Park Life

Monday 1 June 2015

Henley - three playgrounds, mini golf and a brick kiln...

You can get this blog as an app here, for free.

I've always been intrigued by this so decided to stop off and have a look. It's in Nettlebed and was a brick kiln. You can find out more about it here. I was very interested to learn that the bricks used to build both Wallingford Castle and Abingdon Abbey were manufactured here. It also has links to Stoke Row, where some of my family are from - and still live.

The first of the three playgrounds we visited was Freemans Meadow. It is on the main road coming from Wallingford. There isn't a car park for the playground but there is a long stay car park the first exit from the roundabout next to the rugby club. It costs £3 for the entire day. We parked there and crossed the road.

There is a toilet near the river, in the council offices, making the trip out a much more comfortable experience.

You can, of course, take a boat ride down the river. We intend to do that next time we visit.

We had a lovely afternoon in Henley. Each of the playgrounds are well looked after and my son had a great time in all of them, although he seemed to enjoy the novelty of the golf the most.

It's a pretty big playground...

With a wide variety of equipment...

The playground next to the river has its own car park. Here are the charges. However, you don't need to park because there is a train station opposite. From Didcot it is a bit awkward, involving changes, but it is do-able.

You can find Mill Meadows on this google map.

The tariff for this car park is considerably more expensive than the car I parked in, however, if you have children with little road awareness I can see the attraction of parking so close. We arrived at about 2.00 but didn't leave until 6.00. Nearly £9.00 seems a bit steep!

To get to the riverside playground ensure you are on the on the right side of the bridge as you look towards Remenham over the bridge. Walk passed all the boats along and you will eventually see this sign....

Below - mini golf. You can hire the equipment from the booth inside the council building, behind. Children £1.00. Adults £2.00. We had a great time - it's a nice little 'course'.