Stockeld Park’s Playhive is OPEN!

On the 23rd July 2022, one of Europe’s LARGEST indoor play centres was opened at Stockeld Park, and we were lucky enough to be invited to the VIP opening ceremony to test out exactly what the Playhive has to offer! (PR Trip)

Stockeld Park is well known for its incredible outdoor adventure play spaces that are hidden in the woodland of Stockeld Park, as well as it’s amazing maze (see what I did there…) and its brilliant seasonal themed trails.

Well my friends, if that’s not enough to fill your day (and it absolutely is) there is now EVEN MORE going on at Stockeld Park!

Want to find out more about the Playhive? Of course you do!

Tell us more about Stockeld Park Playhive!

I’ll start with a confession.

I don’t like soft play. Like really hate soft play. In fact, if there was anywhere I’d rather be, it’s ANYWHERE that isn’t a soft play.

But this isn’t a Soft Play.

Oh no. This is an unreal indoor play experience unlike any I have ever experienced before.

And that’s my opinion. And it’s not exaggerated for the sake of this being a PR invite. It is true.

Because there is SO much going on here. 4 themed play areas, that are all interconnected, Space, Air, Sea and Jungle, all have bits to climb on, bits to slide on, stuff to swing on, stuff to press, stuff to whack, jump through, jump on, lights, cameras….. and ACTION!

A literal 100 mph whirlwind of a play experience, adults are actively encouraged to get involved, and who was I to argue with that?!

It truly was a great indoor play experience. And I for one, never thought I’d be writing that!

Do I recommend it? Yes. But however hard I recommend it, the kids recommend it 1000% times more.

Details, I need details! How much does it cost to enter the Playhive?

This is the nitty gritty bit.

The Playhive is for sure an investment in a premium cost day trip, that’s not a secret.

Entry for the Playhive is in addition to the general entry for the day tickets to Stockeld Park. So you can’t just rock up with an adventure park entry and get in if it starts raining, it’s an added extra to your Stockeld experience.

Tickets are available for either just the outdoor adventure park, or the outdoor adventure park and the Playhive experience.

Tickets for the adventure park and the Playhive are £19.50/ person for a timed entry slot of 1.5 hours or you can have ‘anytime entry’, that costs £23 and gives you more flexibility.

What I can say for certain, is that Stockeld Park gave us a full day of fun BEFORE the Playhive opened, and the fun factor has totally upped its game since its opening.

So if you want to make the most of all the time you get, get there early! And you’ll still be dragging the kids away at closing time!

What age is Stockeld Park Playhive suitable for?

This is a question I get asked a lot whenever we post about Stockeld Park in general, and it’s always such a hard question to answer because every child is totally different!

The first time we visited Stockeld, my youngest was 4 and he absolutely loved it, was more than capable of joining in with most of the outdoor obstacles and I felt that we’d more than got our money’s worth (with an older sibling of 6 at the time). This was back in 2020 and before the Playhive had opened obviously!

I cannot possibly decide what is right for your kid but I’d say that to get the maximum benefit from the Playhive, considering the price, over 3 would be a decent estimate.

But an estimate it is, don’t hang me on it, you know your kid!

I CAN tell you that there is plenty there for a younger age group, like swings, sensory lights, interactive fun and smaller slides plus loads more. BUT if you visit ONLY with a toddler, there will be a large part of the Playhive that will be too big for them.

How long do you spend at Stockeld Park?

……with the Playhive?

A WHOLE day, and more.

There is always so much going on at Stockeld, you never feel like you come away feeling short changed. You will be dragging the kids away at closing.

And ‘that’s all I have to say about that’…… in the words of Forrest Gump.

Sorry, but it needs nothing more!

Do I need special footwear?

No.

Just socks. If you forget, there is a special slipper vending machine, but just socks will do you just fine.

Food!

There is a brand spanking new absolutely mahoosive café that’s opened in the Playhive. And this is in addition to the regular mahoosive café already at Stockeld. But you know what? I think Stockeld needed it. The café always got really busy, and this will just spread the busy-ness.

So nice work Stockeld!

Our advice….

I lost Edie within the first 30 seconds of us being there.

She’s 8, she’s cool and it was fine, but absolutely do what the signs tell you to do and set a meeting place, a base or something similar. There is so much going on, there are so many places to explore, you could chase your tail for hours trying to find them!

(And tell them that they need to stop there, not check for 5 seconds and then go on another slide!)

The Playhive is awesome, it really is. But remember you can still fill a day FULL of the usual Stockeld Park fun, nothing has changed there! So don’t feel the horrible Summer parental pressure of having to do it ALLLLLL!

Wee before entry. There are no toilets inside the actual play area you have to go back out to the entrance to go, and whilst that’s not far, it’s not going to be fun in socked feet.

There is nowhere for grown ups to sit in the Playhive. You will be hovering! There are tables and chairs outside, but you will not be able to supervise children from there.

You could of course sit down on a slide….. because grown ups can play too!

And finally……

Truly, Stockeld Park have created a wonderful play area in the Playhive. It’s the perfect compliment to their amazing existing park, which has always been such a firm favourite with the kids.

We were there for 1.5 hours to test it out, and we still hadn’t done it all. It’s interactive, it’s BEAUTIFUL, the murals are out of this world the slides are some of the slidiest slides we’ve ever been on… it’s hands down the best indoor play area I’ve been to. And I don’t often pin my colours to the mast like that, but I’ve really tried to think of a better one, and I can’t.

So well done Stockeld. Smashed it!

Thanks for having us!