# The best playgrounds in London Written 2026-10-02 by Play Day. Diana Memorial Playground, Coram's Fields and Gloucester Gate: London playgrounds by area, with restrooms, changing tables, fences and water play where listed. The best playground in London overall is the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens, and the best for toddlers and preschoolers is Gloucester Gate Playground in Regent's Park, which has a changing table, a restroom and water play. For a hot day, Coram's Fields and Greenwich Park Playground both have water play, and Jubilee Gardens is the fenced one by the London Eye. Picture it: you've done the Tube, the big museum and a very long walk, and your four-year-old has one question. Where's the playground? London has a lot of good answers, tucked inside the royal parks, behind museums and at the edge of the Olympic Park. This page goes area by area and says what each one has. Short on time? Do Diana in Kensington Gardens and Gloucester Gate in Regent's Park, and you've seen two of the best. ## How we picked Every place here is in the Play Day directory. The restroom, changing table, fence, water play and swings notes come from the listing for each one, with the date it was confirmed. If a fact is missing, we couldn't confirm it (not that the answer is no). We kept ordinary neighbourhood playgrounds in. Nearby is the value, and sometimes the plain one around the corner is the one that gets used. ## Kensington and Holland Park Two big west London favourites, a short bus ride apart. ### [Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/diana-princess-of-wales-memorial-playground-london) Area: Kensington Gardens This is the one worth crossing London for. The big wooden pirate ship is the reason people talk about it, and it earns the talk: kids climb aboard, run the decks and keep going into the sand and the tipis around it, with more climbing beyond that. It's the one playground on this page that is a destination rather than a stop. The listing covers preschool and school-age kids, and it has a restroom, free entry and confirmed stroller access. The Royal Garden Hotel, on the edge of Kensington Gardens, is about a 10 minute walk away, so it's easy to come back to for a nap. - Restroom: Yes - Ages: Ages 5 and up ### [Holland Park Adventure Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/holland-park-adventure-playground-london) Area: Holland Park Choose this one over the tidier playgrounds when your kid would rather climb timber than plastic. It's an adventure playground in the woods of Holland Park, so the setting does half the work: trees overhead, structures built from wood, and swings to finish on. The listing covers preschool and school-age kids, and it has accessible play and free entry. We don't have a restroom or changing table confirmed here, so it suits a stop of an hour or two rather than a whole day built around it. - Swings: Yes - Ages: Ages 5 and up ## Regent's Park and Bloomsbury Regent's Park has two playgrounds on opposite sides, and Coram's Fields is a short walk south. ### [Gloucester Gate Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/gloucester-gate-playground-london) Area: Regent's Park If your kid is under five, start here. It's the best-equipped toddler and preschool playground in the guide: swings, water play, accessible play, a restroom, a changing table and picnic tables are all confirmed, which covers most of what a morning with a small kid needs. It sits at the Camden end of Regent's Park, and London Zoo is about 330 metres away, a few minutes' walk. That makes a good pairing: zoo animals first, then water play and a picnic lunch. Stroller access is confirmed, and the listing covers preschool and school-age kids. - Restroom: Yes - Changing table: Yes - Water play: Yes - Swings: Yes - Ages: Ages 5 and up ### [Hanover Gate Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/hanover-gate-playground-london) Area: Regent's Park The playground on the west side of Regent's Park, near the lake and the boats. It's the quieter of the park's two, and the one to pick if you're coming from St John's Wood or the Lord's end of things rather than from Camden. Swings are confirmed, along with a restroom and a changing table, and entry is free. The listing covers preschool and school-age kids. There's no other listed place within a short walk, so bring snacks, or plan to eat along the park's paths. - Restroom: Yes - Changing table: Yes - Swings: Yes - Ages: Ages 5 and up ### [Coram's Fields playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/coram-s-fields-playground-london) Area: Bloomsbury Coram's Fields is a big playground and green space in the middle of Bloomsbury, and it has water play, which makes it the one to know on a hot day in central London. A restroom is confirmed and entry is free. The listing covers preschool and school-age kids. Coram's Fields Café is about 80 metres away, so lunch is easy. The Postal Museum and its play space are around 450 metres off, a short walk if you want to turn the afternoon into something indoors. Tip: