***Sponsored Review by Play Avenue***
Play Avenue is a brand NEW safe and spacious indoor role play setting in Messingham, Scunthorpe, designed to fuel imaginations.
Myself and the mini Mumblers were invited along to see what we thought. The best way to tell you how good Play Avenue is is through our photos! You can see how great it is! Within the play area, little ones can try out a whole host of ‘grown-up’ jobs, from vet to builder, hair stylist to police person…they have so much to explore! I loved the fact that it all looked so real. The shop for example is M & S, there is a real mini post office. The attention to detail (nice wooden food in the cafe, little coffee machine, tills and a phone etc) and the visibility of big brands lends this place a lot of credibility and the kids indentified with it immediately. There were lots of little cars, trucks to drive on a pretend road including diggers, sports cars, police bike and more.
Favourite area for Mini Mumbler Macy was the hair dressers. Think she spent 60 of her 90 minutes in here, but she was SO happy! My hair was lovely and glossy after being in the hair dressers as it had a lot of attention! There were little draws with spray bottles, combs, rollers, all sorts and there always seemed to be someone standing behind the little reception desk ready to greet new customers.
Favourite area for Mini Mumbler Jackson was everywhere…he literally went from one to the other, being a policeman, cruising around the track in a digger, a fireman, a builder, chilled out in the caravan, managed the cafe…all of it.
Sessions at Play Avenue are bookable in 90 minute slots – 4 sessions each day Monday to Sunday:
In between sessions they tidy up and prepare each area, making sure that whatever time you go, the experience is great. Numbers are limited in each session too, which I thought was a great idea. No matter which area my children went in, it wasn’t crowded and there didn’t seem to be lots of children trying to play with the same thing.
Off Peak pricing (Monday to Friday)
Peak Pricing (Weekends/Holidays)
If you’re planning to give it a try (and I recommend you do) advance booking is essential. Book your session here
There is a ‘real’ cafe and we were lucky enough to manage a coffee and cake whilst the kids were playing. It is all open plan, so we had visibility of the kids whilst we had a coffee and I thought it would work great for those with different age children, even very little ones. We reviewed Play Avenue along with our sister site Hull Mumbler and had children between the ages of 5 and 8 with us, but there were some little tots there and it is perfect for them to explore. You can sit in the real cafe after you’ve had your hair done in the salon, or maybe you might be arrested and have a brief stint in the jail, rewarding yourself with some cake afterwards! It was delicious.
We could easily have spent longer there, but we have a brilliant excuse to go back. Just before the end of the session, Amanda (owner and founder pictured above with her little boy) asked all of the children to help tidy up, which they did without question. The area was then clean and tidy ready for the next session (which had acually been booked as a birthday party).
It’s a brilliant place for a party! Parties are £15 per child (peak) or £13 (off peak) with a minimum of 15 children required.
So we give it a 10 out of 10 all round! My only regret is that this wasn’t around years ago as my daughter has always absolutely adored dressing up and role play, even as a toddler and I think we’d have practically lived there when she was a pre-schooler!
Play Avenue, Kirton Road, Scunthorpe, DN17 3RD (01724 761 686). Took us 30 minutes to get there from Doncaster.
Reviewed September 2019
