Peckham Rye Playground is a popular spot for families in South East London. Here you’ll find play areas for different age groups, including challenging treehouses for more adventurous kids.
3 distinct play areas:
- Sand and Water Area – for toddlers and young kids in summer (0-7 years)
- Climbing Forest – challenging with tall treehouses and steep slides (8-12 years)
- Adventure Playground – challenging play equipment for older kids (8-15 years)
1. Sand and water play area for young kids
For younger kids, the water and sand play area is the big centrepiece. With manual water pumps, push pumps, little diggers, climbing frames and swings this is heaven on earth for the smallest ones to enjoy water play. Especially on hot summer days when nobody needs to care about getting wet because it is hard to not get wet if you want to fully enjoy this area of the playground. Which is something to keep in mind, if you are visiting during the cold season. Make sure to bring a set of dry change of clothes from top to bottom!
2. Climbing Forest with Treehouses and steep slides
Peckham Rye Playground was renewed with a focus on creating challenging play areas for both younger and older children. For older children, there is a climbing forest that includes multiple levels to stimulate children to improve their physical abilities. A treehouse provides kids with a great vantage point being able to slide down into a tunnel coming down. The play area for older children is separated to avoid younger children being trampled over. This is great, and we also like the open landscape making it easy to keep an eye on kids playing in different areas.
3. Peckham Rye Adventure Playground
Peckham Rye Adventure was recently refurbished with a new building and multiple new play structures. There is a staff team on-site experienced in dealing with children and young people. Among the activities; rope swings, climbing frames, gardening, table tennis, badge making, Xbox connect and go-karting. Ages: 8-15
Challenging and slightly risky climbing forest
While we fully support this type of parks with different sections for different skill levels, keep in mind that some of the play areas are very challenging. When arriving at the park we witnessed a child falling down trying to climb up the treehouse, so pay attention and evaluate if you want to take the risk. From the playgrounds we have been to, the climbing forest is definitely on the difficult side and we wouldn’t recommend it unless you have a child that is a confident climber. We didn’t take any chances and climbed up in the tree-house with our 5-year-old.
Don’t forget to check the rest of the London playgrounds we have rated as well as our favourite city farms!
Key Information Peckham Rye Playground
- Free entry
- Outdoor
- Type: Playground
- Borough: Southwark
- Area: South East London
- Tube: Peckham Rye
- Nearby: Sutcliffe Sports Centre
- Park website
What ages is Peckham Rye Playground for?
The playground has different difficulty levels: For the climbing forest with treehouses, we would recommend from 7 years, while the sand and water area is great for toddlers and younger children. Additionally there is a separate Adventure Playground where the official age-limit is 8 – 15 years.
Is the playground free?
Yes, the playground is free of charge.
Is the playground good for toddlers?
Yes, especially water and sand play area is perfect for toddlers. This is one of our favourite places for the kids to splash around in London.
Is there a cafe close to the playground?
Yes, there is a cafe right next to the sand and water play area with hot drinks, snacks and ice-cream.
Is the Peckham Rye Plaground usually crowded?
The playground is really popular and you can expect it to be crowded during peak hours in school holidays and weekends.
Is the playground safe?
From what we could see the playground is safe, but the more challenging equipment should be used with care and under supervision.
Is there a public toilet?
Yes, there’s a public toilet with babychang facilities close to the playground.
Is there a place for picnics?
There is plenty of space to have a picnic in the park right next to the playground, and there are also picnic-tables close by.
Is the playground good for parents?
Yes, it’s really good for parents. You can get freshly brewed coffee from the cafe, there is plenty of spaces to sit and it’s easy to keep an eye on the kids in the open play space.