers, so we thought we'd give it a try.

There is a large car park, though the general parking is on rough ground rather than tarmac, which turned a tad muddy with the pouring rain we've had recently. It's a huge building, possibly an old mill, with multiple businesses and a few entrances. Luckily I was able to follow another mum and toddler in as otherwise I wouldn't have known where the entrance was (the double doors, marked Reception). Once inside however there were signs all the way to the entrance.

The first, largest room houses the main play structure, most of the seating and the cafe, as well as the welcome point. There is also a second, smaller room specifically for the under 5s, with a few additional tables and chairs.

The main soft play frame looked exactly as I remembered it. I don't think it's changed at all since the days of my birthday parties. It's been well looked after given that it's been about twenty years, but is showing some signs of wear and tear and duct tape has been liberally applied. The structure was extremely clean however, and even the balls at the bottom of the ball pool were dirt free.

It's not as big as some other soft plays we've visited, and features rollers, walkways, and a narrow slide which ends up in a large ball pool. I realise that doesn't make it sound particularly enticing but as a child I absolutely loved it and there were some boys charging around it having a great time, so it clearly hasn't lost its appeal.

The under 5s room was extremely popular, not surprising though given that it was a midweek morning when older children should be in school. About half the size of the main room, with four picnic style tables and benches, plus some additional chairs, it couldn't be defined as a soft play in the same way as other play centres in the area market their toddler areas but every toddler in this room was having a ball.

A small ball pool, a large slide with soft steps and several soft shapes/rocker constituted the 'soft' elements of the play area. There was also a wooden ship and car for the toddlers to sit on and drive, a wobbly wooden walkway, a wooden phone box and a variety of wooden kitchen units. A trampoline, a plastic slide and various soft toys completed the offering. The floor was covered with crash mats, which were all well aligned: no gaps for little feet to get stuck in. They were needed too, the descent from the slides was faster than expected. The soft slide was extremely popular, as was the ball pool, the trampoline and pretty much everything else in the room.

Baby had far more fun here than she has done at any previous soft play, I suspect largely down to the variety of things for her to do. She loved the different toys and apparatus in the toddler room, and also enjoyed running through the lower level of the play structure in the main room, though wasn't really interested in the upper level and found the slide (which had a rather small landing area) a bit too quick.

The price was by far the cheapest we've encountered to date, just £3.50. And the food was cheap too. £1.90 for a cheese toastie. The menu offered lots of variety: toasties, sandwiches, jacket potatoes, teacakes, crumpets and hot food like spaghetti hoops. There was also a range of freshly made cakes and tray bakes (the cupcake was delicious), as well as crisps and chocolate biscuits. I was pleasantly surprised to see that in addition to standard crisps, Playmates also offered snacks from the arguably healthier Organix range.

All in all I was very impressed by Playmates and their offering, despite the duct tape. It was a huge hit with Baby and at those prices we will definitely be back, bringing Baby's friends.


Key Facts

Month of visit:
March

Weather for visit:
Irrelevant

Is it pushchair friendly?
Playmates is on the first floor, up a flight of stairs. Signs at the bottom of the steps said to call Playmates if the steps posed a problem, and help would be provided. There seemed to be a disabled entrance around the back.

How are the baby changing facilities?
Baby changing facilities are in both the male and female toilets, which are accessed from a corridor adjacent to the play centre. They were acceptably clean and there were wipes in the female toilets.

What about somewhere to feed?
Plenty of seating in the main room, though it would be a rather noisy environment with children running around, if you have a nosy baby.

Is it worth a visit?
Absolutely.

Baby's highlight?
The slides.



Playmates
Coppull Enterprise Centre,
Mill Lane,
Coppull,
Chorley,
Lancashire
PR7 5BW


http://www.playmatesplaycentre.co.uk

Circus Play Soft Play

Although there are plenty of soft play places in the Wigan area, another one has just opened in Ince, called Circus Play. Reviews have been favourable, so Baby and I decided to give it a go on a weekday morning, along with one of Baby's friends who is just three weeks younger.

Easy to spot from the main road, and with a reasonable sized car park, though I can imagine on a weekend it might be difficult to find a space. The reception staff were very friendly, pointing out where toilets and baby changing could be found and giving us a loyalty card. DD is now 18 months old, and we paid £4.

First impressions were very good: clean and well maintained, though to be expected given how new it is. There were lots of tables in the centre of the building, with a small cafe counter at one end. Sandwiches were under £5 and hot drinks were around £1.50-£2. Along one side there was the toddler section, and at the other end of the building, a play structure for older children.

The toddler section included standard soft play features, such as a two lane wavy slide, soft padded steps and a roller. There were also various soft shapes, including some animal ones large enough to sit on, and a ball pool. Adding something different, the toddler area also included a balloon 'room', using fans to waft balloons around an enclosed space, for the children to chase and catch, and a small bouncy castle.

The area for older children featured a large ball play cage, with goals at each end and a basketball hoop. There were inflatable footballs as well as large heavier tennis and basketballs, and plenty of them. The soft play structure for older children featured a tall multi lane wavy slide, and a twisty tunnel style slide. This area was smaller than expected however, in certain areas it seemed like it was waiting for more features to be installed. The route up to the slides was so difficult to navigate for adults, with extremely small spaces to pass through, that I only took Baby up there once.

Finishing the offering there there was a small corner with a toy kitchen and some toys like trucks and diggers, as well as two ride on machines requiring additional payment.

The ball cage was a huge success. Baby's friend loves to play with footballs, and Baby also enjoyed kicking them and chasing the balls around. This area was large enough that even with numerous toddlers and preschoolers in there that it didn't feel crowded at all.

Baby and her friend also thoroughly enjoyed the balloon area, the balloons were just slow enough for them to have a chance of catching them, though I would always recommend very close supervision when playing with balloons, given the risk of suffocation should they pop. It's clear that Circus Play have tried to come up with some unique offerings and with the balloon area they seem to have succeeded. The bouncy castle was a big hit with Baby too, though her friend wasn't so keen, and no under 5s are allowed on the bouncy castle.

In the toddler area, both the ball pool and the slide were very popular with all the children in there, with many clambering back up for another go on the slide as soon as they reached the bottom.

All in all, the toddler section is great, with the different sections available really holding their attention. The section for older children however didn't really have enough to keep them entertained, and so the bigger children were tending to gravitate towards the toddler section too. With such a large building it's a shame that they didn't devote a bit more space to actual play equipment. In places the safety mats had moved, leaving gaps which little feet could trip on, and the safety barrier in the toddler section wasn't fixed, so when leaned on, fell over a couple of times. I would take Baby back again as the offering for toddlers is diverse, but once she outgrew the toddler section I feel she would be better catered for elsewhere.


Key Facts

Month of visit:
March

Weather for visit:
Irrelevant

Is it pushchair friendly?
Access to the buildings is, yes, but obviously pushchairs aren't allowed on the play equipment.

How are the baby changing facilities?
Baby changing is in the disabled toilet

What about somewhere to feed?
Plenty of seating in the middle of the room.

Is it worth a visit?
Yes, particularly for toddlers.

Baby's highlight?
The balloon space.



Unit 1, 115 Manchester Road,
Ince,
Wigan,
WN2 2AB


http://www.circusplay.co.uk