The Role Up Play Village

What it’s like

A themed play village where kids run their own farm shop, salon, A&E and space centre, indoors and out, in timed sessions.

Forget the usual soft play frame. Here the whole point is dressing up and taking over a little town: there's a farm shop to stock, a hair salon to run, an A&E to patch people up in, plus a space centre, a theatre and a diner. It's role play rather than climbing and sliding, so it suits kids who like pretending to be someone else more than kids who want to launch themselves down a slide. There's an outdoor village play park too if they need a change of scene.

Sessions are timed rather than open-ended: 09:45 to 11:30, then two more slots in the afternoon, with slightly different timings at weekends and in school holidays. That structure is handy if you're planning your day around it, less handy if your toddler's mid-meltdown when the session ends and you have to shuffle everyone out. Prices step up by age: under-ones are £6.95, ones and twos £8.95 on weekdays (£9.95 at weekends), and two-plus is £11.95 weekdays or £12.95 at weekends. An extra adult is £2, which is fair enough given how much minding a themed village of small children actually takes.

Given the ages run 1 to 12, this leans toward the younger end of that range, since role play in a farm shop or salon holds a five-year-old's attention rather more than a twelve-year-old's. There's a café on site for hot and cold drinks if you need to sit down for five minutes while they're off saving lives in the A&E corner.

Birthday parties get their own exclusive two-hour slot, but only for a minimum of 30 children, so this is one for the bigger class parties rather than a handful of best friends. You can bring your own food or have it provided, squash is free, and the birthday child gets a free return visit, which softens the cost a bit.

Facilities

Need to know

Best for

1 to 12, though role play suits the younger half most

Booking

Online booking recommended. Walk-ins accepted if space available

Food

On-site café with hot and cold beverages

Parties

Exclusive 2-hour birthday party sessions for minimum 30 children, bring your own food or food provided, free squash

Worth knowing

Birthday child gets free entry on a return visit

• Sessions are timed at around 1 hour 45 minutes, so pace your visit rather than settling in
• Party bookings need a minimum of 30 children, so it suits a school group more than a small gathering
• Weekday session times differ slightly from weekend and holiday times
• Under-1s are the cheapest ticket at £6.95 any day of the week

Plan your visit

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