Browning Park Playground- Saanich

We haven't been this excited about a playground in ages! Every time we drive up Shelbourne Street during the last two years we have looked over towards Browning Park and laughed at the old old little playground hidden in the long grass. I've always meant to visit there, fully expecting to give it a poor quality review as the type of playground where a child might need a tetanus jab. But those who snooze, lose. Because recently I was driving up Shelbourne, glanced over and almost crashed my car in excitement. Because not only was there a brand-spanking-new playground being built, but the entire park, which frankly had been overgrown and nondescript, was dug up and being redeveloped.

Kudos to the CRD and Saanich here because this is part of the Bowker Creek development project and if this part of Bowker Creek turns out as nicely as, or even nicer than the Oak Bay part then it will be a wonderful place for locals. And even in it's current unfinished state, it's looking amazing. Thanksgiving weekend finally gave us the opportunity to visit the playground and let's just say that when we tried to leave the kids kicked up a big fuss!

Located on Shelbourne Street and accessible from there or from either side of Browning St or from the Bowker Creek pathway that runs on the far side of the Creek, this lovely new park has smooth tarmac trails, a basketball court and a fantastic playground. Parking might be available on Browning St, but this is more the type of park that you walk or ride bikes to, and stop off at for a picnic. It looks like there will be nicely landscaped gardens and grassy areas but for now it's a bit of a mess with dirt and diggers- which hold their own attraction for little ones.


The playground has two main climbing structures, a small one for little kids and a big one for the bigger kids. The small one features various climbing options to a low tower and a double metal short straight slide. There is a double big kid, double toddler swing combo, a climbing frame car, a twiddly stem, and a rock feature for climbing over, under and across.

The larger climbing frame is the most exciting part of this playground according to my kids and my now 4 year old 'A' as the best climbing frame ever. It's a treehouse, and if I had my way this would be known as the treehouse playground- which it may well if it doesn't get called the frog park, but that's a different story. The treehouse climbing frame is built into a tree, and features several routes up which include a 'rope ladder', tree stumps, and tree climbing to the clubhouse up top. There is a long straight metal side down. It's beautifully made, fits in to the environment subtly and has great little touches such as a raccoon and squirrel hidden underneath.


So...the frog. Lastly, but not least, there is a giant frog squatting in the middle of the woodchip base in this playground. Oddly enough, my kids steered a clear path around it and my daughter definitely thought it was real. So whatever the local kids end up calling this fantastic playground, my betting is that it'll be between the frog and the treehouse and that the rest of this wonderful park, the creek and the bike trails will be forgotten in the playground excitement!

Majestic Park Playground- Saanich

So we were cruising around today in an area that doesn't seem to have a huge number of playgrounds and just as I made some off-hand comment saying just that, we drove right by Majestic Park Playground. You can find the park on Majestic which can be accessed from Shelbourne or Ash in Saanich.

With parking places right along the road, Majestic Park is very well equipped for its size. There are washrooms, a tennis court, a baseball diamond and lots of picnic tables. There are some benches around too and whereas there is no shade actually at the playground, there are shady places nearby where you could set up camp under a tree.

On gravelly sand, the playground is well equipped though slightly older and worn. The main big kid structure is the type that you see all over Victoria, with metal bars and a bright curly plastic slide. There are lots of ways to climb up, an arched ladder, a normal ladder and tires, and the structure is made up of several climbing platforms. There are two slides, a double straight metal slide and a higher curly plastic one. In this part of the playground there are also an old school metal seesaw and a digging machine.

As well as this larger structure, there is also a double big-kid, double toddler swing set and then there is a smaller play area across the path. This is of a different style and has a low climbing structure with a ramp, a couple of climbing platforms, an activity feature and a toddler appropriate slide. This isn't however a structure that I could leave my toddler on by herself because the top platform- rather curiously- has an entire edge open, so no rest for toddler parents here!
There was also a climbing thing- not sure what it was meant to be- perhaps a big climbing worm, but my 3.5 year old son loved it- till he got stuck. No rest for bigger kid parents either!



