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Whitley Common Playground – #CountryKids

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After a couple of weeks’ break from the #CountryKids linky that I usually join in with, I thought I’d share this quick post. Weekends have been very busy going over to our new house and sorting stuff like cleaning, shifting junk that the previous owner just left there, and preparing it for the decorator, so I haven’t had much time to blog our outdoor adventures. As the weather has been so nice, we’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors, either in the garden with the paddling pool or at the local park.

I realised that I hadn’t yet blogged about a park local to Granny and Grandad’s house where we’ve been living, the one that I find the least stressful to take both boys to on my own – Whitley Common Playground. The big park that is nearest to us is hard for me to take them to on my own because there are no fences around the playground so Joel just runs off, and Andrew tries to climb on the teenage climbing frames whilst my head is turned running after Joel – bit of a nightmare! But the Whitley park is much better for us in this respect.

Whitley park 1 jpg

It’s not huge, but it’s the perfect height and experience level for the boys to do on their own. Obviously I’m there to help and watch them too, but I only have 2 hands and eyes in the front of my head. There is also a fence around the toddler section, which slows Joel down when he tries to escape – he has just learned how to throw his whole weight on the gate to open it, but at least I get longer to spot that and run after him than an open field! And because the climbing frame is just right for him, he doesn’t often try this on anyway. The ground is that lovely squishy astroturf too, which is great at cushioning any falls.

Andrew loves going down the fireman’s pole, as you see in the pictures above, and this is great because it’s the smallest pole like this in a playground that I’ve seen and he is getting good practice at doing this without being very far from the ground at all. He also likes playing with the clock on the end of the climbing frame, telling me what time is is, and on the other side of this there is a ship’s wheel that he likes to stand at and turn, pretending that he’s ‘driving’ a ship. There is quite a bit of space just to run around on the soft ground too, and when there are other kids his age there too, they often end up playing a game of chase on this, which he really loves.

Whitley park 2 jpg

Joel is definitely a climber – he climbs wherever he can (or can’t!), whether that’s on furniture at home when I’m not looking or climbing frames that are really too big for him, he has no fear! But the small toddler frame at this park is perfect for him. He also likes to climb the slide, though I try to dissuade him from that, especially if there are other children trying to come down it. I think most kids go through a phase of wanting to climb slides rather than slide down them, and he is definitely there right now.

As well as the toddler section of the playground that’s within a fence, there is also an older kids’ section outside of the fence next to the common – an open field where lots of dog walkers go, which is some distance from any road so it’s quite safe anyway. Joel quite likes trying to climb up on the bigger climbing frame, as you can see above, and actually with a bit of help even this isn’t too difficult for either of the boys, and they enjoy sliding down the bigger slide at the top of it. In this section there’s also a big tyre swing that Andrew likes to go on when there are other kids his age, but Joel is happier on the toddler swings in the fenced part.

Whitley park 3 jpg

As I said, it’s not massive, but there is a variety of things to play on that are all brilliant for the boys’ current size. They don’t seem too fussed by the seesaw, which you can just about see in the distance in the picture above, though Andrew likes standing on the ground and pushing it up and down with his hands, and Joel occasionally comes by to see what he’s doing.

I’m glad that we’ve had such a good park close to where we’ve been living, and I’m glad that I’ve now written a record of it to look back on when the boys are bigger. The local park at our new house is perfect for Andrew’s age and older, which will be good for them to grow once we finally move at the end of the month.
Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

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