Don Bosco St Marys

My most exciting most recent find has definitely been Don Bosco at St Marys. I was aware of how great it is for parties, but for some reason I only recently became aware of their free open sessions. You can check for times on their website here. Just make sure you check the times and ages, most of their sessions are aimed at kids over 10 years of age which I think is great, our teenagers do not have enough safe free activities to access.

I frequently take my kids to the under 10s sessions though, and as well as being indoors the bathrooms are super clean, and they are happy for you to bring in your own food. There is a canteen there but you really need gold coins to access it, there is also bubbler with water. They have trampolines, pool tables, foosball, pingpong tables and soccer, basketball and volleyball facilities. There are usually some balls floating around, and the pool tables/ping pong etc. all have the paddles and balls and cues that they need to be played. There is seating all up the southern side of the building for parents to sit while kids play.

They have a free session for under 10s every Saturday morning from 10am until 11:30am, honestly this is my new go to for play dates with school friends. There are different (more) times for school holidays, and different times for over 10s. The first week of school term, the week of Christmas/New Years, and the first three weeks of Term 1 they are closed. Don’t try and park next to Don Bosco in their parking lot though, it is tiny, it is hard (and dangerous) to try and get back out onto Mamre Road, and you have to walk around the entire building to enter. Go to the next driveway which is the entry to the Council halls and park there.

 

Robinson Park, Jamisontown

We visited this park in Jamisontown that has recently had a shade cloth added. It has a set of play equipment for your older kids, a set for the little tykes, an undercover picnic bench, and it is set on a big block with plenty of space for children to go off ‘exploring’ together (as my Miss 5 and Miss 7 like to do).

Robinson Park has a great play area for littler siblings, including a xylophone, and a little rubber section that they can walk under/through that my kids enjoyed. The area for bigger kids has a few different climbing options, and my two loved the platform because it meant that their feet were up higher than my head, they felt very top of the world. They also love a double slide.

The picnic table and a council bin make it easy for parents to have a rest, but there are also a few picnic benches and blocks of sandstone scattered around for resting on. There are swings and balancing beams next to the picnic bench.

This park includes -

• Balancing beam

• Cargo net

• Covered picnic table

• Free

• Monkey bars

• Pretend cafe

• Seats for adults

• Shade Cloth

• Slides (including double slide)

• Swings

 

HomeCo. Glenmore Park Town Centre

I finally made the effort to find the play area inside of HomeCo. at Glenmore Park. It is air conditioned, next to the toilets, and because the food court has very few places left (other than the Coffee Club which has it’s own seating) there are plenty of places for observing adults to sit and chat. It is across from the Coles and right next to a lovely place where I bought delicious gozleme.

This is for younger children, but enough to amuse my Miss 5 and probably my Miss 7 (though she wasn’t with us). Because it is tucked in such an odd space, or odd while the food court isn’t really being used, I cannot imagine it getting crowded.

 

Jenkins Avenue Reserve, Penrith

This is a little park, I don’t think anyone else has ever been there when we have been there. There is a slide, a climbing rope frame, monkey bars, a wobble board or sort of surf board on springs, a swing and a shade cloth. It is a simple park but effective. Parking is a little tough, because Jenkins Avenue is very narrow, but you can usually get a park. There are not a lot of place for the adults to sit, is my main issue with this park, but it is a quiet little park that is perfect for meeting another family at for a play.

Armstein Crescent Reserve, Werrington

This is not my favourite park, there is an undercover area to sit but the park is a bit too basic, and the equipment can get quite overheated. I have been there more than once when there was vomit or something else on that ‘softfall’ rubber.

It does have the basics though, a slide, swings, something to climb on, a small rock climbing wall and a pretend cafe. There is plenty of parking and the park is not crowded, because everyone in Werrington goes to Werrington Lakes.

Wainwright Park, Kingswood

I feel funny even writing about this park, because it is so big and central to the suburb of Kingswood, but I will highlight it because I only discovered it when I started systematically checking out parks during COVID. I have driven past it so many times as a local Penrith girl, but I hadn’t really looked at it. It is on the corner of Bringelly Road and Orth Street in Kingswood.

There is a wide variety of options at this park, and there is sunshade, and there are places for parents to sit. Mostly I don’t get to sit down though cause the kids are moving around to all the options. There is a public book library and a ‘tin bin’ or food library, a leave what you can, take what you need sort of situation.

The playground equipment includes slides, monkey bars, swings, and there is ample sunshade. There is a good ranger of options for different ages, though perhaps nothing for teenagers. There isn’t a rope climbing structure but there are quite a few climbing points on this set of equipment. There is a pretend cafe under one platform, and an abacus under another, so there are a few things for the smaller children. It is surrounded by grass and even currently a community garden of sorts. There are not a lot of places for adults to sit. Parking can be a bit tough, the side street tends to be full, I generally have to park on Bringelly Road.

I also love all of the animals on the fence around the park. I just had to take photos of them too.

