Adventure Playgrounds and Play Areas

Fair play for all children in Islington

Islington council provides free, safe, open access play facilities to all of our children and young people. Playing outdoors can help children to develop self confidence and social skills as well as keep healthy. 

Play areas and adventure playgrounds can also bring together a whole community and act as a central feature of a neighbourhood.

Adventure play for all children

There are 12 adventure playgrounds in Islington, the second highest number of any London borough.

Adventure playgrounds are open access so children can come and go as they please, but children must be registered to attend. They provide exciting outdoor structures and play activities throughout the school term, after school and full time during school holidays.

Contact the Positive Activities team on 0207 527 5641 for more information about Islington’s play facilities.

Islington's Adventure Playgrounds

You can see a map of adventure playgrounds in the borough by following the link to Interactive Maps on the right of this page.

Select Recreation and Leisure from the list on the right and tick the box next to Adventure Playgrounds. You can then use the 'identify' tool to display details of each playground.

Barnard Park Adventure Playground
Copenhagen Street N1 0WF
020 7837 1512

Cape Play And Youth Project
83 Crouch Hill N8 9EG
020 7272 4243

Cornwallis Adventure Playground
Cornwallis Road N19 4LP
020 7281 0094

Crumbles Castle Adventure Playground (Voluntary Organisation)
Bingfield Street N1 0BJ
020 7278 8640

Haywards Adventure Playground (Voluntary Organisation)
Kidsactive (for children with learning difficulties)
Market Road N7 9PL
020 7607 0033 

King Henry's Walk Adventure Playground
11 King Henry’s Walk N1 4NX
020 7254 4783
 

Lumpy Hill Adventure Playground (Voluntary Organisation)
15 Market road N7 9PL
020 7607 3586

Martin Luther King Adventure Playground (Voluntary Organisation)
3 Sheringham Road N7 8PF
020 7607 0845

Three Corners Adventure Playground
Northampton Road EC1R 0HU
020 7833 0795

Timbuktu Adventure Playground (Voluntary Organisation)|
Grenville Road N19 4EJ
020 7272 2183

Toffee Park Adventure Playground (Voluntary Organisation)
30 Ironmonger Row EC1V 3QS
020 7251 0190

Waterside Play and Youth Project
Flat 4 Packington Square N1 7UF

Meet the Playrangers!

Last year Islington was awarded Big Lottery Funding to set up the Playranger scheme throughout the borough.

The Playrangers bring exciting and fun play, sports and group activities to estates, local parks and school playgrounds around the borough.

The Playrangers support all children, with a focus on children aged 8 – 13, to play freely in their local parks and open spaces near to their homes. The scheme is free and runs all year round.

Playrangers run their sessions across Islington and the locations differ between term time and school holidays. Contact the Positive Activities team on 0207 527 5641 for more information and the Playrangers schedule. You can download the Playrangers schedule from a link at the bottom of this page.

You can also find out more from the Family Directory.

Bringing play to your doorstep

Last year we received over £1 million from the government to develop play areas across the borough as part of the Playbuilder scheme. Seven new play areas opened in spring 2009 and by 2011 there will be a total of 22 new and refurbished play areas.

The new play areas are located at the Andover Estate, New Orleans Walk, Sussex Way Gardens, Fortune Street, Brunswick Estate, Gambier House and Rosemary Gardens.

They are located in estates and residential areas, so residents who are less likely to have gardens now have free, safe and enjoyable play facilities on their doorstep.

• Gambier House in Bunhill has benefited from a £350,000 makeover, including £25,000 from Playbuilder, which has transformed the open space next to the housing estate. New features include a play area for older children with climbing nets, a playful water feature, seating areas, allotments and new planting.
• The Andover estate has a completely redeveloped play area, with £98,000 invested from Playbuilder, the Big Lottery and Homes for Islington.

The council recently announced the eight play areas to be developed in 2009/10. These are:

• Bentham Court
• Toffee Park Adventure Playground
• Three Corners Adventure Playground
• Waterside Adventure Playground
• Trecastle/Pendryn Way
• Parkview Estate
• Aubert Court
• Andover Central Square

At Trecastle/Pendryn Way, £70,000 will be spent on a brand new play area. The popular Toffee Park Adventure Playground will have over £43,000 spent on creating a natural play area. This will include a vegetable garden, mature trees, a variety of plants and an exciting aerial runway.

Islington Council will be receiving applications from housing managers, tenant resident associations, Greenspace, adventure playgrounds, the voluntary sector, community groups and other interested partners for phase three of the Playbuilder project towards the end of 2009.