I have mentioned a few times before that there comes a point – frequently during the colder months – where cabin fever hits my kids, they start acting like wee caged beasts, and they desperately need to burn off their excess energy. With that in mind, this weekend we took them to Doylestown.
The Central Park in Doylestown has a superb playground known as Kids’ Castle that provides lots of opportunities for climbing, balancing, sliding, and swinging in a safe and clean environment. This was not our first visit to the Kids’ Castle playground but it has been a good while since we were last there. The playground is a community funded project and, as such, it was encouraging to see that changes and developments have been made since we were last there. It is great to see such signs of success for a community project.
My boys had a whale of a time clambering inside the many layers of the castle, shouting greetings from the tallest turrets, whizzing down the tube slides. They also spent some time on the swings, including a tire swing that made them queasy. What they were most enamoured by on this visit, however, were the pieces of equipment that were new to them. There was a large piece of play equipment in the shape of a pirate ship, complete with a sea serpent slide, scramble nets, and canons that made a “boom” when whacked. My three younger boys had soon turned it into the scene of an imaginative game I think loosely on the theme of piratical vikings – if that isn’t a tautology.
They also loved a new addition to the castle, a kind of hydraulic fireman’s pole with a platform. They could step from the castle onto the platform and it would slowly descend and deliver them to ground level. The younger three could not get enough of this. They thought it was brilliant fun. My oldest son – almost 13 – was confounded by what they could possibly find so entertaining about slowly descending from one level to another. I had no sooner told him that it was because he was getting older than his almost 41 year old father hopped on the pole and had a go himself. I guess it isn’t age related after all.
After the older three were tiring, the 6 year old still had energy galore to spare. He wanted to go and look at the outdoor gym equipment so he and I headed off there to see what the equipment did, what exercises could be done, what if anything he could do there to burn off more energy. I imagine the gym equipment is a great resource for people who enjoy that type of thing. There were clear instructions regarding how to use the equipment in different ways. The youngest and I did some of the exercises but mostly he just ran and jumped and climbed until finally his energy levels dropped to a reasonable level.
This place looks great!
I admit I am one of those persons who will try the gym equipment. It’s nice after a run to do some exercises, I find they help loosen my muscles. I notice kids playing on them all the time and not doing what the instructions say but something new and I admit I’ve copied them sometimes.
We had an outdoor gym in one of the fishing villages where we used to live and it was right next to the children’s playground. That meant I could do some of the exercises while my kids were playing if I could figure out what I was supposed to be doing. That was why I noted the very thorough instructions on this set of equipment. The 6 year old’s short limbs meant he had no choice but to improvise with most of it but some of the equipment he did manage to use properly. It’s a really great resource.
What an enjoyable playground. From your photos, the kiddos had a blast playing. What a fun weekend!
Thank you. It’s a great playground. All but the youngest have outgrown most playgrounds but this one has enough stretch in it that they can keep themselves occupied for hours.
what a fab park. I agree – cabin fever in winter is enough to drive you to drink. At least you had a clear, blue sky day for your outing.
Thank you for your comment. I’m glad you can relate.
Perfect afternoon out – our son has mostly outgrown playgrounds now too but this one looks like a great one. Loving the blue skies too…
My oldest two have mostly outgrown playgrounds too but my ten year old had plenty to do at this one and even my 12 year old played on some of the equipment – just to help the 6 year old, of course.
Of course! 🙂
What a wonderful account of your family’s experience at Kids Castle and our surrounding playground Laura! It’s because of people like you who inspire us and the community with your positive experiences that we continue our volunteer work with ongoing improvements at Kids Castle. We are in the midst of a project that we call Building the Kingdom at Kids Castle, which will transform this already great destination to a place of family fun for children of all abilities including those of special needs. This magical transformation is in progress through the efforts of volunteers who are raising funds for these improvements. You can find out more on our website at SaveKidsCastle.org. Thank you again Laura for sharing your ongoing experience! ~ Joe
Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting, Joe. Thank you for all the hard work that you and your team of volunteers do. I will check out your website.
Thank you too Laura! I’d like to talk to you when we both can find the time about possibly republishing some of your positive Kids Castle experiences on Save Kids Castle sites with a link back to your WordPress for attribution. Wonderful pictures too! Thanks again Laura!
I would absolutely be happy for that to happen if you think it would help promote your cause.
Great Laura. If you can email me at SaveKidsCastle@gmail.com or info@SaveKidsCastle.org (whichever you choose) I’ll have your email to reach out to you over the weekend to talk about this more. Thanks.
Will do! 😀
This place looks amazing! What a great way for the boys to burn off all that extra energy! 😀
It’s a great park and I like it even more knowing it’s a community project. It’s not that local to us so we don’t go often but the boys have a blast there when we do go and spend far longer playing there than they do at other play parks.
That probably means they appreciate it all the more! And it’s great to see a community project that’s been such a success. Thanks for sharing!