Ashley Green Park

Looking for a change from your local swings? Ashley Green Memorial Hall has a beautiful new play area, perfect for preschool and primary aged children. Thanks to the previous Bucks editor Vicky for the tip-off – we loved it!

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Ashley Green is situated just off the A41 near Chesham. I’d previously driven through the village trying to find a short cut to work, so it was great to find out it’s somewhere we can have a morning out. There is a good-sized parking area at the  Memorial Hall, although it is a little muddy at the moment! It was actually full when we arrived, due to a class being held in the hall, but we found a spot in a residential road a few minutes walk away.



The brand new play area is set back from the road to the side of the hall, and fenced off from the car park. We headed in through the gate and both kids were straight onto the wobbly bridges up to the pirate ship! The Jolly Roger waving in the breeze is a great touch, and there are numerous ways to climb onto the ship, including a mini climbing slope.

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At the top of the ship there are entrances to two slides. My eldest didn’t fancy the helter-skelter, although a more adventurous 4 year old would probably be fine! We all braved the normal one, which is still a decent height, and, note to mums going down with 1 year olds on their laps, very slippery at the end! There is a smaller mound with another slide too, and actually lots of the younger children were having great fun sliding down the mounds in their all-in-one waterproofs!

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Despite it being a wet day, we all stayed on our feet thanks to anti-slip strips included on the wooden equipment. The artificial grass on the outside of the mounds makes for another safe climbing option, and will keep the park looking green all year round. The surface of the play area is soft rubber too, so all safe for wobbly toddlers.

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As well as the ship, there’s another stand-out feature- a huge wooden train! We spent a long time going on journeys, and it was lovely to see children who’d never met making up games and pretending to drive each other to places – it really inspired imaginary play. The painted tracks on the ground are a great additional detail too, and there were lots of jumping games going on.

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After clambering in and out of the train for a while, we moved on to the musical area, which both of mine absolutely loved. The xylophone tubes were low down enough for small ones to bang on, and lots of kids were enjoying the rainmaker and drums, making up tunes and dancing to the beats.

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Finally, there are seat swings, a baby swing and an accessible one, and a roundabout. There’s plenty to play on for kids up to around age 8.

The park was designed as a play area and wellness centre, and so just outside is a selection of outdoor gym equipment. Those of you with slightly older children could happily work out and easily keep them in sight. It’s also all on the edge of the green, which is perfect for a walk or run around too.

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Adjacent to the play area, we found the very welcome surprise of The Glebe cafe, an outdoor coffee shop serving hot drinks, cakes and children’s lunchboxes. They were doing a roaring trade in hot chocolate on the rainy day that we visited! There’s even an accessible toilet and baby change.

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The whole area feels like it’s been really and thoughtfully designed, with lots of different needs considered. The children were running about safely and within eyesight the whole time, and didn’t even want to leave for lunch. Going by the constant murmur of “I didn’t know this was here, isn’t it great!”,  I’m sure it will soon be proving to be very popular place!

ashley green play park, ashley green playground, ashley green chesham, best chesham play park, new chesham play park

ashley green play park, ashley green playground, ashley green chesham, best chesham play park, new chesham play park

 

BUSINESS DETAILS

Business Name: Ashley Green Park

Address: Ashley Green Memorial Hall, Two Dell’s Lane, Ashley Green, Chesham, HP5 3PN

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