Fisherman's Wharf Park- Victoria

Fisherman's Wharf Park is the big piece of plain grass behind the Fisherman's Wharf carpark. Or I should say WAS. Because there are plans underway to extensively improve this area and change it from something completely nondescript to something rather beautiful. And they have started with the playground.

On first approach, you can't quite tell if the playground is finished or not, but after our play there I'm under the impression that it's done, but the landscaping is yet to be done. At any rate, the playground was covered with children and adults playing together so we charged right in. 'Charged' is definitely the correct word because 'A's love of ramps meant that he could run all the way down from the road right up to the top of the slide. I don't know why there are not more slides like this one, built onto the side of the hill. They are clever because it completely removes any fear of heights that anyone might have, and also in this case they have covered the area underneath the slide- and to the sides- with grippy rubber surfacing which enable the kids to run up the hill next to the slide easily. We all know how much kids like running up slides and this little feature means that they can do this without doing it- if you see what I mean?

So the playground is spread over a nice large area and has a pyramid climbing feature right in the middle. There are two bouncy things- in fact they are the bounciest bouncy things I have met yet and I had a moment when I thought that 'A' might pling off into the stratosphere.

The other two features of this playground are a fake rock climbing arch and a big wooden ship hull. There is a woodchip base and nice paths around with mosaic features. There are lots of seating areas and picnic tables and there will be shade once the trees grow a little. Oh, and there's a good view. If you don't know this area it's such a treat for kids because there is so much to see and do. We played for a while and then walked across the carpark to the wharf where we saw the resident seals, watched seaplanes take off then we caught a water taxi to downtown. I look forward to seeing how this playground and the whole park develops over time because it's a good start.

'A' liked it so much that he begged to go back soon, something he wasn't old enough to do last year but it's cool that he can now express his opinion. Just as we were leaving the playground he took one last run at the slide, and unlike all the other kids he decided to run up the metal rather than the grippy rubber- showing me that old kid habits die hard.

Barnard Park Playground- Esquimalt

We've been past the end of Barnard Ave about 10,000 times and never thought to go down there until recently, when caught in a traffic line-up I glimpsed a piece of playground equipment glistening in the sun. The next afternoon we made out way down the shirt, dead-end road and lo-and-behold, there's a lovely sea-front park with a sweet little playground. I'd barely been able to un-clip 'A's seat belt before he ran over the grass and was up on top of the slide, almost like I never take him out to playgrounds.

The playground is set in a grassy and shady park. The only facilities are the playground itself, tennis courts and a lonely picnic table. The park however is lovely- paths leading down to the seawall that winds off around the cove. There was an enormous cruise ship docked opposite and between that and the sea-planes that landed and took-off in front of us 'A' had a ball. This is on a woodchip base. This is what I would call a pit-stop playground. You aren't going to find anything amazing there, you won't spend hours there but if you're driving by you can park right there on the road, get a good play in, take a stroll by the water, have another quick play and then be back on your way. It's a case of quality not quantity. Great little climbing feature/slide, nice solid swings and a lovely setting.


Back to the playground. It's a tiny little thing with double toddler, double big-kid swings, and a climbing turret with steps, a climbing wall and a nice straight slide.

Fireman's Park Playground- Oak Bay- Victoria

Guest review by Helen

Fireman's Park is in Oak Bay and you can get into it from Monterey Avenue- where there is parking, or from Lulie Street on the other side. It's a small and neat little park with some courts, washrooms and lots of grass to play or walk your dog on.

The playground is situated next to Monterey Avenue and is an especially big hit with little boys, on account of the fire hall over the road. We often visit this playground and it's amazing how often that the firemen cruise their trucks down to the field, bring out their hoses and start doing watery stunts-all in the name of practice! They usually get a line of spectator moms who desperately try to keep their kids from joining in. There are lots of places to sit -on benches and picnic tables (some shade too) in case you want to bring along a picnic to eat during the fun.
The playground isn't half so exciting......but it's a decent come-down after the firemen go back to the station. There are woodchips on the floor, and there is one main climbing area with separate swings and a free-standing slide. As you can see in the photo, the climbing frame has big steps, a bendy slide and a lower set of twin slides. The swings are, as we often see on this site, two for little kids, two for big kids and the most exciting thing is definitely the nice high straight old-fashioned metal slide which reminds me of the slides when we were little only about half as high and not over sharp gravel! Did I say the most exciting thing was the slide? I did mention the firemen didn't I?

Wesley Park Playground

About two years ago I passed through a small park tucked between Bay St and Wesley Place where i was surprised to see a run-down, outdated little playground and to be honest, I've been saving it for a poor review. Imagine my surprise yesterday when I stumbled through the alley that leads from Bay St, pre-schooler in one hand, camera in the other and found this! It's new........a hidden little gem.

Wesley Park Playground is not a huge playground so there isn't a lot to say, but on the other hand, I've seen a lot smaller. On a woodchip base, this playground features two structures one big kid, one smaller kid linked by climbing apparatus. Both sides feature appropriate things to climb up and down and metal slides. There are four swings, two toddler, two big kid and benches for parents and grass for your pet goat to graze on. I have no idea why I just wrote that but I am going to leave it in because it livens up an otherwise unnecessarily dull review of a perfectly good playground. You could park on Wesley Place but there's not tons of room there and I get the feeling that this is a walking destination playground. There are no other facilities but in case you work up a healthy appetite playing, there's one of the best fish and chip shops in the city just round the corner on Haultain. This playground was a pleasant surprise and we will definitely be back again soon.

Rotary Water Park AKA Peter Pan - Oak Bay

Rotary Water Park is situated in Carnarvon Park, on Henderson Road in Oak Bay. We went there this morning after receiving a top tip from a Swings and Roundabouts contributor and according to 'A' it was a good time to go because there were no other people there.

It's a weird little playground in a busy park. Surrounded by playing fields and tennis courts, the water park is enclosed by wire fences and has an assortment of 'flooring' types; painted pool concrete (where the water flows), spongy floor mats, woodchips and grass. There are benches and picnic tables around for those not running through watery arches, over little wooden bridges or frolicking around one of the numerous jet sprays. The taps weren't turned on when we were there (Mid-May through June 11am-4pm, July through Sept 10am-6pm - weather permitting)which is good considering that we were fully clothed. With the taps off and the lack of people, the gaily coloured playground featured were almost spooky. However, 'A' was excited from the moment we stepped inside as he let out a little squeal as he rushed over to the train and started frantically trying to steer it away from the 'river' it was about to drive through!




The water park/playground is a bit dated and worn, and it obviously gets a lot of traffic through during sunny times. There are two little wooden bridges, a climbing frame structure and afore mentioned train. There is a little wooden house with metal stairs up and a metal slide down and 'A' was delighted to go up and down this several times before he noticed the zip-slide hiding in the back. The zip-slide is the longest I've seen in a play park this side of the Eighties! It's a bit rickety and I wouldn't advice adults to use it as you can see from the video. Sigh.


The park is a funny combination of separate little areas with separate features, none of which seemed to be constructed in the same era. There are three bouncy things in a woodchiped area, the house with the slides, a tire swing, the zip-slide and the usual double/double swing combination with two very worn toddler swings and two big kid swings. There are washrooms, picnic tables and parking and there are trees and shady areas.

As far as a challenging and exciting playground goes, I wouldn't score it too highly, but as far as an interesting and engaging water park, it's pretty good. 'A' liked it a lot and I had fun; fell off the zip-slide and got a plastic burn from the tunnel slide....however I can't help but think that the whole place could be improved by a bit of TLC.

Woodchips

This is a woodchip surface.