Joanna Park, South Penrith

Joanna Park on Joanna Street in South Penrith is great if you have a child who considers themselves to be a bit of a true ninja, or if they want to play ‘the floor is lava’. There is sun shade and it is set in the middle of a large block or park, surrounded by quiet streets, so this might be a good park if you have a child who is a runner.

This park has swings, balancing options, a pretend cafe, noughts and crosses, cargo net, a ladder, a rock climbing wall, a double slide, a rope monkey bar (or slack monkey bars?) and plenty of places for the adults to sit. Last time that I went there was a broken TV there, the time before it was fine. I don’t know if there is normally trash at this park.

Edna Dunn Reserve, South Penrith

This is a great park, the only thing that lets it down is that it is next to Northern Road (at that point called Parker Street) and so it is no good if you have a child who is a runner. That said, the park itself is set a long way back from Northern Road, it has great sun shade coverage, and a good variety of equipment. To get to it you go to Mazepa Street, South Penrith.

When I took these photos the sun shade had snapped on one side, but it has since been fixed. There is a slide, a cargo net, a rock climbing wall (for small children), circular monkey bars, instead of a pretend cafe this one has a front that looks like a car, swings, and a climbing net shaped like a spider web. There is only one seat for adults to sit at is my biggest complaint about this park. It is easy to park on Mazepa Street and walk to the park. There were actually also a lot of sticks around and trees so if kids want to look for sticks or rocks for craft, or just to play with, there is space for that too.

Carmel Kennedy Memorial Park, Kingswood

I am actually not 100% sure what this park is called, it is on Second Avenue in Kingswood, across the road from Kingswood Public School, and next to Chapman Gardens Oval. This is a good park for a range of ages, the ropes are for older kids and there are toddler options too.

There is a structure that is essentially for younger kids, with a shorter slide, stairs up to the platform, and noughts and crosses and an abacus. There is also a larger rope climbing structure that is difficult for a younger child to meaningfully use. There is a sunshade and seating for the adults. There are swings including a nest swing. Whenever I am there there is a range of children of different ages on the equipment. There is some parking, though you probably don’t want to be trying to park there at school drop off or pick up time.

Parker Street Reserve, Penrith

This park is part of the large facilities that you access off of King Street in Penrith, but one side of it sits on Northern Road so the Council has called it the Parker Street Reserve. You have probably gone here with your school, or your kids’ school, for the soccer fields or an athletics carnival.

It has some stuff that was perfect for my children (4 and 6 years old at the time) and some stuff that was really only useable by teenagers or larger children. There are two slides, a pretend cafe, various things for smaller children to climb on, a firemans pole, monkey bars, a flying fox, and you can get to the slides by using a metal climbing frame or by stairs. You can see the soccer fields from the seats for adults, but there is a fence between the park and the soccer field so you don’t need to worry about a smaller child running under a bunch of adults playing soccer. The fence does not wrap around the whole park, so it isn’t ideal for children who run. There is no shade cloth but it is surrounded by trees and every time I have been there it has been mostly in shade, though I mostly went there in winter so I don’t know how the summer sun lands on this park.

Bunnings playground, Homemaker Centre, Jamisontown

This is hands down my absolute favourite, and often my children ask for it too. It is indoors, the staff are lovely, you can sit in the outdoor furniture section if you have no intention of spending any money, it is indoors, it has bathrooms, and on weekend in the mornings sometimes there is craft. The cafe has really cheap food and good coffee. Obviously there is a big slide and lots of climbing opportunities, there is a pretend cafe, an abacus and some of those play things on a wall that are good for toddlers.

Judges Park, Penrith

This park is next to the Penrith Bowlo, there is generally a fair amount of parking on the weekend or after school, and since I took these photos they have put a large sunshade over it. This is my favourite park to catch up with a Mum who has older children than mine, I feel like this is the park with the most options for older children. I don’t have older children though, I would love to hear in the comments from Mums who think another park is more suited?

There is a slide, a balancing beam (which is a bridge rather than stationary), a rock climbing wall, a cargo net, one of those ‘spider web’ rope structures, swings, seats for adults, a sun shade, and plenty of metal climbing structures that are physically too big for smaller children.

Bel-Air Road Reserve, Penrith

This park is simple, but it has everything you want for younger kids. It has slides, monkey bars, a spider web type rope climb, swings, a pretend car, and there are stairs to get up onto the platform. The seat for adults is a long way away from the park, but that is fine because it is set quite a way back from the road, and there is almost never another family there.

These photos are from a few years ago, this park now has sun shade.

Henry Bridgen Park, Penrith

Henry Brigden Park is on Thurston Street and Blaxland Avenue in Penrith, and they have recently added a sun shade to it. This is another park that is basic, but there is definitely enough for the kids to do. During lock downs I gave up coming here as there were often other families there too, but now it seems to be fine. It is surrounded by apartment blocks, and I think I just went a few times when there were already two and three other families there and there just isn’t enough in this park for that many families.

There is a big slide, my kids were initially scared to go up to it but that might be good for your situation, a pretend cafe, a flying fox, and swings. There is a seat from parents, it isn’t close to the park but the park is set on a large block and it is not close to the road. Even so, I don’t sit on the seat I end up standing or sitting on the larger swing.