As part of a huge £8.4 million renovation project, Carterton Leisure Centre is now home to a brand new soft play and trampoline park. We were very lucky to be invited to try it out before it opened to the public.
The Carterton Soft Play and Trampoline Park has its own entrance and car park at the back of the leisure centre with direct access, rather than having to walk all the way through the building to find it.
The trampoline park has an airbag dive tower, a foam pit with battle beam and twisting balance beam, plus a number of trampolines to bounce around on.
There are also several interactive reaction games where you have to hit the lights as quickly as possible when they light up. You can play on your own or compete against a friend.
The soft play area has an outdoors/farmyard theme to it. There’s a 4 lane ‘bumpy’ slide, rope bridges, ball pit, tunnels and a ‘glow room’.
The structure is designed for children up to 12 years with a dedicated under 5s baby and toddler area.
Sessions can be booked online (I recommend you do this as its bound to get popular!). You must purchase special trampoline socks when you are arrive to enter the trampoline park. It’s worth noting that this is a cashless site so only card payments will be accepted. Everyone is given a coloured wristband which indicates which area they can enter.
Before entering the trampoline park you will watch a short safety video in the welcome room. This teaches everyone how to stay safe before they are let loose on the trampolines.
The trampoline park and soft play are situated right next to each other so you can see both clearly from the seating area. Although neither the soft play nor the trampoline park are the biggest ones we’ve been to, they are plenty big enough. The fact they are next to each other and the kids can enjoy both is a real bonus. I really like the fact that you can see both areas clearly so aren’t likely to lose anyone. Please note you can only do one activity at a time, so an hour on the trampolines then an hour in the soft play. You can’t go from one to the other as they need to control numbers in the sessions.
There is a cafe situated within the park which serves hot and cold refreshments. There is a handy lunch box deal for kids. Toilets are also easily accessible. I found there was plenty of room to take our pushchair inside and park it next to our table.
I noticed the trampoline park has a disabled lift to help users gain access. It’s great to see the centre is striving to be accessible to everyone. I understand they are working with local disability groups to run specialist sessions.
Birthday parties will be available at the soft play and trampoline park too. There are 4 themed party rooms upstairs which overlook the park. I’m sure this is going to be a really popular party option!
The staff during our visit were fantastic. Everyone was super friendly and made a real effort to chat with the kids. The lady at the top of the dive tower kept count for Cody as he jumped off onto the big air bag. He jumped over 50 times in total! Also, when I needed to warm up a bottle the cafe staff were really helpful getting me some hot water.
The Verdict
If your kids need to burn off energy then the Carterton Soft Play and Trampoline Park is definitely worth a visit. The prices are reasonable, its clean, its bright, the staff are lovely. What more could you want?!
Facilities Checklist
- Toilets / Disabled Toilet Yes
- Pushchair / Wheelchair Friendly Yes lift access throughout.
- Disabled access Lift access to trampoline floor.
- Dog Friendly No dogs
- Refreshments available Cafe and vending machines
- Car Park Yes separate car park round the back of the building
- Shop No
- Baby facilities Baby changing facilities. Highchairs and child friendly menu. Breastfeeding welcome.
Address: Broadshires Way, Carterton, Oxfordshire, OX18 1AA
Price: ££
Website: https://extreme.better.org.uk/carterton
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Disclaimer: We were kindly invited to a free session at Carterton Soft Play and Trampoline Park a week before it opened. All words, opinions and photos are that of my own.
