Playgrounds with Cafes in Buckinghamshire (and nearby)

Need some fresh air but can’t face a trip to the same old swings? How about a super playground with a brilliant café next door? Perfect for a takeaway coffee or sit in and enjoy lunch and a cake after your little ones have burnt off some energy. This guest blog comes from Rebecca @chilterns_recipe_book who’s been finding all the best outdoor playgrounds with cafes around Bucks for us.

Chilterns Recipe Book is a new cookbook with recipes from brilliant independent food and drink producers from across the Chilterns. The book will be published later this year, in the meantime, please follow Rebecca on Facebook and Instagram for great ideas on where to find hidden Chilterns’ gems, amazing local, seasonal food and drinks and recipes.

These playgrounds are all free to visit and no car parking fees… hopefully leaving you more money to spend on the great cakes available in the cafes.

1. PITSTONE

This playground is brand new, enclosed and awesome for all ages. The brilliant Curiostea (formerly in Ivinghoe) has just opened a new café here too. We had some great cakes and hot drinks but will be going back for breakfast there as soon as it’s available. The staff were really friendly and helpful, even carrying our drinks to the playground for us.

For little ones, there is a whole section packed with swings, a tunnel, ride on rockers, an in ground trampoline and some great smaller climbing towers with crow’s nests to sit in at the top and scramble nets.

For older children, there is a zipwire, swinging ropes, a rope bridge, huge spider’s web climbing frames with lots of different ladders.

There is plenty of space and equipment to keep all ages happy here.

It’s a short walk across a playing field to get to the playground but easy enough to get a stroller buggy over the grass.

There’s lots of indoor seating and a couple of outdoor tables at the café plus lots of benches and picnic tables in the playground.

Great for: All ages and lots of things to do plus a lovely café.
Playground condition: Excellent
Playground cleanliness: Excellent (although a little muddy in places but it is winter!)
Surface: Grass with webbing around play equipment
Toilets: Including baby change inside the hall.
Parking: Free. Onsite car park next to the café.
Address: Pitstone Memorial Hall Vicarage Rd, Pitstone, Leighton Buzzard LU7 9EY
Nearby: Pitstone Windmill, Tring Natural History Museum and College Lake Nature Reserve.

2. LEAVESDEN COUNTRY PARK

A little way out of Bucks (approx. 30 mins from High Wycombe) but worth the journey for TWO AWESOME PLAYGROUNDS PLUS A BRILLIANT TRAIL.

Start at the sweet little sensory garden outside the café before heading into the playground no.1. This is brilliant – an aeroplane, giant tunnels, scramble nets and slides, toddler and “grown up” swings, swinging magic carpet, climbing frames and rope bridges and all enclosed.

The YMCA’s Woodlands Café has freshly ground coffee, awesome cakes and pastries plus jacket potatoes, paninis, and great hot breakfasts, all very reasonably priced.

This trail is less than 0.5 mile long and has fantastic sculptures based on Leavesden’s history – the movies (Harry Potter/Pinewood Studios is just round the corner) and the old aerodrome – chainsaw carvings of fairy tale scenes, huge mirror walls and a talking aeroplane– there is plenty for little ones to enjoy, climb on and investigate.

The paths are tarmac so perfect for scooters, small bikes and buggies but please watch out for the busy roads cross.

The trail ends in the Langley Lane Play Area – a huge, enclosed playground, great for all ages. Zip wire, swings, climbing frames for older ones and little ones love the sandpits with diggers.

Great for: All ages, an interesting walk/scoot/bike ride and a lovely café.
Playground condition: Good.
Playground cleanliness: Great – although muddy in places.
Surface: Grass with webbing around play equipment
Toilets: There is a cleaner, nicer toilet with baby change inside the café itself (the one next to the sensory garden needed some attention when we visited). There are no toilets over at the Langley Lane Play Area.
Parking: Free. Lots of spaces.
Address: Leavesden Country Park, College Road, WD5 0NX

3. ASHLEY GREEN

This playground is especially good for little ones, it’s perfect for under 5s. Older ones will enjoy it too up until about 9 years of age.

There is a huge pirate ship with slides and a rope bridge coming off it. A giant wooden train with carriages, ride on tractor, tunnels, swings and musical sensory area.

Plus an accessible swing and an accessible roundabout for children with mobility issues.

