Last min outing for me and squidge. The weather was shocking so the photos make the place look way more depressing than it was. Here’s my review of Tackley park
Now this parks good it’s not amazing but its better than ok. However the actual setting it pretty cool!
Pretty setting
Tackley is a really pretty village. We’ve never even driven through it before so was pleasantly suprised. It’s got brilliant parking facilities, a coffee shop and a shop next door. The coffee shop you could go into and watch your kids while they play! You have an entrance that opens onto the park! I didn’t have time to sit for a drink so I don’t know how good/bad it is but we did go in the shop! Well its a crap load better than a Tesco metro I can tell you that! Really cute local shop with local produce! I shit you not there was even a fresh fish van parked in the car park selling fish!
Ok I need to stop this from becoming a review on the village shop!
Fenced in
The park….a fenced in beauty It good to trap the little buggers in. Straight away you can see the climbing frame. This is outright only for the agile older kids the good thing about it though is your stumpy toddler probably can’t reach the equipment to kill themselves on anyway! Unlucky if you’ve got a tall one! I’ll be perfectly honest ive no idea what half the stuff on this frame is for anyway. All I do know is that I wouldn’t be able to half of that shit. Could be a good one for younger teenagers maybe.
Plus side they have a toddler friendly frame. It’s a lovely wooden combine harvester! I’m pretty sure but correct me if I’m wrong its exactly the same if not very bloody similar to the one in kings sutton. The kings sutton one went down a treat as did this one. Elliot loved sitting in the seat driving (calm your tits its not real it doesn’t actually start mowing down kids for harvest). He was up and down the easy steps playing hide and seek. Great game! If you’re getting pissed off tell your kids to hide. Sit down have a cuppa and keep shouting “where are you” until the tea has gone. Big wide metal slide perfect for the plumper of kids….or me!
More equipment
Now there is another slide in the park and mummy made the mistake of putting Elliot up in waterproofs and sticking him down the slide. O.M.G he flew like Eddy the fucking eagle! Once i checked he was still breathing I then started to laugh uncontrollably! Got knows what the people in the coffee shop thought! It really was one of those. Wish I’d have filmed it moments! So please use some common sense when shoving your 2 year old down the slide (clearly lacking in this brain)
They had a nice cargo swing (someone told me that’s their official name!), the usual baby swings and older kids swings, a bucket spinney roundabout thing and another really cool roundabout but be weary the seat had spaces wide enough to fit a toddler leg so they could tumble and face plant the metal ouch! It’s really good though as an adult you can push it round like you’re riding a scooter while mini one sits down. It’s also got an actual bouncy trampoline which the kids can get some decent height on too!
Building works
If your child likes dig digs (diggers) its right next to a building site at the moment so Elliot loved watching them and screaming at the top of his voice!
They had a springy face twatter (like all parks) however……they also had a spring no face twatter! Awesome no way of their faces getting smashed in as the spring comes back at them unless they sit on it backwards and well then tough shit I guess.
They did have a zip wire which unfortunately wasn’t in use. At first I was thinking that’s a bad point but you know what fuck it. Well done to the villagers for putting take round it with signage saying not to use it! At least you’ve made the decision to keep children safe which lets be honest not all parks do (not mentioning any names) so here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for your zip wire.
Age range
This park was a bit of a mix with a good variety of age appropriate equipment to please most ages. It’s a cross between Garth park minus the shitty fake grass. It has the same boulders perfect for concussion but it also has a hint of kings sutton. So if those 2 parks mated you’d get Tackley park. Tackley is a bit older but apart from the zip wire its in pretty good nic. It’s clearly a well loved addition to the village and I can see why. Plenty of facilities, places for picnics and next to a huge playing field for ball games and what not.
Tackley park stats:
Distance from Bicester: 25 mins
Sat nav: Medcroft Rd, Tackley, Kidlington OX5 3AH To load navigation click the address
Wheelchair friendly: yes
Equipment upkeep: 9/10 Because they have shut down unsafe equipment well done
Cleanliness: 9/10
Facilities: 9/10
Age range: All ages
Safety: 7/10
Flooring: under grass rubber matting.
Fun factor: 8/10
Dog friendly: No
Conclusion
It’s a good park and we would go again. Unfortunately it hasn’t made my top 10 but its still worth a nosey. If you do go make sure you pop into the local cafe and shop after all we’re using the village park for free.
It’s also been brought to my attention that since my reviews a few parks have become more popular, resulting in selfish pigs leaving all their shit behind. If the bins are full take your crap home! Village parks are more often than not maintained for free by the locals. Don’t be dicks and ruin it for others. You may not have gone to the park if id have said it was a shit hole so don’t make it become one. Some lazy buggers have even been leaving their babies dirty nappies! Seriously whats wrong with people. Have some pride or common courtesy! It’s just as bad if not worse than when we all moan at dog walkers for not cleaning up dog shit or hanging it from the trees! (Wow that rant escalated) anyway yeay Tackley go and have a look if you have a spare afternoon or morning.
For a list of more free parks click HERE
