Play

Sections:

Play areas

Children’s playgrounds

This is defined as a dog-free area that includes purpose built equipment to engage children and young people in positive play activities. Playgrounds are places where children gather to explore the rest of the park or green space that surrounds them, and which provide a focal point for play and social gathering for children and parents/carers. Currently over 150 parks and green spaces in Bristol have play facilities, including three which have major facilities. There are details of play areas on each park webpage.

Successful Play Pathfinder bid brings £2.5m for Bristol’s play parks

Play in Bristol is set to benefit from a massive £2.5m windfall, thanks to a successful city council bid to the government’s Play Pathfinder initiative. The cash boost will have a massive impact on play parks and play spaces across the city over the next three years. Find out more about the bid, view the full successful bid and check the benefits this will bring to Bristol's parks and green spaces.

Major playgrounds

There are three major playgrounds in Bristol - Hengrove Play and Wheels Park, Blaise Castle Estate and Oldbury Court Estate. These sites are located in the south north and east of the city and play a big part in the strategic development of play facilities.

Those at Blaise Castle Estate and Oldbury Court Estate are set within mature park land and the setting offers as much to children’s and young peoples play as the equipment. Hengrove Play and Wheels Park is the newest site and has its own dedicated staff team and CCTV covering the whole of the site.

Blaise Castle Estate is set within a wonderful landscape and has a seasonal play worker organising local events and activities. Oldbury Court also has a wonderful landscape setting and offers a variety of activities for children and young people. Each of these sites will entertain the whole family for hours and offers extra facilities including a café close by.

Adventure playgrounds

Bristol City Council's Youth and Play team manage the following adventure playgrounds in the city, which are listed alphabetically:

Felix Road Adventure Playground
Felix Road, Easton, Bristol BS5 0JW
0117 955 1265

Lockleaze Adventure Playground
Romney Avenue, Lockleaze, Bristol BS7 9SU
0117 979 8311

St Paul’s Adventure Playground
Thomas Street, St Paul’s, Bristol BS2 9LL
0117 954 2145

Southmead Adventure Playground
Doncaster Road, Southmead, Bristol BS10 5PP
0117 950 3607

Wheels parks

Wheels parks are customised areas designed for wheel sport activities. These can have single use like a stone chip covered BMX track or a multi purpose concrete park. Wheels parks provide a focal point for skating and riding and offer a social gathering space for young people. Wheels parks attempt to offer a more secure setting for an activity that can be medium to high-risk dependent on the location. Wheels parks are located at:

Games areas

There has been good solid evidence to suggest that there is a need to get children and young people more physically active. Moreover, there is a need for children and young people to compete in a socially acceptable way. Games areas provide a focal point for play and social gathering for children and young people, and space where they can practice and learn new skills and push themselves to new heights. At present these games areas can vary in what they offer, from a single basketball post to a full multi-use games area. There are details of games and play areas on each park webpage.

Teen environments

Teen focus areas are specific spaces that can be used by teenagers to socialise without the general fear of being asked to move on without good reason. Bristol Parks believes that an increase in these facilities will disperse larger groups and the occurrence of anti social behaviour and therefore make the experience of parks and green spaces more positive for all its users and neighbours. Moreover, an independent project commissioned by Bristol Parks consulted with young people in parks and green spaces and they indicated a need for these gathering places. These environments can be designed in a number of different ways, including a ring of stones or a steel teen shelter, and reports from Thames Valley Police indicate that they do work.

For more information

You can call Bristol Parks on 0117 922 3719 or email: bristolparks@bristol.gov.uk Monday to Friday 8.30am - 5pm (4.30pm Friday). Alternatively you can text us on 0771 039 6713 to report flytipping, graffiti, or make any other comments about Bristol's parks and green spaces. Please provide as much information and specific details as possible about the location attaching any supporting photographs. We will only call you back if we require further information.

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