Soft Play Centres in the UK

Finding a good soft play centre in the UK

Soft play centres are the indoor playgrounds for children under about ten: padded frames with slides, ball pits, climbing nets, tunnels and rollers, separate baby and toddler areas, and a café where the parents sit; many add role-play villages, go-kart tracks, trampolines, sensory rooms, and the party rooms that run every weekend. They range from the small centre in a leisure centre or a farm to the warehouse-sized ones on retail parks, and from the tired to the spotless; the cleanliness, the staffing and the café are what separate them.

Sessions are typically two hours or unlimited on quiet days, priced by the child's age with adults free or a pound or two, and weekday mornings are the toddlers' time while afternoons, weekends and school holidays belong to the older children and are busiest; booking online is now normal and often cheaper, and some centres run quiet or SEND sessions with the music off. Socks are required for everyone, including adults, and the good centres inspect the frame daily, clean the ball pit properly and have staff on the floor rather than only on the till. Parties run from the frame to the party room with food, and soft play hire brings a set of shapes, a ball pit and a bouncy castle to a hall or a garden.

The listings here show each centre's ages and areas, sessions and prices, café and parties, hygiene and accessibility, hours and contact details, so you can see what is nearby, who has a baby area or a quiet session, and where parents in your town go on a rainy day.

What soft play centres offer

Play frames: multi-level frames with slides, ball pits, nets, tunnels and obstacles for children from about three to ten, and separate padded areas for babies and toddlers.

Extras: role-play villages, go-karts, trampolines, sensory rooms, arcade machines and outdoor play at some centres.

Sessions: two-hour and all-day sessions priced by age, weekday toddler mornings, quiet and SEND sessions, and school holiday extended hours.

Cafés and parties: cafés with children's meals and decent coffee, and birthday parties with a play session, a party room, food and a host.

Hire: soft play sets, ball pits and bouncy castles delivered to halls and gardens for parties, and adult soft play events at some centres.

Before you visit a soft play centre

• Check the age ranges and whether there is a separate baby and toddler area away from the big frame.
• Book online for weekends and holidays; sessions sell out and online is often cheaper.
• Bring socks for everyone, including the adults; no socks, no entry.
• Go weekday mornings for toddlers and quiet sessions for children who need them.
• Look at the cleanliness and staffing; a clean ball pit and staff on the floor are the marks of a good centre.
• For a party, book weeks ahead and ask what the package includes: session, room, food, host, invitations.

What soft play costs in the UK

As a rough guide, a two-hour session costs £3 to £6 for under-ones and toddlers and £6 to £12 for children over three, with adults free or £1 to £3, all-day and off-peak tickets cheaper and school holidays dearer; annual passes £60 to £150; café meals £4 to £8 for children; birthday parties £12 to £22 a child for a session, room, food and host with a minimum of eight to ten; and soft play hire £80 to £200 for a set delivered for a few hours, £150 to £350 with a ball pit and a bouncy castle. Quiet and SEND sessions are usually priced as standard or below.

Two hours at £8 with a coffee is the cheapest rainy afternoon there is, and the child sleeps afterwards.