It’s not often that there’s a play park so close to me that I haven’t discovered it yet. Tucked away and out of sight, there’s a wonderful play area to explore in Bladon near Woodstock.
A friend of mine told me all about the park and with with a blue sky and boys who don’t like to sit still we decided to explore.
It’s not the easiest to find so I better dive in there first and let you know how to get there. Opposite the White House pub, on the other side of the road and next to the traffic crossing, there is an alley way. Wide enough for a single car with fencing on either side. That’s where you walk up.
The park is a few minutes walk right up at the top just after the allotments which you’ll see on your left as you race up. There’s NO parking so don’t drive up and it would be impossible to turn around. In fact there’s not a huge amount of parking about which is probably why it’s a pretty quiet park. There are a couple of spots on Park Street straight after the White House pub. Worth noting that’s also a handy way if you want to enter the grounds of Blenheim Palace to explore the free area around their parklands.
Bladon Park is great with a mix for different age groups but probably more for primary age children than little tots but I’m sure they’d have fun too. There’s an unsual climbing frame which is a mixture of wooden poles and netting and an inclusive nest swing.
The slide is reached by climbing up either netting or a board but not easy steps but my 4 year old tends to run up the slide anyway. There’s a zip wire too which is always a winner with my kids.
For younger kids, there are a couple of those little sit on things that bong back and forth. It’s so much easier now that my youngest is tall enough not to whack his head on them, a really mini roundabout and a little house.
Something rather unusual and super cool are the activity board. The middle one is actually a pin ball so you pull the lever and the ball pins out.
My football fan 8 year old was excited to see the all weather pitch. It’s open to go in and out of and means you can go for a kick around even if the rest of the park is muddy.
A really lovely little find, I’m sure it’s adored by Bladon residents so please be respectful with parking.