Nice after a morning at the British Museum. - Restroom: Yes - Water play: Yes - Ages: Ages 5 and up ## Westminster and the South Bank Two playgrounds in the middle of the tourist trail, which is exactly why they're useful. ### [St James's Park Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/st-james-s-park-playground-london) Area: Westminster A playground inside St James's Park, between Buckingham Palace and Whitehall. The reason to pick it is the setting: you can pair it with the lake and the pelicans, and it's a break from the tourist trail that stays on the tourist trail. Swings and shade are confirmed, and entry is free. The listing covers preschool and school-age kids. The Athenaeum Hotel on Piccadilly is about 760 metres away, a 10 minute walk through the park's edge, if you want somewhere to regroup. - Swings: Yes - Ages: Ages 5 and up ### [Jubilee Gardens Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/jubilee-gardens-playground-london) Area: South Bank The one to choose when you need a fence. Jubilee Gardens is the only playground on this page the listing confirms as fenced, which matters when you're juggling a toddler and a crowd by the river. It also has shade, a restroom and accessible play, and stroller access is confirmed. The London Eye is about 100 metres away, so you can do the wheel and the playground without a transfer. The listing covers every age from infants through school age, and entry is free. Two hotels, Premier Inn County Hall and Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, are a short walk off. - Restroom: Yes - Fenced: Yes - Ages: All ages ## Greenwich Greenwich has two good playgrounds and a third in Forest Hill, all free. ### [Greenwich Park Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/greenwich-park-playground-london) Area: Greenwich The widest age range in the guide: the listing covers infants, toddlers, preschool and school-age kids, so it works for a family with a baby and a seven-year-old at once. Water play, picnic tables and a changing table are all confirmed, and entry is free. The park around it has the hill, the Observatory and the views, which is a day's worth of walking if you want one. The Cove Playground at the National Maritime Museum is about 400 metres away, so you can do both and let the kids choose. - Changing table: Yes - Water play: Yes - Ages: All ages ### [The Cove Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/the-cove-playground-london) Area: Greenwich This is the Greenwich playground to choose when the museum is already on the plan. It sits at the National Maritime Museum, and it has a restroom, a changing table and accessible play, with free entry. The listing covers preschool and school-age kids. Greenwich Park Playground is about 400 metres up the hill, with water play and picnic tables. Doing both in one day is easy: The Cove either side of the museum, the park for the afternoon. - Restroom: Yes - Changing table: Yes - Ages: Ages 5 and up ### [Kusuma Nature Play Area](https://ourplayday.com/places/kusuma-nature-play-area-london) Area: Forest Hill A nature play area in the Horniman Gardens, next to the Horniman Museum, and the reason to head south of the river. It's the one on this page built around natural materials and green space rather than a climbing frame, and swings are confirmed too. A restroom, a changing table and picnic tables are confirmed, and entry is free. The listing covers preschool and school-age kids. It's a good fit if your kid has had enough of the central sights and wants some breathing room and a museum nearby. - Restroom: Yes - Changing table: Yes - Swings: Yes - Ages: Ages 5 and up ## East London and Kew Further out, and each worth a trip on its own. ### [Tumbling Bay Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/tumbling-bay-playground-london) Area: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park A big playground in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, and the pick if you want a day out of the middle of London. Swings are confirmed, and entry is free. The listing covers preschool and school-age kids. The park around it is wide and flat, with paths for scooters and bikes. Brew Street Café and Bar at Timber Lodge is about 90 metres away, so there's a coffee or a lunch stop right beside the playground. We haven't confirmed a restroom here. - Swings: Yes - Ages: Ages 5 and up ### [Kew Children's Garden](https://ourplayday.com/places/kew-children-s-garden-london) Area: Kew A play garden inside the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, and the playground to choose if you're already planning a day among the glasshouses. It has shade, a restroom and a changing table confirmed, and the listing covers preschool and school-age kids. It's part of the gardens rather than a stop on its own, so it works best as the middle of a visit: walk the grounds in the morning, let kids loose here, then wander back out. - Restroom: Yes - Changing table: Yes - Ages: Ages 5 and up ## Where to stay near these playgrounds Premier Inn County Hall and Park Plaza