Holland Park Playground in Kensington is one of the most stunning public play areas in London with bespoke wooden structures placed beautifully in the natural landscape. The play equipment feels safe and is both challenging and accessible, cleverly designed for children of different abilities.
Designed by Duncan & Gove which also redesigned Burgess Park Playground, you’ll find two impressive structures dominating the playground: “The Hillcoaster” and “The Fishermen’s Tower”.
Top things for kids in Holland Park
- The sand area in the Toddler Playground
- The climbing structures in the Adventure Playground
- Visiting the Japanese Garden – especially recommended during the cherry blossom season
- Admiring the colourful peacocks walking around freely
- Feeding the fish in the ponds
The Hillcoaster
This impressive wooden structure looks so inviting for kids to explore, purpose-built as a perfect fit with the sloping hill. To complete the whole trail the kids need to balance their way around a swirling boardwalk and will be challenged by different obstacles on their way.
For the youngest kids, it’s just fun to just walk on the elevated boardwalk, while older kids can climb their way to the higher level while sliding down after completing the trail. The structure feels safe and is cleverly made to fit children of different ages.
The Fishing Tower in Holland Park Playground
The Fishing Tower placed in the centre of the playground looks quite scary with a web of ropes and steps leading towards the top of the tower with a steep slide down.
The base of the tower is made from site won earth and provides a great vantage point once on top. While it looks like a risky adventure to climb to the top, the structure feels safe and we’ve never experienced any dangerous situations. Younger kids need to be supervised by parents on this one though.
The Play Alley in Holland Park Playground
Coming down to the bottom of the “valley” of Holland Park Playground you’ll find a range of equipment for the younger age group. This includes climbing frames, swings, see-saw, dragon swinger and a water/sand play area. A lot of this equipment is perfectly safe for kids younger than five years old (despite the official recommendation).
While this area is separated from the more challenging play structures, it’s still close enough for parents to keep an eye on kids in different parts of the park. We always prefer this type of open area as opposed to playgrounds divided by hedges and bushes (like Kew Gardens and the Diana Playground).
The Toddler Playground
Holland Park can also offer a separate Toddler Playground, five minutes walk away from the Adventure Playground. Here you’ll find traditional playground equipment like swings, slides and easy climbing structures all located within a sand-area. There’s a bit of overlap between this play area and the adventure playground for the younger age group, but we recommend checking out both.
We’ve always been impressed with everything Holland Park has to offer. In addition to the two playground areas you’ll find tennis courts, an art gallery, a Japanese garden, a pre-school, a chess playground and a cafeteria. Everything you need for a day out essentially, but be warned – it gets crowded during the weekends and feels more cramped than other parks in London like Hyde Park and Greenwich Park.
Key Information Holland Park Playground
- Free entry
- Outdoor
- Type: Playground
- Borough: Kensington and Chelsea
- Area: West London
- Tube: Holland Park
- Nearby: Diana Memorial Playground
- Park Website