I’ve been blogging like a demon recently. Maybe because after a week of the school holidays my brain will be so sludgy that I can no longer form words beyond….”GIVEMECOFFFFFEEEEE”. But I have something to tell you about and, unlike our recent Shakespeare-in-Stratford jaunt, it’s both London-y and possibly toddler-y. It did involve Stratford but it was the other one – the one where you can change from overground to Jubilee with enough time to pick up a quick soy latte at the Petit Pret. Once again, I should emphasise that I am not sponsored by Pret but I really am maxing out that subscription. It was a school strike day, I had an afternoon of annual leave and we were on a mission.
Our destination was Oxygen Freejumping at the O2 Arena. Not, as Roo feared oxygen-free jumping because that would be a bad idea. But if you get there and you do spot Mr Flibble, I suggest you run. Freejumping is basically trampolining with a few extra bits but it does sound edgy and cool, doesn’t it? Especially if you’re trying to do it without breathing.
We’d booked “Peaceful Play”, which was a special session that’s run on a Wednesday and Sunday afternoon. I don’t think there are any specific requirements needed to access it but Eva’s dislike of loud noises certainly qualified us. The booking in and signing waivers was all very straightforward and we found the lockers but then we were asked to go to the briefing room, which wasn’t overly well signposted. It turned out to be some closed doors next to the lockers, with a sign saying “briefing in progress”, which was a bit anxiety-inducing all round because presumably we were meant to be in that briefing? A beeping from the machines every 10 seconds didn’t help and it’s worth considering these kinds of things when hosting sessions for children with sensory issues.
Anyway, there was no briefing in progress and the kids did eventually get let in and then released to play. From then on, all was smooth sailing. It was fairly busy in the park for the first half hour or so and then it emptied out as the previous session finished and they had the peace and space that the website promised. I sat upstairs in the cafe so had a pretty good view of where Eva was most of the time.
When I said it’s trampolining with extra bits, I am probably underselling it. There’s gladiator fighting, dodgeball and foam pits. There was also a ninja run and twisty slides and a giant airbag that they could plummet onto. It’s pretty similar to the Sobell Centre but I think that’s closed at the moment and the Feel Good Centre has changed their age restriction to under 12s. So it’s good to find somewhere that accommodates both kids.
It’s well connected by public transport – we could have got literally any mode of transport home, though the kids were sceptical about my suggestion of flying home from London City Airport. But, had we wanted to, we could have travelled by boat, bus, cable car, DLR or tube. We also could have eaten at any number of restaurants afterwards but Eva chose the same as she always does. I’ll leave you to guess.
Reuben was complaining of a “lack of O2 in the O2” – turns out that Oxygen is just a name – so we took our fries outside to eat by the river. All the O2 we could possibly handle out there. Our Top Trumps darn near flew away.
So a half day’s AL well used and not too much of a trek from East London either. Admittedly, we did make a bad change at Hackney Downs which saw Reuben running ahead and catching the train where Eva and I did not. DOn’t worry, that kind of thing is alright nowadays. He’s not actually still a toddler…
For more information on the Oxygen Activity Park and to book tickets, click here
