J and D have frequented
the playground at Petersham Gate regularly over their lifetime. It
had not changed much since my mum was a child with the exception of a
spider web climbing installation a few years ago.
It recently re-opened
following an upgrade - so we went along on a hot Sunday afternoon to
check out what had changed and what was new.
I was optimistic as I
had passed the smart new fencing and observed progress over the past
weeks on my Saturday morning runs.
Access is improved with
two gates into the playground making trips to the adjacent toilets
much quicker and more straight forward! Also better cycle racks have
been installed making it easier to lock up and leave bikes.
J and D had always
loved the old sandpit at petersham which had been enclosed by a
wooden fence. The new sandpit is greatly improved, accessible from
all sides making it much easier to observe any bad behaviour, not
sharing diggers, flicking of sand etc!
The wooden gazebo with
seating adjacent to the sandpit was lovely for parents to relax on
and provided shade while the boys dug a hole to Australia and buried
each other.
D enjoyed the rope
hammocks and loved tipping daddy out on his turn! D is always a big
fan of the swings and the old swing set remains but does appear to
fly higher. J was thrilled to be able to reach the top of the new
wooden climbing structure.
Other children were
also enjoying the play area, there was lots of space and they all
interacted well together.
As tummies started to
rumble and teatime beckoned and with school in the morning we cycled
home via Ham Gate and along Ham Gate Avenue. Baby bunnies playing in
the evening sun were very cute, much more so than the over confident
fox which visits my garden daily morning, noon and night, (more of
that another time)! This rounded off a relaxing circular cycle from
home along the river to Petersham Gate as away from traffic with
young cyclists in tow.
I would recommend
taking snacks and drinks on a long hot afternoon as Petersham
playground lacks a tea and refreshment kiosk, which they have at the
car parks in richmond park. Pembroke Lodge up the hill sell
refreshments inside and have a kiosk in the car park but any hot
drinks or ice creams would struggle to make it back down the hill.