All is all this is a good little place to stop. It's not the best playground ever but the package of everything at the park makes it an easy place to play. Oh, and it's got a bus stop right out the front by the parking for easy access.

Horner Park Playground- Saanich

You can access Horner Park Playground in Saanich from Kisber Ave, Palo Alto Street or Iona Drive. We've been there before a long time ago, I have a vague memory of search there at dusk for something that we couldn't find but we didn't have kids then so probably didn't even notice the playground. Now however is a completely different story!

On gravelly sand, this playground offers a decent sized climbing structure that would suit all sizes of child. There are three slides- a high curly plastic one, a short double plastic and a short wide metal. There are lots of things to climb up, down or to hang off including platform steps for the smaller kids, climbing wall features, a spiral climbing ladder and a wavy hanging ladder. In the middle there is an ever-popular tunnel that connects the two towers and even when they are super short like this one, 'A' seems to love them big-time.

There are double big-kid, double toddler swings, a reasonably old-school seesaw, and a climbing frame car. There are big playing fields that include a baseball diamond and a basketball court and for a park this size you'd expect washrooms but there are none here. There are benches and picnic tables and good shade near to the playground though the equipment itself is in full sun. To that end, our visit here was very short because, and I will use 'A's words here "Mummy! Too 'ot!!!"

Vantreight Park Playground- Saanich

Vantreight Park is on Leyns Road between Balmacarra and Vantreight and is a lovely park with trails, lots of grass and shady trees to hide from the sun under on hot days like yesterday. Parking is easy roadside where you can find it and although this park doesn't offer any of the fancier facilities like washrooms, it's surprisingly large and definitely worth a visit. Plus after you've had a good play at their rather good playground, you can take the steep steps at the bottom of Balmacarra Rd down to the ocean where little ones can throw stones to their hearts content.


The playground is pretty new and features two structures- one that offers climbing and hanging options for bigger kids and then a universal bigger structure. This one has a ton of great climbing options- spiral climbing ladder, hooped arched ladder, a tunnel, several platforms that lead up to a tower and two metal slides of different heights. In addition there is the usual double big kid, double toddler swing combo, a climbing frame car, the cutest twirly thing that I have ever seen and an absolutely adorable activity wall feature- an ice-cream stand built in underneath. 'A' spent a long time looking for the ice-cream 'man' or even just the ice-cream and was gutted when he couldn't find either. Next time on a hot day like this I'm thinking of taking a cooler, some waffle cones and a box of Breyers and 'A' will make a killing!

Tolmie Park Playground- Victoria

We stumbled across Tolmie park after taking a wrong turn and finding a dead end to turn around in and it led me to question if wrong turns always led me to playgrounds in the past? I seem to stumble across them all the time these days and maybe it's because I am on the lookout for brightly painted bars and sunlight on metal slides......or maybe I am just getting lost more.

Anyway, Tolmie Park playground is one of the typical 'well equipped but nothing special' playgrounds that seem to populate Greater Victoria. I am sure that it's well used and well loved and there were certainly happy playgrounders (I had to squash the urge to call them clients for a moment there) running around when we were there.

The park itself runs in a strip of grass between Saanich Road and Savannah Ave on Leslie- which breaks for the park in dead ends on both sides. There is plenty of parking on the Saanich Road side and a little parking on the other side, which is nearer to the playground. On a sandy base, there are two big kid swings, two toddler swings, a high hanging ladder, a digger machine and a climbing structure. This features several wooden platforms with a few climbing options, a short straight plastic slide and a higher curly plastic slide. Like I said, nothing outstanding to report here except for the fact that playgrounds like this remind me how lucky we are to have so many, and so good that one like this just seems 'normal'. In some parts of the world, in some parts of the country kids don't have these things. Better go before I go off on a tear-jerker?

Portlock Park- Salt Spring Island

Portlock Park is located on Salt Spring's Vesuvius Bay Road just before the North End Road junction. The park offers playing fields for soccer (and other sports), tennis courts and swimming, and for those who can't get through the fifteen minute drive from Vesuvius Bay to Ganges without visiting a playground (us), there's a small one there.

