If you’re weighing up a trip to Blenheim Palace’s Adventure Play with a child who has additional needs or is neurodivergent, here’s everything you need to know!
Located in the grand Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, Adventure Play is an amazing purpose-built play area with water play, ziplines, slides, tunnels, climbable carrots, a smaller toddler zone and a Pip and Posy trail. It had been on my list to visit for ages, but would visiting in the summer holidays be too stressful with an autistic child in tow?
We arrived at the Palace at around 11 am, smack bang in the middle of the summer holidays (thankfully as the heatwave was fading). The entrance is seriously impressive, and whilst I’d love to have covered all the palace in detail, I was (as my 7-year-old reminded me constantly) on a mission to find the play area. It’s around a 10-minute walk from the main entrance, or you can take the train that runs regularly too. The vast open space meant the walk wasn’t crowded and gave my son plenty of place to roam.
What’s actually in Blenheim Palace Adventure Play Area?
The adventure Play area is split into several distinct zones, and it was honestly so much bigger than I thought, even though I’d seen pictures beforehand. We spent three hours here but still didn’t do everything!
- The Winding River: This is a cute little water play area running through the site, with stepping stones, bridges, fountains, jets, and gates. I forgot to bring spare shoes, but it’s really shallow and a lot of fun!
- The Allotment: This is a smaller, sensory-friendly zone with giant climbable carrots, towering sunflowers, and a musical walk with chimes and metal flowers to play. A nice, calm area of respite away from the main area.
- Zipline area: these were popular but again not crowded.
- The Tower and Jungle Bridge. My son loved this part!
- The main play area: towers, walkways, tunnels, a climbing slope and fast tube slides.
- A toddler zone.
- Pip and Posy trail with a mystery tree house.
The area is self-contained and reasonably easy to view your child from difficult angles, so I wasn’t worried about losing him. There are plenty of toilets (no queues, which is always a win!), plenty of picnic benches and a place to get snacks and ice cream.
From the playground, to exit, you can then choose to either walk through the animal area, visit the maze, or catch the train back to the palace’s entrance. The train can accomodate pushchairs and wheelchairs.
How SEN-friendly is Blenheim Palace’s Adventure play area?
It‘s worth noting that the adventure play area has a monthly SEN session (the morning of the last Sunday of the month), but even visiting on a busy summer holiday, it didn’t feel at all crowded. The way the play area is designed is really spacious, with lots of wide pathways, easy wheelchair access if needed, and that means even when at capacity it doesn’t feel overwhelming or stressful. The smaller spaces, like the allotment, allow you to take space away from the main play area if needed. There are accessible toilets near the playground and a changing places facility in the walled gardens (a few minutes’ walk away). Carer tickets are also available. Although I read reports from parents of DLA being acceptable to claim carer tickets, its website lists these only for blue badge holders currently.
With the size of the adventure play area, it would be nice to see things like social stories and communication boards. When we first arrived, we found the play area wasn’t really signposted, so we had to stop and ask. This wasn’t an issue, but to help with transitions, some clearer visual signposts could be useful to give it top marks.
How much does Blenheim Adventure Playground Cost?
If you’re visiting Blenheim Palace as a one-off trip, it’s definitely on the pricier side. In addition to paying for the adventure playground (£7 for kids, £5 for adults) you also need a ticket to the palace itself, which is £13 for a child and £27 for an adult.
However, if you can come more than once, then swapping for a Palace, Park & Gardens + Adventure Play pass is an absolute bargain! With the government summer saving scheme, it’s £44.63 for an adult and £35.88 for the whole year, which is brilliant value if you’re in a position to access it regularly! You might think there’s not enough for a repeat visit, but we barely scratched the surface, and the exhibits (currently ‘Dinosaurs are Forever’) regularly change.
The verdict: visiting Blenheim Palace Adventure Playground as a SEN family.
Adventure Play is a great attraction and its design and space mean it doesn’t feel crowded even in the summer holidays. There are quiet sessions for those who need it, and its annual passes are exceptional value for money.