The rest of Battersea Park

There’s nothing like a bit of controversy and Battersea Park is nothing if not controversial. It’s home to the Adventure Playground that made it into the national news for charging £2.50 per person. Britain truly was Disgusted of SW11. But guess what? We went there and used the playground right next to the adventure playground and didn’t have to pay. Now, there’s sticking it to the man.

Calling this post “The rest of Battersea Park” is a tad optimistic, seeing as the place is huuuuge and I can’t claim to have conquered even half of it. But here’s what I’ve gleaned from various trips.  First of all, it has ducks. Loads of them. And a lake that you could *lose a toddler in* if you were careless. Cough. Listen, it was only the once and only the soles of his shoes got wet. Pretty good going, considering. Walk past the lake – keep going, going some more, that’s it, ooh duckies! What noise does a duckie make? No, it’s cows that go moo, you’re getting confused, keep walking – and you get to a rather nice sub-tropical garden. It’s a bit too nice if your toddler is prone to flower picking but never mind…

Keep going a little further, through some woodland, and there it is! The controversial adventure playground. But wait, you only have to pay for the older kids bit? Well, that’s fine then. Their parents don’t have to pay for childcare or nappies. And if you live in Battersea, surely you earn the same as a small Eastern European nation anyway? I know, slippery slope etc – Tory government, charging for kids’ facilities, soon we’ll be taxed to leave our own front doors…but let’s get this in perspective. It’s an adventure playground. If they stuck it indoors and called it a soft play, no-one would flinch at paying for it.

Anyways, back to the matter in hand – the free playground. And very good it was too. A number of different areas for different age groups (mainly sign posted), lots of slides and frames to climb on. In the toddler area, there’s a play train and a play car. Of course, Reuben ignored these things and went straight for the big boys’ frame but what else would you expect?
Next to the park, there’s also a very good (also free) one o clock club, which has an awesome Austin Powers style bachelor pad stimulation room., complete with water bed and lava lamps.We’ve been there a lot of times and would recommend it, unlike the boating lake which we’ve never tried but hey, I’ll recommend it anyway!

VERDICT: One of the best parks in London- lots to do and lots of open space.

More details here (official website)