Located right next to the car park Portlock Park Playground is small and a bit tired. It has a climbing tower...no, more like a small climbing turret with a curly slide, two bouncy things, a tire swing and the usual double big kid, double toddler swing combo. All of these are on tiny pebbles and there is also grass to play on and picnic tables. When the park is open there are washrooms.

There's not a lot to say about this playground. It's functional, has enough to keep any child occupied for a while and is in a location where I expect it gets used but never crowded. But then again, it doesn't match the playground in Ganges's Centennial Park for apparatus, views or liveliness.

Kinsman Beach Park Playground- Chemainus

Kinsman Beach Park Playground can be found on Chemainus's Esplanade and is worth a visit. It's tucked in a residential neighbourhood and the park is right on the water's edge which affords good views during swinging time.

The little playground, which is on small pebbles has some interesting equipment and we found it to be a breath of fresh air. For the sake of reviewing, there are 5 separate play areas. To start off there is the usual double big kid, double toddler swing combo and as said before, there were good views of the sea and some decent people-watching if you face the right way.

The second piece of equipment is a good old fashioned slide. It's straight steps up, metal slide down and although it was a bit high for 'A's 2.5 years, I tested it out....just to be able to comment, of course, and it was a good ride. Next there are 2 things- a segmented plastic tunnel and a climbing thing with stacked plastic curved pieces and bars at the top to hold on to.


Finally there is a climbing structure. It's a small wooden tower with stacking plastic pieces to climb up, a climbing wall style ramp to climb up, a tunnel and a small double plastic slide down.

The park is quite small and has washrooms, parking, picnic tables, grassy areas and lots of shade. Couple those things with the view and this playground is well worth a visit.

Rathdown Park Playground- Sidney

Okay, so when we visited Tulista Park Playground we took a drive around and stumbled across Rathdown Parkwhich is at Calvin and Bowerbank. We didn't have a whole lot of time to play there, but all playgrounds are worth stopping at, which we did. It's not a glamorous playground, but it's solid and offers some nice playing options. The wooden climbing structure has a ramp, a rope ladder wall and two slides- a half pipe plastic and a higher metal. There are two swings, an old-school climbing frame which is like a long ladder that goes up, across and over (need to think of a name for that one!) and there are two swings- one toddler and one big kid. The playground is on teeny tiny gravel and the park itself is well kept. There are not really any facilities here and there is not much shade but there are good picnic tables, and benches around, and parking was easy on the side road.

We visited this playground a while ago and I needed some help in figuring out exactly where it was. One of the many helpful replies (thanks ladies) gave me this nice tidbit that I thought I should share:

"There is a very large green space that is great for flying kites and driving around remote controlled toys. It is also a good place to learn to ride a 2 wheel bike since there is a very long asphalt pathway that has soft grass on both sides. The large field also tends to flood in the winter and if it freezes the kids like to skate (with their shoes on) on the ice."

Bright Angel Park Playground- Cowichan Vally

You can find Bright Angel Provincial Park on the Koksilah Road between Cobble Hill and Duncan. Drive as far as you can get into the park and you'll reach a parking area where there are picnic facilities, washrooms, a suspension bridge and oddly enough, a playground. It's a far cry from the playgrounds that we normally review......well.....for a start it's a far cry from anywhere. But there is a lovely quality about a forest clearing, shafts of sun leaking through the leafy ceiling, soft pad of packed dirt and woodchips under feet and the primal screaming of thirty teenagers playing on the equipment.

Sadly enough, I couldn't get good pictures of anything here except for the climbing frame above. The equipment is pretty old but I wouldn't expect anything else somewhere like here. There is a crazy set of old-school wooden and metal seesaws- four of them in a row joined together. There are six swings, two toddler and the rest big kid and a funny thing about the toddler swings is that they are hung so low that 'A' might of climbed in himself if he hadn't been clinging to us in fear of the teenagers. Because they are so low, they actually have the capacity to swing really high- that's if you don't mind bending down to push them.

There is also....drum roll...a roundabout- which I just found out is called a merry-go-round in Canada (I'm British originally) which sort of negates my entire naming of this site- but I guess it's far too late to change that now. The roundabout is an old metal thing and kept us entertained for a while watching the teenagers spin each other round faster and faster until someone flew off and limped off.