Westminster Bridge are the closest to a playground, at about 110 and 300 metres from Jubilee Gardens. Royal Garden Hotel is a walk from Diana in Kensington Gardens, The Athenaeum is about 760 metres from St James's Park Playground, and The Landmark London is the one near Regent's Park. ### [Park Plaza London Westminster Bridge](https://ourplayday.com/places/park-plaza-london-westminster-bridge-london) Area: Lambeth Jubilee Gardens Playground is about 300 metres away, so the fenced playground is a short walk from the lobby and the wheel is right behind it. For a visit built around the South Bank, this is the closest good base. Book a suite or a room with the kitchenette. The hotel has an indoor heated pool too, which is handy for the end of a long day. ### [Premier Inn London County Hall](https://ourplayday.com/places/premier-inn-london-county-hall-london) Area: Waterloo About 110 metres from Jubilee Gardens Playground, which makes it the closest hotel to a playground in the guide. You can be at the fenced play area in a couple of minutes, and the London Eye is next door. The room has a fridge, and cribs are available, which covers most of what a family of three needs without paying for more. ### [Royal Garden Hotel](https://ourplayday.com/places/royal-garden-hotel-london) Area: Kensington The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground is about 680 metres away, a walk through Kensington Gardens, so the pirate ship is your morning and the hotel is your nap. Book connecting rooms or a suite. The listing has a kitchenette, and cribs are available, so a longer stay with a small kid is easy to manage. ### [The Athenaeum Hotel & Residences](https://ourplayday.com/places/the-athenaeum-hotel-residences-london) Area: Mayfair St James's Park Playground is about 760 metres away, a walk across Green Park and down to the lake. It puts the pelicans and Buckingham Palace in your first afternoon. Book one of the Residences, the apartments with a kitchenette and a fridge. There are connecting rooms and laundry on site, which helps on a longer stay. ### [The Landmark London](https://ourplayday.com/places/the-landmark-london-london) Area: Marylebone Hanover Gate Playground, on the west side of Regent's Park, is about 850 metres away. It's the closest hotel to that end of the park, and a good base if you want the Regent's Park playgrounds without a Tube ride. The hotel has an indoor heated pool, connecting rooms and cribs, so ask for a connecting pair. ## Hot days For a hot day, head for water play. Gloucester Gate Playground, Coram's Fields and Greenwich Park Playground all have it, and The Garden at the Science Museum does too if you'd like to pair it with a museum. ## Rainy days London rains a lot, and the parks are best on the dry afternoons. For the wet ones, Sandscape Kids Play and Cafe in Finsbury Park is an indoor play space with a cafe, and the museums fill the rest of the day. ## Plan the rest of the trip If you're putting a few days together, [3 days in London](https://ourplayday.com/itineraries/3-days-in-london) fits the playgrounds in around the big sights. For the full list of places to sleep, see [The best family hotels in London](https://ourplayday.com/guides/london/family-hotels). ## Questions ### What is the best playground in London? The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens is the best overall. It has a big wooden pirate ship, it's free, there's a restroom, and it suits preschool and school-age kids. ### Which London playgrounds are good for toddlers? Gloucester Gate Playground in Regent's Park and Greenwich Park Playground are the two to start with. Gloucester Gate has water play, swings, a restroom and a changing table, and Greenwich Park's listing covers infants, toddlers and older kids. ### Are there free playgrounds in London? Yes, most are. Diana Memorial Playground, Gloucester Gate, Coram's Fields, St James's Park, Jubilee Gardens, Greenwich Park, The Cove, Kusuma Nature Play Area and Tumbling Bay Playground are all listed as free. ### Which London playgrounds have a restroom and a changing table? Gloucester Gate Playground, Hanover Gate Playground, The Cove Playground, Kusuma Nature Play Area and Kew Children's Garden are all listed with both a restroom and a changing table. ### Which London playground is fenced? Jubilee Gardens Playground, by the London Eye, is the one the listing confirms as fenced. It also has shade and a restroom. ### What is there to do on a rainy day with kids in London? Sandscape Kids Play and Cafe in Finsbury Park is an indoor play space with a cafe. The museums, including the Science Museum, fill the rest of a wet day. ### Where should we stay in London to be near the best playgrounds? Stay on the South Bank, in Kensington or near Regent's Park. Premier Inn London County Hall and Park Plaza London Westminster Bridge are the closest to Jubilee Gardens Playground, Royal Garden Hotel is a walk from the Diana Memorial Playground, and The Landmark London is nearest Hanover Gate Playground. Page: https://ourplayday.com/guides/london/best-playgrounds