The kids’ club is just as much a parents’ club thanks to its lush cafe, play buddies and some of the best toilets I’ve ever had the pleasure of changing a really awful nappy in.
Hangouts
I’m sick to death of mini golf. We exhausted it over lockdown when golf courses were the only remotely interesting thing that was still open.
Home to what is honestly one of the best playground structures I’ve ever seen in my long and eventful playground-critiquing career.
I have a (probably fairly unhealthy) fixation with play cafes and am always embarrassingly pumped when I hear about a new one popping up somewhere useful.
This could so easily have been just another generic soft-play centre, but the owners have clearly put a lot of thought into making it stand out from the crowd.
I always feel slightly uncomfortable about members’ clubs and their keeping-out-the-riffraff vibes, so this felt like a nice, inclusive alternative.
It goes without saying that anywhere where you have to surrender your toddler’s buggy and also they’re not allowed to touch anything is going to be a nightmare.
I can’t abide an ugly soft play centre, but if it’s tastefully appointed with a muted colour palette, clean lines and the odd kitschy add-on I’ll gladly climb aboard.
Being able to wander unobstructed by other humans without having to worry about losing toddlers in a sea of legs made it much less stressful.
It is quite nice being able to look round a museum without every other bastard in London being there at the same time.
bablands.com 