There is a lot to explore in Bright Angel Park and though the playground will never be famed for it's innovative and shiny equipment, I am sure any child would have a lot of fun here.

Rainbow Park Playground- Swan lake, Saanich

You can find Rainbow Park Playground on Rainbow Street just south of McKenzie. The park itself is mostly a green field with some trees dotted around and considering it's close proximity to both McKenzie and the Pat Bay Highway, it's surprisingly nice. And it's neighbour park, Swan Lake Park is fabulous, though more like trails, ducks and wooden trestles than swings and roundabouts.

So, speaking of playgrounds, this one is pretty good. You can park on Rainbow Street and if you get there early enough you can claim a spot of shade under one of the trees that is close to the playground. There are two climbing structures, a large one for bigger kids and a tiny little one-slide tower for the smaller kids. The big kid climbing frame has good climbing options including a wooden ramp with chain/wood supports to climb up, other climbing options and a separate 'thing' a sort of wooden platform with bars that one can climb on, linked to the main structure by one of those ladders in the air to hang from. The words aren't flowing today so forgive my vagueness.

There are two toddler swings and two big kid swings and the toddler swings are nice and high so that 'A' actually believed it when I told him that he'd be fired off to the moon if I pushed him any harder, which was just my way of getting out of pushing any more because my swing-induced repetitive strain was playing up.

There are no facilities here except for picnic tables and the whole thing is on a bed of sand. Oh! And there is another of those cool seesaws like the one in Sierra Park Playground except it doesn't seat four and it doesn't like my weight quite as much

Memorial Park Playground- Esquimalt

Memorial Park is a well-kept, leafy little park situated on the Esquimalt Road. There are lots of trees, so lots of shade, benches, picnic benches, grassy areas to play on and a surprisingly large playground area. There are two main play areas the first with a larger climbing structure aimed at bigger kids. This has a high curly plastic slide and a double metal lower slide and there a small range of options for things to climb up and hang off. There are some old-school balance beams which 'A' is really into right now and the whole lot is on a sandy base.


The other main play area is aimed at smaller kids and as well as the small climbing structure with wide metal slide there are 6 bouncy or twirly things and a digger machine, all also on sand. Now here's the sign that we are getting blase about this whole playground thing.......I stopped writing down details and now I can't remember exactly the swing set up but I think that there were two big kid and 4 toddler but I may be wrong. There are swings there at any rate and 'A's little sister had her first swing in one which resulted in her letting loose her maniacal baby laugh which drew a small crowd.

The thing that differentiates this playground from others is that it has a boat in it. A real, metal life size boat, the MV Centennial, which the kids were loving. There is also some old artillery equipment around the park that adds to the military feel and hopefully those don't work otherwise expect to see overzealous ten year olds engaging in cannon fire on the news any day.

You can park on Park Terrace or we used the car park over the road at the mall but you're probably not meant to do that. I also didn't see washrooms but I am sure I'll be corrected on that one if there are some there. Overall this was a decent playground in a nice setting and we'd definitely go there again.

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".

Hollywood Park Playground

Hollywood Park is between Earle St and Fairfield Road and it's a nice little playground definitely worth a visit.

There are two parts to the playground which is on a sand base: big kid and smaller kid sides and there are grassy areas, picnic tables, washrooms and parking. The big kid side has a slightly older wood/metal & plastic structure with a choice of things to climb up and down though not tons compared to some of the newer playgrounds around Victoria. The curly plastic slide is a fast one and 'A's hair stood up on end when he got off it. I'd like to think that it was in sheer excitement but it was probably the static. There's a similarly static-inducing bumpy slide too, which 'A' refused a second trip down- take that as you will but perhaps it was something to do with the beetle languishing on the sand at the bottom.

