Exhilarating drop slides, wobbly rope bridges and ball pits galore! Soft play is the perfect activity for keeping kids active on rainy days in Gloucestershire.
But it’s not just about keeping the children happy — with delicious coffee and tempting cakes on offer, parents might even enjoy our selections, too, as SoGlos dives in to find 12 of the best soft play centres across Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds.
The Cowshed at Cattle Country Farm Park
Quite possibly the best soft play centre in the county, Cattle Country's colourful Cowshed play barn features three levels of equipment, including an adrenaline-pumping drop slide adorned in cow-print and an interactive timed racetrack, The Cattle Run, which puts kids head-to-head in a race to finish fastest.
Great for all ages, there are two dedicated areas for under-fives: a smaller, toddler-friendly soft play and the stand-out highlight, a Tiny Town role play area — complete with its own farm shop, post office and car wash, which kids can ride through on pedal go karts.
BumpyLand in Tewkesbury
With dopamine-boosting decor, it's difficult to feel down at BumpyLand — one of Gloucestershire's newest play centres, which offers structured and unstructured soft play for children up to 12-years-old, with separate areas for different age groups. Kids will love whizzing down its rainbow slides and building dens with its colourful tower blocks.
Best of all, for parents in need of a pamper, there's a beauty salon on-site — so you can get a fresh mani, lash lift or tend to your brows while the little ones play!
Little Centurions in Cirencester
Mini gladiators can battle swinging swords and scale colosseum walls at Cirencester's Roman-themed soft play centre, Little Centurions, suitable for children up to 10-years-old.
The junior play frame is packed with soft play favourites, from wavy slides and wobbly crossings to punch bags designed to look like Roman soldiers; while there's dedicated areas for babies, toddlers and pre-school children and full-view seating for parents and spectators.
Soft play at Leisure at Cheltenham
Suitable for children up to eight, Leisure at Cheltenham offers 45-minute sessions of non-stop play in its soft play zone, where kids have the chance to climb over obstacles, run along rope bridges and zoom down slides.
Families are also able to book inflatable fun soft play sessions, with additional inflatable obstacles and a bouncy castle to explore.
Little Seedlings soft play at Dobbies Tewkesbury
Tempting even the most impatient of kids on a garden centre shopping spree, Dobbies in Tewkesbury has its own adorable garden-themed soft play, ideal for smaller kids under five.
Located off the restaurant — and even serving its main menu inside — this perfectly-packaged soft play also leads to an outdoor playground, so kids have the best of both worlds.
Dick Whittington Park in Longhope
Kids can find hours of entertainment bouncing on trampolines and zooming down drop slides at Dick Whittington's legendary play barn — a hidden gem amongst Gloucestershire's generous offering of family attactions.
Offering so much more than soft play, children can play make-believe in Wendy houses, challenge each other to table games and even tackle a vertical climbing wall; while there's gorgeous nature walks to enjoy in the grounds, too.
The Play Barn at Fosseway Garden Centre
Over at Fosseway Garden Centre in Moreton-in-Marsh, The Play Barn offers three zones of fun for children of all ages — starting with the baby playpen, filled with gentle rockers and captivating mirrors, and toddler section complete with a wavy slide, building blocks and ball pit.
For older kids up to 11, there's twisting tunnels to crawl through, net bridges to cross and even a mini zip wire and climbing wall for the most adventurous.
Oxstalls Soft Play in Gloucester
Housed inside Oxstalls Sports Park, this is one of Gloucester’s best-kept soft play secrets, with three levels of soft play obstacles for children up to eight-years-old — including ropes to swing on and thrilling slides for whizzing down.
There's also designated zones for babies and littler ones; while Toddler World offers a separate, massive indoor playground for tots to play with soft shapes and ride on trikes.
Rugrats and Halfpints in Cirencester
One of the largest and most popular soft play centres in Gloucestershire, Rugrats and Halfpints appeals to children of all ages, with sensory play for young children — including an augmented reality sandpit — and a huge soft play frame with numerous slides for bigger kids.
Not to mention ball pits, trampolines, ride-on go karts and plenty of obstacles to climb; plus a large on-site cafe.
The Play Farm in Cheltenham
Boasting the largest play frame in Cheltenham, The Play Farm inside The Brewery Quarter is bursting with activities for energetic kiddos up to the age of 12.
Specifically designed for safe play with dedicated spaces for toddlers and juniors, the attraction also hosts laser tag sessions, sensory experiences for babies and has a well-stocked cafe for the kids to refuel after some action-packed playtime.
Go Bananas in Stroud
Go Bananas is on a mission to get children into active hobbies from an early age, with its giant indoor soft play frame proving that exercise can be plenty of fun.
Packed with play equipment that everyone from 'little monkeys through to fully-grown orangutans' can enjoy, the Stroud-based indoor play centre has swooshing slides that drop into ball pits, wobbly bridge crossings and star burst clouds to jump. With a cafe on-site, too.
Funky Warehouse in Cheltenham
Funky Warehouse is a trampoline park with the added bonus of two soft play areas for smaller children, as well as a ‘ninja warrior’-style assault course for adventurous older kids.
The newer, larger soft play frame has three slides, a cargo net, wall climb and zip line, with an adjacent spider's web for children to climb or fall through; while there's a separate soft play zone for babies and little ones under three.
