Things to do in Hampshire: Fareham Leisure Centre's revamped soft play - Play World

The test is always Saturday bedtime.

Now the kids are well versed that Saturday means “no school tomorrow”, if you get a simple bedtime then you know you’ve had an exhausting day.

And that, to be honest, was what I was hoping for. My other half was away, and the kids and I had done some usual Saturday things. The day was to culminate in a 3pm soft play session, to which they’d invited a friend each, and the idea was that they would give the rebuilt play area at Fareham Leisure Centre a proper going over. So would it work?

Firstly, the background. My kids have been to Fareham’s soft play many times, but this was the first time since it was revamped. Over the summer the climbing walls installed in 2021 were taken down, and the soft play now not only exists where it used to, but spills out into the indoor space overlooking the park.

Aside from the play equipment itself, one notable change is that the entrance is now downstairs, and so the café which always seemed underutilised - OK then, shut - is now the hub for waiting parents. This in turn has freed up seating space near the other café, upstairs by the swimming pools, so already it seems a wise move.

My children are nine and seven, and a little bit of me wondered whether the older one would shy away from soft play, given its associations with toddlers. I needn’t have worried - all four kids managed to spend two hours in there, pretty much up to closing time (it was rammed when we arrived at 3pm, but by about 4.15pm was getting quiet), and were absolutely dripping in sweat by the end. This is, obviously, A Good Thing.

So… what they liked about it. Firstly, the size. Being able to get lost, or at least run around and feel you have got away from adults is a winner. The two pairs split up and said they went for long stretches without seeing the other two. What helps in this distraction is the extra features along the side.

There’s a trampoline on which you jump and have to hit lights with your hands to get points, and there’s a ball pit which sends balls into the air with jets of air. There’s also the array of extras you’d expect, such as an area under the main frame with larger balls to roll around on, and also a mirror maze, musical panels, and trails with hanging and swinging paths on them.

There’s a mini football pitch and also a space for younger children, out of the way of the rampaging bigger beasts.

The spiral slide which used to be in one area of the old soft play remains but has been moved, and there is a new drop slide - my children prefer to call it a death slide but that’s for dramatic effect rather than a belief it is fatal. They have promised they want to try it next time.

With only the one entrance and exit to keep an eye on, the other dad and I had a wonderful two hours putting the world to rights over a cup of coffee. The kids surfaced for a snack at one point, and then disappeared again, only to come out sweaty, red-faced, and slightly wobbly at the end. After their tea and a soak in the bath each, they collapsed in front of a film on the settee and bedtime was achieved with barely a whimper, let alone a protest. So, with a nod to other parents out there, as the weekends inevitably get wetter… would recommend.

Play World soft play at Fareham Leisure Centre is £6.60 for a two-hour session for children, and £2 for adults. Book and find out more here.