The toddler side, which is built in the same wood/metal/plastic combination has a ramp, a platform area with some activities and a tower with a wide metal slide. 'A' stood lookout on the tower until a pre-school group barreled over and despite him frantically saying "Hi" to all the girls, he didn't succeed in making any new friends and was stubbed when one of the girls asked to hold my hand on the way down the slide. He informed me it was time to leave at that point and in my rush to obey I completely forgot to note how many swings there were. Oh the shame.

Beacon Hill Park (Cook St) Playground

Beacon Hill Park has two playgrounds, one near the beloved petting zoo and the other on Cook Street just south of Cook St Village.

The Cook Street playground is a prime example of a playground that is much loved, much used but that isn't going to score too highly because frankly, it's worn out. Before I start to get hate mail I should say that Beacon Hill Park is a lovely park and a fabulous resource to have in the middle of a city so I feel bad knocking it.

The playground is split into two parts for big and little kids. The side for smaller children is on a bed of sand and features a double set of swings- toddler and big kid, a climbing structure with two metal slides, a tunnel and a bouncy horse. When it was built, there is no doubt that this was an excellent structure but it's past its best and the slides are worn, the plastic sidings are faded and tatty and the metal has rusty parts. 'A' seems to prefer the big kid side in this playground but he is right on the edge between wanting things his size and the thrill-seeking of a climb on something that is a little too big for him.

The big kid side, which is on woodchips, is an older wooden structure in about the same condition. It features a ramp with rope to climb up, various other climbing places, a bridge, some things to hang from and, believe me here, the most static-y slide you will ever come across. Heed my warning, when you pick up your excited toddler from this rather fast yellow plastic slide, you will hear a loud crack, your child's hair will stand on end and your fingers will go numb for a brief moment.

On the big kid side there are also swings, a frail-looking seesaw and along with the picnic tables, water fountain and grassy areas, this playground, although in need of a face lift is almost never empty.

Playfair Park Playground

If you have never been to Playfair Park you should swing by (there you go dad...a pun just for you!) sometime because it's really pretty. I stumbled across this park about three years ago and although I don't go there very often it seems to pop into my mind frequently.

You can get to this small park from a number of directions but the official entrance and car park are accessible from Rock Street which runs off Quadra. It's one of the local places where they are running a Garry Oaks restoration project- if you had an older child who was into nature it could be fun to visit all of these. 'A' didn't care about the beautiful Oaks with shafts of sun seeping through onto the thousands on bluebells; oh no.....he was too busy tiptoeing through the grass on the lookout for evil beetles.

The playground is nestled into a corner where, surprisingly (small park)there is also a washroom block and a picnic table. On a bed of sand (you know how I feel about sand) the climbing structure is wooden and provides a number of ways for children to get up, and down, on one of the two plastic slides. There is a bright blue tunnel to scramble through which 'A' loved, and good old-fashioned tires to climb up, where he experienced his first accident since we started this project- a slip of the foot and he momentarily disappeared between the tires and the climbing frame. Thankfully, the SAND broke his fall (thanks sand!). Riding the bouncy deer ,which incidentally looks like it ran aground in the sand, consoled him and we quickly moved on to the swings- the usual double big kid, double toddler combination.

This is a lovely little park with a well-kept old school playground.

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.

Montreal Street & Niagara Street Playground

Someone gave us a top tip about a playground that was great for smaller kids yesterday and we rushed straight over. I feel like we should have a flashing beacon on the top of our car - the 'Must Play Emergency Vehicle' or something. Anyway, if there is an award for Most Adorable Playground, this would be a contender.

Situated at the backside of MacDonald Park, between Simcoe and Niagara, you can enter this enclosed playground from either Montreal St or the alley that runs parallel.

It's a small, sweet park that is obviously well loved because there are lots of toys there, practically still warm from being played with, scattered around. There is actually a sand pit- I haven't seen a sand pit for years and apparently they change the sand frequently enough for it not to be disgusting.

When we visited it was completely empty- happy 'A'- and he got to climb all over everything before demanding that I push him in one of the toddler swings until my arms almost fell off. I had to recover by having a swing in one of the 2 big kid swings which was surprisingly high- my feet didn't touch the ground- which for the record is a woodchip base.

