Soft play in London

A family guide to London

Indoor play centres for climbing, sliding and burning off energy whatever the weather.

London's soft play ranges from classic frames to some surprises. Totstars is a treehouse-style indoor play cafe with wobbly bridges, a climbing wall, a firemans pole and a metal slide, plus a dedicated under-2s room downstairs. Little Dinosaurs Play Cafe has two play areas, one for children up to 8 and a smaller space for under 2s, and an outdoor area with a bouncy castle, stepping stones and space hoppers, next to a playground and splash park. Hullabaloo is soft play inside a church with areas for babies and juniors, and runs SEN sessions and Play Lates. Appletown suits ages 2-12 with climbing areas, trampolines, VR and slides, while Kidspace has climbing walls, a go-kart track and an immersive oceanarium room. Funlord, in the South Mall of Edmonton Green Shopping Centre, has a rainbow slide. School-aged children who find traditional soft play too young may prefer Active Multi-Zone at Better Sobell Leisure Centre, with a ninja-style strike challenge, trampolines, inflatables and a zip zone. Two settings are unexpected: AEROPLAY at the Royal Air Force Museum is set inside a real aircraft, and Heathrow T5 soft play lets children burn off energy before boarding a flight. Indoor play centres for climbing, sliding and burning off energy whatever the weather.