Guide to the best playgrounds in London

Taking the kids to the Royal Air Force Museum promises a day packed with entertainment, best paired with a trip to their aviation-themed playground. The play area is kitted out with models of iconic aircraft, including the famous Spitfire and Sea-King helicopter. There's also a mini version of the Grahame-White watchtower, featuring a climbing wall, slide, side pole and a climbing net linked with ladders and a balcony. 

Coram's Fields is a children-only park and playground in the very heart of London. Children under 16 can enjoy it all year round, with the seven-acre area encompassing a sensory play zone, a paddling pool, lawns, and a zip wire and climbing wall. Various children's programmes are available as well, for example after-school clubs and a nursery.

This award-winning park is located amongst the meadows, ponds, streams, hedgerows and woodland of Hackney Marshes. The park has plenty for children to get stuck into, including tree houses, sandpits, water features, climbing frames, ropes, and more. Its creative layout and design earned it a spot as the joint winner of 'London Adventure Playground of the Year 2020'.

Kids can play outside at Tumbling Bay Playground, part of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. There are loads of fun features for kids to discover here including rock pools, bridges, slides, and treehouses, plus enough space to run around. The goal of the playground is to give children space to play in a natural setting.

The Diana Memorial Playground is one of the most impressive playgrounds in London. It's located near where Princess Diana lived on the corner of Kensington Gardens and includes a swing set, water play area, an agility area, and a musical instrument area. The main draw is the life-sized pirate ship that children can climb on. It's got a captain's room and quarters under the deck, leading down to a sand pit.

Finsbury Park is home to three playgrounds fit for different age ranges. There's a toddler play area complete with a sandpit; a park for older kids featuring a newly-installed green metal climbing structure, and an area for all ages with a wooden playhouse, a bouncing bridge, hilly areas for running up and down, swing sets, and a hillside slide.

This playground is set with regal Buckingham Palace as its backdrop. The park houses a spider structure for kids to clamber on, a natural open area designed for exploration, and a sand pit complete with a bridge for climbing and hiding under. There are plenty of cherry blossom trees scattered around the area so it's particularly pretty in spring. 

If you're looking to entertain kids in the Battersea area, then check out Battersea Park Playground. The park is home to a swing set, slides, exercise stations, trapeze bars and plenty of stationary equipment. It's a super colourful playground with multicoloured flooring and wooden structures, all designed by landscape architects, LDA Design.

Marylebone Green Playground is a kaleidoscope of climbing frames, sand pits, seesaws and general play equipment spread across three themed zones. There's a Traditional Zone, an Art Zone and a Natural Zone, each with different facilities. The Natural Zone has a living willow tunnel, fallen trees, clambering rocks and timber stilts, whilst the Art Zone features an epic rock-climbing wall.

Toffee Park Adventure Playground is located a stone's throw from Old Street roundabout, surrounded by the towering skyscrapers of London. It offers a nature-filled oasis moments from the hustle and bustle of the city, with trees, plants and urban wildlife. You'll also find a secret garden with a pond filled with more wildlife.

This playground has been around since the 1930s but was refurbished in 2019 and 2020. The old metal park was replaced with a contemporary version made of natural materials like rope, bark, wood, and willow. The 50-metre zip line is a hit, alongside the climbing frames, swings, slides, and sandpit. There's also a water play area and a wheelchair-accessible roundabout.

Holland Park Adventure Playground is an award-winning park in Kensington and Chelsea and is the largest of its kind in the area. It's been professionally designed by a team of designers, engineers and architects and consists of bespoke play constructions, a tower and various structures designed for climbing.

Mint Street Adventure Playground in Southwark is the perfect spot to let kids burn off some energy. It's kitted out with an epic climbing frame, mini trampolines built into the ground, a rock climbing wall and a twirly slide. It's also only about a 10-minute walk from Borough Market - perfect for post-play snacking.

This playground in the heart of Greenwich has been around since the 1940s but has been refurbished into a contemporary play park for children. The new area has been built with a maritime theme, in keeping with the area's history. Everything is made using natural materials, like rope, bark wood, and logs, from the climbing frames and slides to sand pits.

As if Clissold Park wasn't enough of a reason to visit since it houses everything from a café and deer park to a paddling pool and a range of multi-use sports areas. It also has an epic play area for kids, which includes a long silver slide, climbing frame and tyre swing. Pair your trip to the park with a visit to the nearby Spence Bakery for one of their freshly baked pastries.

Let the kids run wild at Acton Green Playground in Acton Green Common, a lush area with pretty walking paths lined with trees. The park here is designed to keep the kids entertained for a maximum amount of time, complete with state-of-the-art equipment, including a swing set, an epic seven-piece adventure trail, a roundabout and springers.

Astey's Row Playground near the New River Walk area, renowned for its nature and wildlife, comprises heaps of multicoloured boulders for children to climb and clamber over. It also houses a big hotel, a water play area for the warmer months, a rock garden, two slides and a climbing frame, so there's plenty to keep the kids occupied.

Stationer's Park in Harringay has held Green Flag Status since 2011 and is a wonderful spot for children to blow off steam. There's an under-fives play area with a hillside wooden fortress so kids can channel their inner kings and queens. Two silver slides lead out of each end of the fortress, one open and one closed, and there's a hanging rope bridge to clamber across.

The epic twirly slide at Claremont Park is enough of a reason to visit this play area in the newly-built Brent Cross Town. The park built with different ages in mind; there's a sand pit, water play area, tiny houses and swings for toddlers, and complex climbing towers with a slide for older kids to get stuck into. When they've worked up an appetite, treat them to an ice cream from the on-site kiosk.

West Ham Park is the largest park in Newham, with a newly-renovated playground sure to keep the kids entertained for hours on end. The main draw is the blue and yellow central pirate ship with ropes to climb and holes to clamber through. There are also brand new climbing frames and slides for all ages, an accessible roundabout and swings for babies, older children and teens.

Delighting kids since 2013, Champions Wharf Play Beach sits at the edge of the River Thames. In sandy surroundings, the playground features a Victorian water taxi and a 7ft Viking boat that's sure to inspire kids' imaginations. Artwork, seating, and fab views of the river and Eel Pie Island enhance this spot.