The main structure is fabulous for kids 'A's age. It is the only climbing frame that I have seen where he can use all the features, but that they are still big enough to be a challenge. He was so happy that he could climb up one of the interesting takes on a ladder that he stood at the top clapping and shouting "I did it, I did it!" There are two metal slides of appropriate height, one single and two doubles.

There are grassy areas to plan on, a picnic table and benches. As I said the whole playground is fenced in, so little ones can't escape. We loved this park and will definitely be back. You may ask why it didn't score higher, but in trying to be fair with my nonsensical scoring system, I have to admit that as much as we loved it,. it wouldn't challenge the bigger kids as much as some of the playgrounds around Victoria, plus to use any facilities you'd have a bit of a walk.

William Stevenson Park Playground- 6/10

William Stevenson Park Playground is a pretty posh name for a small, slightly worn playground. You'd expect to see some turrets, or at least a tea party with a name like that. Most people would probably be more familiar with the park if I said it was the one behind the Fernwood Community centre. We have been to this playground a few times now and it never has many people in it, which as I've said before, pleases 'A' in his current phase. I know that the Community centre is really busy though, so perhaps we just chose an off-peak time to visit. It's the kind of playground that populated with a bunch of mums with strollers and kids playing it might have a completely different feel to it.

The playground features pretty good structures, two nice double plastic slides, some climbing apparatus, the normal double double swings and an activity play area. It's on a base of spongy tiles and there is a picnic table there too. There are some graffiti tags around the playground which is a shame though it obviously doesn't affect the playing experience. There is also a handy shelter thing- a sort of canopy which came in handy when we visited the park yesterday because it started to chuck it down on us. I have given this park a pretty mediocre rating- I'm sure to some kids it's their perfect play experience but I do think there are better playgrounds in Victoria. Obviously there are much worse ones too!

Franklin Green Playground- 9/10

Okay, so Franklin Green Playground scores points because....wait for it.... it's featured online! How exciting I hear you cry!

Nestled on Mason Street behind Wellburn's Market, Franklin Green is a newer playground that has been well thought- out and is obviously an asset to the neighbourhood. When we visited it the weather was grey and threatening to rain and there was no one else there which delighted 'A' because he is going through a disliking of 'people' patch. We hope it's a patch.

There are great climbing frames here that are even labelled for their age group appropriateness. With a spongy floor tile base, there are two metal slides and a wavy plastic thing that might be masquerading as a slide or it might be to climb up (see glossary section for things with no names). There are numerous climbing features for bigger kids including a climbing wall and lots of things to hang off if you've got the upper body strength, which, as we discovered, I don't. I know that I violated the age sticker, but hell, there was no one around.

There is the normal two toddler, two big-kid combo of swings, a metal picnic table and an interesting bench swing over a sand pit which I couldn't photograph because a father/son combo came along to sit on it.

The floor tiles are great- a definite score booster and also there are two bouncy animal things that are a nice touch.

Eberts Street & Bushby Street Playground - Oak Bay, Victoria

After we visited the playground that time forgot we decided to drive down Dallas Road to look at the sea, which was getting stormy. I went down a couple of roads that I'd never been down before and low and behold, there was another sad little playground in a triangle of grass wedged between Eberts and Bushby. I stopped the car and 'A' started yelling that he needed to go to this park to play, so it seems the more out of date a playground is, the more attractive it is to my son.

On a sand base, this playground looks like it was built in the same era as the Fairfield & Kipling one with similar spindly and peeling apparatus. On a sand base, this one features a decent metal slide, two swings (one toddler, one big kid)a picnic table, a climbing arch and it actually has....wait for it.....a roundabout! I love roundabouts though I don't know why because I only have to be on one for ten seconds before I want to barf. It must be something to do with all the time I spent watching The Magic Roundabout when I was a kid back in the UK. I could criticise this park for not being flashy but I can't help think that it seemed loved in some way. There were many trucks, buckets and spades strewn around in the sand giving it an often-used feel and it's tucked so out of the way that it's almost like it's actually in someones garden, or a private street playground. Anyway, I can't be too biased, so I have marked it as per the rest, but if you ever pass that way, give it a bit of love- it's quite sweet.