Transfer Beach Playground- Ladysmith, Vancouver Island

We got a hot tip to visit Transfer Beach in Ladysmith and we were told to 'plan to stay a while', and if we'd taken a tent with us, we'd likely still be there. Well, that might have something to do with the fact that as inept campers we'd probably still be trying to put the tent up but I guess that's missing the point. The point is, it's a lovely spot with fantastic facilities.

The beach is located off Transfer Beach Blvd which runs straight off the Trans Canada Highway and there is plenty of parking though we went on a week day and I expect that on weekends in the summer the place must be rammed. Transfer Beach Park has picnic tables, covered picnic tables, washrooms, a drinking fountain and lots of pristine grassy areas to play on.



There are three main playground areas. The first one that you get to is called Totland and is a wood construction on fine pebbles and features a plastic slide and a double plastic slide, a whole bunch of tires to climb up, ramps, tunnels and steps with a separate 'lighthouse' and 'boat' to climb on.



The second area is called Kidland and is basically a great mass of wooden ramps with swinging bridges, tires to climb up and down, slides- an old curly metal one and at least one metal double. In this area, which is also on the fine pebbles there are also three toddler swings, big kid swings and a tire swing.




Just down the grass there is a water playground called Ladysmith Centennial Spray Park which features a bunch of things that spray. The sign reads 'June to Sept- 10am to dusk'. Just over the grass, right on the edge of the beach there is a metal boat for kids to play in, which rests on and is covered in sand.



We had enough time to have a go on everything here but we didn't have long enough and will definitely be back for a full day sometime this summer.

Beacon Hill Park Playground- Victoria

Beacon Hill Park offers a fabulous collection of things to do and see including beautiful gardens, fountains, a performance stage, a petting zoo and about one million ducks. Right in the middle of the park, where Chestnut Row and Bridge Way meet there is a great playground. Now, it's worth mentioning here that I have avoided this playground until now because like Beckwith and Tulista and the Juan de Fuca Rotary, it is one of the city's favourites and I like to think that I'm on side with the underdogs- hence visiting Beacon Hill's other playground on Cook Street frequently. Well, our trip to Beacon Hill's central playground the other day proved that old theory that favourites are favourites for a good reason.

There are two main structures here- big kid and little kid, all on woodchips. The big kid side has a good assortment of things to climb up and down and a couple of towers linked by bridges. There are two slides; a short curved metal slide and a higher metal curly slide- both of which were almost too hot to ride when we were there- but we can only hope that that stays- right? There is a plastic fake rock wall at one end which 'A' loved climbing up.


The smaller kid side was really hard to photograph because of all the children, but it has two small linked towers and again two metal slides a short double one and a medium height metal one- both straight. There are a bunch of good bouncy things- a metal climbing frame car and two big kid swings/ two toddler swings. Plus.....there is a cement circle that has a water feature- this wasn't on when we were there but I will try to find out the times.

There are fabulous facilities there too: Picnic tables and a covered picnic table, washrooms, drinking fountain, parking nearby and there is even a creepy building behind the playground that might once have been the washrooms but is not all locked up.

Just to show that it is human- this playground is subject to the usual graffiti tags- but in true West Coast style, the tag scrawled on the back on the climbing frame car reads 'Honk for Hemp'.

Centennial Park Playground- Central Saanich

A while back we got a hot tip to review Centennial Municipal Park Playground in Central Saanich and the top-tipper said "The ghost town of playgrounds because there is never anyone there". Well, the top tipper was right. My photos are lousy because it was deserted and spooky and I was running to get away. Okay, so that's not strictly true.....there was no one there and then when we were leaving and about to take photos a bunch of children came screeching towards the equipment and I had to take a fast shot before they were all over it.

Anyway, it's one of the few playgrounds that we have visited that is completely surrounded by forest- which in hotter weather is great because it provides tons of shade. The playground is a small part of a large park just south of Saanichton which features lots to do including walking trails.

There are two main structures, on a bed of woodchips with a separate swing set that has two toddler and two big kid swings. The smaller climbing structure has a tallish tower with a metal slide which links to a smaller tower via a bridge (always a hit with 'A')with double metal slides and there are a reasonable number of climbing options. the bigger structure seems older and has a few things to climb up and a higher tube plastic tunnel (think static!). There are also some bouncy animals for those that like them.

This playground isn't overly impressive but the shady location and other facilities makes it a pretty attractive destination. There are lots of playing fields and courts around and the facilities right by the playground: drinking fountain, washrooms and a great covered picnic area are ideal.

Tulista Park Playground -Sidney

I am so happy to have moved to the new rating system (where you rate it using the 5 star system on the top of each posting) because I would be terrified to give Tulista Park Playground in Sidney anything less than...hummm....20/10. I have received over TWENTY top tips to go review this one and they have all been extremely enthusiastic and if I dared to give it less than top scores those tip emails might turn to hate mail!

So when we packed up the car and drove to Tulista Park I was filled with hype, expecting to see some towering sparkly construction that would make Beckwith Playground seem inadequate and I have to be frank here, I was disappointed. What I saw was a hodge-podge of climbing structures and playthings surrounded by a wire fence and plonked down in a stunning location right by the water. For some odd reason, I couldn't find a way in. We circled most of the way around the playground before entering through an awkward gate that required some creative moves with the stroller. After we were inside, I saw that there were at least three more gates in including one that was right by where we parked. So that was my first embarrassing mistake. The second was getting the stroller stuck in the pebble base and needing help to get it to some shade (thanks to my helper!). I'll tell you about the third later.

So whatever Tulista Park Playground lacks in wow factor, it makes up in for function. There are three climbing structures. The first is a large wooden, construction that includes lots of climbing options, a metal curly slide and two plastic tunnels, a full tube and a half tube. 'A' went on this one briefly but said it was for big boys. The second structure was a big hit with 'A' who spent the most time on there. It features little-kid-friendly climbing options, a curved plastic slide, a double bumpy plastic slide and a huge yellow tunnel. The third structure is actually an enormous Little Tikes plastic castle with slides. 'A' seemed to like this one at first but grew bored quickly so it's definitely a great toddler option. There is also a thing with no name, three tunnels to crawl in that meet in the middle- the sort of thing that the Tombliboos from the Night Garden might live in- but I couldn't get a photo as it was always occupied when we were there.



There are swings scattered around, two big kid and four toddler and there is a covered area with picnic tables adjoined to the playground. There are washrooms, somewhere to buy snacks and of course there is a lovely expanse of grass leading to the seawall, and the views are beautiful.


As we left I saw possibly the cutest car in the world parked next to mine and as I was checking it out I managed to crash the stroller over the car park curb which sent my purse flying and two mothers had to run to my help (thanks ladies!). After all my blunders I should have sworn never to return but as we drove off 'A' dictated that that wouldn't be the case in one simple statement. "That's my favourite park mummy".