Tucked into beautiful woodland in the stunning surrounds of Windsor Great Park, the purpose-built Adventure Play area certainly grabbed our son’s attention when he first spotted it in a YouTube compilation of the UK’s best playgrounds. We were in the area for a few days for a Legoland visit, so a trip to this place was pretty inevitable while we were there! While we’re glad we went, there are definitely a few things worth knowing before you book tickets.
First impressions
We’d pre-booked tickets online (which is recommended) and arrived 15 minutes before our allotted timeslot as suggested. Checking in was quick and easy, with a short briefing from the team, and we walked through the entrance building (housing a cafe, toilets and a little gift shop) to reach the play area. First impressions of Windsor Great Park’s Adventure Play were great: we passed through a smaller, lower-level space with plenty to keep little ones entertained before heading through to the main structure, which felt like an enormous woodland fortress. It’s cleverly designed to cater for a wide range of ages and accessibility levels.
From small explorers to big adventurers
One of the best things about the Windsor Adventure Play is how inclusive the space feels for different ages and confidence levels, as well as its focus on a wide range of accessible play options for those with diverse needs.
For younger children, there are lower platforms, tunnels, smaller slides, role play areas and more that still feel exciting without being overwhelming.
For older children, there’s the excitement of huge wooden towers, rope nets to scramble across and through, and bouncy suspended nets to test their balance.
If your kids love a good slide, they’re spoilt for choice here: smaller open slides, dark tunnel slides and a massive tube slide with windows at the top for those who love an adventure but aren’t such great fans of the dark. Some of these slides are enormous – it’s the perfect place for thrill-seeking kids to explore!
Other great touches
Among the slides, nets and walkways, the playground’s designers have placed various elements that add to the experience. Labyrinth games, wooden sculptures and all sorts of activity panels gave the child lots to explore (and us the chance to catch our breath while he did!)
There’s also a sensory room hidden within the structure, where images of nature are projected onto the walls and floor, creating a calm, immersive moment away from the chaos outside.
Choose your level of adventure
Some elements of the Adventure Play may look a little daunting to younger children or those with less confidence, so it’s handy that the park includes visual clues as to the level of difficulty of each area.
Look for the mouse symbol for smaller, more nimble activities, and the squirrel if you’re up for climbing challenges. For the most fearless of children, the owl symbol points the way to the toughest adventures.
It’s a simple but effective visual system that gives children a sense of independence and choice: they can decide for themselves whether it’s an owl day or a mouse day.
The practicalities…
Each session at the Adventure Play area at Windsor Great Park is two hours long, and prebooking your tickets is advised. Child tickets range from £13 to £16, with adult tickets between £10 and £12, and infants and carers go free. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Car parking is free with a validated Adventure Play ticket: grab your car park ticket on arrival and have it validated by a member of the team to avoid being charged.
There’s a cafe within the Adventure Play site, selling hot and cold drinks, snacks and kids’ lunch boxes. Handily, they’ve also got an area to refill water bottles – I definitely recommend bringing a reusable bottle as you’ll be drinking LOTS with all the energy you burn off!
A special mention for the toilets, too, which were wonderfully clean, incredibly child-friendly and very accessible! One thing I’d have liked to see was more seating for the grown-ups: while there were tables and chairs beside the smaller children’s section of the play area, there simply weren’t enough for the number of people there when we visited.
In all honesty, two hours was probably the right amount of time. It’s energetic, physical play, and adults and child alike were ready for a rest by the end.
The cost factor…
For the three of us, it came to around £40 for a two-hour session – and that was before factoring in refreshments. That does make it an expensive outing, especially when compared to other play spaces that don’t have such strict time limits, offer longer sessions and cost significantly less. That said, it’s clear how much planning and work went into creating an impressive outdoor space that appeals to all ages, confidence levels and accessibility restrictions, which does go some way to justifying the price point. It’s handy that parking is included, too.
We had lunch after the session at The Savill Garden Kitchen on-site, which was a disappointing experience, and one that bumped up the cost even further.
Would we travel specifically to visit Adventure Play again? Probably not, but as an add-on when we were already in the area, we’re glad we went.
Don’t miss Windsor Great Park itself
While the play area is impressive, it’s not the only attraction. While you’re there, take some time to wander round parts of Windsor Great Park itself: it’s beautiful, peaceful, and a good way to wind down after a boisterous few hours at the Adventure Play area.