The special surface means it is nearly mud free – a big bonus in the winter, although it can be a little slippery in places when wet and my children still managed to get muddy so recommend still waterproofing up.

The Glebe café overlooking the playground serves lovely cakes and fab hot drinks. They offer kids picnic boxes plus snacks like sausage rolls. There is only outdoor seating at the moment.

Great for: Little ones plus a chance to sit down and enjoy a coffee whilst they play.
Playground condition: Great.
Playground cleanliness: Great.
Surface: Solid rubber (so no mud, although slippery in places when wet).
Toilets: There is a toilet next to the café with baby change.
Parking: Free. There’s a small onsite car park.
Address: Ashley Green Memorial Hall, Chesham HP5 3PN
Nearby: Berkhamsted Castle, Tring Museum and Ashridge Estate.

4. WIGGINTON COMMUNITY SHOP

Younger children love the rainbow-coloured playhouse, toddler swings and super slides at this village playground.

The long playframe is great for older children with wobbly bridges to cross and challenging climbs but watch out for the big drops– particularly near the fireman’s pole and over the bridges.

The playground is enclosed and next to the sports field which has plenty of space for bike riding.

A very short walk across the car park is Wigginton Shop with a great range of hot drinks, soups, paninis, sandwiches, cakes with kids’ options plus a lovely range of locally made gifts, food and drink. You can sit indoors at the shop or there’s plenty of seating outside and benches in the playground too.

Great for: All ages and a lovely café and shop.
Condition: Good.
Cleanliness: Muddy and uneven surfaces in places.
Surface: Wood chippings.
Toilets: There is a toilet for customers at the shop.
Parking: Free.
Address: Chesham Road, Herts HP23 6DD.
Nearby: Tring Museum and Tring Park.

5. ASTON CLINTON

Lots of lovely options for all ages here with the large, enclosed playground plus a huge field with football pitches, a fitness trail, skate park and a stream.

For younger ones, the playground has lookout tower to climb, tunnel, a smaller playframe and a variety of swings, seesaw and lots of different size equipment to climb on.

For older children, there is a spinning spider’s web tower, possibly Bucks’ tallest slide and an obstacle course.

This is one of the few playgrounds we’ve visited with decent accessible play equipment – two swings for children with mobility issues plus a merry go round with room for wheelchairs (Ashley Green also has a swing and roundabout).
The footpaths from the carpark are smooth enough for scooting along or easy to push a buggy on and it’s a short way to carry on from the play area down to the stream.

Your Cafe in the Park offers hot and cold lunch options plus cakes and hot drinks. If it’s too cold to enjoy the playground, you can book a 2-hour slot in the soft play for just £3. There’s a small soft play in the café suitable for under 5’s. If you want to avoid soft play, there’s a separate café area next door too.

Great for: Variety for all ages including indoor options.
Condition: Good.
Cleanliness: Good.
Surface: Mixed – wood chipping, green and rubber matting but not too muddy when we visited.
Toilets: There are toilets plus baby change inside the pavilion which houses the café.
Parking: Free, plenty of spaces.
Address: London Road, Aston Clinton HP22 5HL
Nearby: Tring Museum and Tring Park.

6. HUGHENDEN VALLEY VILLAGE SHOP

The café at Hughenden Valley Shop is fab! Especially for homemade lunches and cream teas. There’s indoor seating plus a covered marquee area with blankets so this is an easy place to go if you want to sit outside but keep warm.

The playground next door is pretty good for a short play. For younger kids there are swings, a playhouse, slides and rockers. For older children, there is a wooden obstacle course too which could be slippery when its wet.

Great for: Lunch, cake and cream teas plus a quick play.
Playground condition: OK.
Playground cleanliness: Good.
Surface: Mixed – wood chipping and grass which means it’s pretty muddy in winter.
Toilets: There is a toilet for customers inside the shop.
Parking: Free, plenty of spaces.
Address: Coombe Lane, Hughenden Valley, High Wycombe HP14 4NX
Nearby: The National Trust’s Hughenden Manor is close by but if you’re looking for a totally free day out, you can park at Hughenden Church for free (postcode is HP14 4LA) and walk round the parkland without having to pay the NT’s admission fee. The parkland has a lovely stream (watch out for deep water) or head on Hughenden Park playground which has separate toddler and older children’s playgrounds and much better equipment. There is a free car park on Coates Lane near the playgrounds.