Reading/ Windsor area - family get together

[rara67]

We are planning to meet up with relatives in June with our boys (6ys and 11 months). They (4 adults) will be travelling from Birmingham and we'll be travelling from East Sussex. Are there any country parks with good play areas where we could meet for a picnic?

the look out in bracknell will be ideal.

look out

link is for the science centre but this is situated in the middle of huge forests, also a free play area - climbing frames; pirate ship. theeres also a tower you can climb. go ape also has a space there - so the adults can go off for a climb too. can picnic for free or use cafe. across the road is the leisure pool with wave machine; tubes etc if its raining on the day.

Windsor Great Park is lovely and has a nice play area at the Obelisk.

wellington country park?

Are you looking for somewhere which is free?
If so, then the park at Lookout (which twinklytoes suggested) is quite a good location as there are also walks in the wood - but a negative at weekends is that it can be rather busy which makes car parking a bit tricky.

Windsor Great Park on the other hand has various parking locations, some charged and others that are free. My favourite parking place is at the end of Bishopsgate Road near Englefield Green (can get busy at times but you tend to be able to get a space somewhere along the road - plus point is that parking is free). From that location you can walk 1 mile to Savile Gardens and a couple of hundred yards on is the new playground.

Walk Route: Bishopsgate Road to The Savill Garden
With a child walking it will take 25-30 minutes to walk this route, each way.

I'd go for Windsor. You can park in Savil Gardens carpark for free for two hours if you buy something in the shop (easy to do - their buyer is fabulous). The playground is brilliant and there's a really nice walk round the lake and picnic areas. If weather is horrid, the restaurant is nice and not too overpriced

Wellington Park is good but if you've only got one child that's going to make use of the facilities, it's very expensive.

Look out is also nice but is pretty difficult to park.

A little way from the Reading/Windsor area:
Near M3 Junction 3 there is Lightwater Country Park. Can get busy at weekends car parking wise. Lightwater Country Park is at the far end of The Avenue, Lightwater (Map) There are picnic tables by the rangers hut, which is between the duckpond and the tennis courts.

Windsor Great Park - Savill Garden entrance -should tick all the boxes.

There is a new playground in WGP, with loads of picnic benches nearby. But there is just as much 'natural' fun - walking through the woods and looking at the wildlife on the ponds. Or not so natural - collecting polo balls on Smith's Lawn. It's picnic-city on hot days.

WGP is on our doorstep and I feel so blessed by that.

Savill Gardens carpark I think is also free for first 90 minutes, even if you don't buy anything from the shop. So could fit in a quick picnic in that time.
Spicemonster makes a good point about the restaurant, very handy if it turns out to be a wet day. Prices I feel are a little high but it depends what you are used to paying
Royal Landscape: Car Parking Info

Spicemonster - the freebie parking situation has changed. It is no longer tied to shopping. You get 90 minutes free, and then they start charging. I don't think it is a lot, although we never stay more than 90 minutes.

Odds Farm Park near Maidenhead. Loads to do - easily spend a whole day there.

Playarea near Savill Gardens
There are toddler swings, a sandpit, sunken boat climbing structure, a raft, pre-schoolers climbing frame with slide.
Children also tend to like climbing on the boulders - not sure why those are there, so if your children are accident prone, remember the First Aid kit!

nannynick - I agree that it's not cheap but compared to what you get at other places it's pretty good. Wellington Park serves chips and beans type meals for £5, Savill Garden serves really interesting stuff with fresh ingredients for £7. But like most of those sorts of places, the pre-packaged sandwiches are a rip-off whereas the hot food is not too bad.

I do like their wavy roof too

Oh yes, the coffee is nice, so worth paying the premium. The baguettes are nice, never had a full meal there. I can be found there at least once a week, should really know how much the food/drink costs by now - £2.20 comes to mind for a large Americano coffee, it is around that sort of price.

I'm wondering when they will finish the wavy roof - or do they think the paint job inside is artistic!

A main meal, eg meat in sauce on rice, is around £7. It is a substantial quantity.

They do children's boxes where they pick a certain quantity of items for a fixed price.

I think the lunches are good, but I seem to have a particular skill at arriving just after a coach party of pensioners. I prefer to time my WGP from 11am - noon, and then head to the Fox and Hounds pub by Bishopsgate. It is a bit more expensive but just as child and dog friendly as Savill Garden.

Ooh good recommendation re pub scienceteacher - always on the lookout for nice places.

Not sure if you'd be interested either of you but if you go a lot (and like the gardens as well as the park) becoming a member/friend is really good value - you can take one other adult and 2 kids for each membership card you have and parking is free.

Sorry rara, will stop taking your thread off on a tangent now

I have thought about membership purely to use other car parks free of charge. I don't mind paying for parking (equivalent to annual membership) but never have the change for the machines. I agree it is good value but you can get free parking at Savill Garden and the Wheatsheaf for 90 minutes, which is well within our limits.

We go to WGP with the dog, and she is not allowed in Savill Garden. We are happy with Valley Gardens if we want a cultural horticultural experience, and do take guests there. The dog can go on the lead.

Savill Garden opened up for free in December, and we took advantage. Obviously, the experience was limited but it was still a lovely hour.

My boys used to go to school adjacent to the park and I dropped them off then did an hour in the park with the dog - ditto at the end of the day. I have a very different life now.

Yeah if you have dogs, it's not so good. My mum and dad don't. There are different memberships - one which is largely about parking but doesn't get you into Savill Garden for free.

But then they have only changed the thing about free parking lately and 90 mins is probably plenty long enough for walking dogs

Thanks Mums, that's so helpful, all we need now is a hot summer starting in May!