Then, one Saturday afternoon while I was having a peaceful 5 minutes online, I saw an ad for a new local venture, Leigh Park 'Play Cafe'. Grand Opening Monday 8th July. 'Why not give it a whirl?' I thought. Not necessarily labelled as a group, simply a place to drop in when at a loose end. Elias is at nursery on Monday mornings and, aside from my work, Amelia and I are usually at a loose end. So we went for it. I packed up our things and we headed off for a little play time.
When we arrived for the 10am opening, we weren't the first there. Mothers and babies lined up with pretty pushchairs in anticipation of what might be on offer. Soon, the doors were opened and the smiling faces of many a staff member welcomed us inside.
The environment was bustling. Childrens' favourite tunes played and people chatted amongst themselves over a warm cup of tea while children flitted between the many, many, many toys on offer. Everything from a carefully laid out 'baby area' equipped with play mats a-plenty, to a soft ball-pit to role play stations and even an art table and mini-library. Little eyes glimmered with the endless options. Amelia made a very fast B-line for a shopping till station and spent a good 20 minutes browsing the area and enjoying every part of it before moving on to do some drawing.
You can tell that every inch of this place has been designed with the local community at heart; a friendly atmosphere, staff from the local area, affordable prices, handmade drinks and snacks. It is just what Leigh Park needs.
We ventured outside for a short while and found some outdoor-toys to enjoy in the sunshine, Amelia took to a lovely little ride along and on our travels we found a third little space to be enjoyed; a sensory room with activities like cheerio and pasta threading and a texture table. On speaking to one of the staff I was also told that the outdoor area was recently granted some funding to allow for extra child-safety measures and the like - great news! It will be exciting to see this lovely space grow.
We had a brilliant time at the grand opening of the Play Park Cafe and, with it being open daily, we are sure to be coming back, it will be particularly invaluable in the colder months. Although I enjoyed some time to take Amelia out on her own, it is nice to know that this space welcomes older sibling too, so I am able to bring both children along sometimes! If you happen to be in the area I would definitely recommend a visit - even if just for a cup of tea which you are actually able to drink while its hot - a rare treat for a parent of young children!
