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IndoorsFree entry

The Word, National Centre for the Written Word

South Shields
Courtesy of The Word, National Centre for the Written Word

ENTRY

Free

SETTING

Indoors

WHERE

South Shields

What it’s like

A free library building with a Lego brick pit, digital media walls and baby and toddler sessions to build a morning around.

There's a proper Lego and Duplo playpit here, plus a digital media wall and interactive touch-tables that give older kids something to poke about with while you catch your breath. It's all indoors and free to get in, which makes it an easy one to slot into a rainy Tuesday without weighing up whether it's worth the money.

The baby and toddler sessions are the bit worth timing your visit around. There's Baby Bounce and Bounce and Wobblies for the smallest ones, Jiggle and Wiggle for 2 to 3 year olds, and Peek-a-Book for 3 to 4 year olds. These are the kind of structured slots that give a morning some shape, rather than just wandering the building hoping something grabs their attention.

Opening hours shift across the week: 9am to 7pm Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm on Friday, and a shorter 10am to 4pm at weekends. The café inside runs on its own slightly earlier schedule, so if you're planning to finish with a snack it's worth knowing it shuts before the building does most days. There's a gift shop too, if you want to walk out with something other than a library card.

Nothing here needs booking ahead as far as the facts show, so it suits a spontaneous decision to get out of the house rather than a big planned outing. With free entry and no ticket to sort, the main cost of a visit is really just factoring in the shorter café hours and getting there in time for whichever session you fancy.

What’s on here

Facilities

Café
Gift shop
Indoor play

Need to know

Food
Café @ The Word open Mon-Thu 9am-6:30pm, Fri 9am-4:30pm, Sat-Sun 10am-3:30pm
  • Admission is free, so there's no ticket to sort before you go.
  • The café closes earlier than the building most days, especially on Friday.
  • There's a gift shop on site if you fancy a browse after the sessions.
  • No booking link is listed for the baby and toddler sessions, so turning up seems to be the way in.

Plan your visit

Is it free to get in?

Yes, admission is free.

What are the opening hours?

Monday to Thursday 9am to 7pm, Friday 9am to 5pm, and Saturday and Sunday 10am to 4pm.

Do we need to book the baby and toddler sessions?

There's no booking link listed, so these seem to be sessions you turn up for rather than reserve in advance.

What's there for babies and toddlers?

Baby Bounce and Bounce and Wobblies for babies, Jiggle and Wiggle for 2 to 3 year olds, and Peek-a-Book for 3 to 4 year olds.

Is there food on site?

Café @ The Word is open Monday to Thursday 9am to 6.30pm, Friday 9am to 4.30pm, and Saturday and Sunday 10am to 3.30pm. It closes before the building does, so plan a snack stop with that in mind.

What can older kids do there?

There's a digital media wall and interactive touch-tables alongside the Lego and Duplo playpit, which gives a bit of variety beyond just the baby sessions.

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