Climbing frames/towers or similar in a smallish garden

[MollyAndMuck]

My garden is split level, big patio and smaller patch of grass. I don't want a huge swing set and climbing frame thing as it would take up the whole of the grass and I still want a bit of room for football/paddling pool etc at times.

Anyone else with a smallish garden and wants to recommend something that has longevity? I'm looking at things like this: https://wickey.co.uk/climbing-tower-smart-action#tab-wrapper

I'm wondering if it would be better to have some sort of a tower for DCs to actually sit on top though?

What features are ideal to last through primary age? Anything that doesn't get used? I'm thinking that a climbing frame is more swift sufficient than fighting over a swing/demanding to get pushed.

If anyone has pictures of their set up in a small garden that would be brilliant.

The tower things seem mainly to be similar to this:

https://wickey.co.uk/climbing-frame-with-wooden-roof-joyflyer

But I'm thinking the slide takes up a lot of space, and actually DCs won't really be challenged so much by the climbing aspect so will get more bored. At the moment they're (5,4,3) like monkeys and older two love hanging off things, swinging on poles etc. But they do also love a good house/den.

Quadro would be my recommendation it's not cheap but can be built into all sorts of different creations
It holds its value so worth looking on eBay too
We got some from a friend about 10 years ago which she'd had for about 20 years and it was brilliant!

What about https://www.tptoys.com/products/tp-explorer-metal-climbing-frame-with-platform-den one of these. We had an old rusty one without the den but with a slide and a ladder left in our garden when we moved in. My kids really enjoyed it, but I was worried it wasn’t safe. We’ve replaced it with a wickey tower with slide and swings and I feel like they play with it less.

Oh interestingly we have some quadro! Maybe it's the set we've got (second hand) but I find it annoying to put together and a bit limited, and DCs don't find it very exciting/challenging. Maybe I need to get DH to build something more exciting (he detests putting it together too).

Oh that's interesting that they play with the wooden one less! Is it good for swinging on the bars etc as well?

@OperationalSupport

you left an old rusty one in your garden when you moved because you didn't think it was safe for your kids. I hope you at least asked the new owners if they wanted it??

Pretty sure they meant that the previous owners left it for them, and they replaced it because of safety concerns?

I had one like this as a child in the 90s with the removable cover (with was a hassle) and a slide and never really used it, it was boring with nothing to 'do' (wasn't even comfy to sit in as the floor was sort of like a trampoline even though there was no room to 'bounce' but it sagged making it useless to 'play' inside of) really.

It was also a bloody death trap, It was very slippy, as you said it rusted easy (lots of blisters) and one of the few times I did use it I slipped into the metal bar knocking several teeth out.

I read it as they moved into a house and previous owners had left one.

Yes, it was left by the previous owners when we moved in. Funnily enough they didn’t leave the new-looking swing set we’d seen when we viewed.

Our new wooden one is nice, and they do play on the swings but I thought they would enjoy the tower/den underneath the slide a bit more than they have.

https://www.wickentoys.co.uk/plum-climbing-cube-wooden-play-centre..html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=surfaces&utm_campaign=shopping%20feed&utm_content=free%20google%20shopping%20clicks&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwvvmzBhA2EiwAtHVrb4kZ4RVTAFyIiiSoQ_UaS8pF31mcxvo9X4_Xw3kQfP2t4lWRu31qGhoCv1sQAvD_BwE

We have this Plum Climbing Cube surprisingly compact but loads to keep a 7 and 9 old amused. Took literally hours and hours to build so recommend paying someone to build it if possible

Thanks, that looks great, and definitely wouldn't attempt to build myself!

Oh actually is it secured into the ground or just on the grass?

I used to love my TP explorer as a kid.

My kids have the TP castle wood tower which looks great but doesn't get much use, and a TP round wood swing set which they use All The Time.

I'd suggest getting a wooden swing set (big one with 2.4m height) and adding some bars to the side for dangling like a sloth.

Thanks. I'm not sure we can fit a swing set because of the clearance needed, plus I don't want to be mithered for a push every five minutes! Maybe I should reconsider though.

It comes with spiral metal stakes you should postcrete into the ground. It's time consuming to assemble because it's basically lots of individual slats of wood you have to drill screw holes into. It took us around 12 hours all told and reviews online said similar time so it's not just us! So not for the feint hearted but a beautiful piece of equipment that even my oldest will enjoy for a few more years.

We intend to attach a button swing or trapeze into the middle monkey bar section by adding a rotating carabina clip to the central wooden bar. So even if you don't have the clearance for a proper swing set you can still have a bit of a swinging experience.

Thanks, that's really helpful. I think I'll try and get a handy person to build it as not only am I rubbish but I don't have 12 hours to do it!

A trapeze is a great idea.

We have something very very similar to the one in your OP.

We got it about 5 years ago when the DC were 4 and 6 and it’s been an absolute godsend - ours has monkey bars, the dangly triangle monkey bars, trapeze, button swing, a T bar “twizzler” thing, climbing wall, platform, climbing net. Not all at once but we can swap the hanging bits in and out. Even now, they are outgrowing it but still like to sit on the swing or platform with their friends. Also provides a sheltered area to store toys etc under the platform. It is secured with long bolts twisted into the ground, we didn’t have to use concrete.

Our garden is too small for a proper swing and we tried a trampoline and it got very little use compared with how much space it took up. I didn’t want a tower as my DC would probably look into neighbouring gardens a lot!! This has definitely been the best small garden solution.

Can you post a link please.

I can’t sorry - it was made for us by a chap in his shed …

if you have a 2 level garden, you could run a slide from one level down to the next to get good value play without losing garden space.

like a smaller scale version of this

https://www.sunset.com/home-garden/landscaping/kid-friendly-garden-design

You know what, I've thought about that lots and would love it! I'm just not sure what kind of person/company would do it.

Fix a solid piece of timber at the top of the slide, get a slide like this, fix it on, all sorted
https://amzn.eu/d/09Uvnlo1

We had this exact one. Didn't last, lots if split wood and building it was a nightmare. Two people (one very competent DIY), took an rntire day. Holes not pre-drilled etc. Avoid

We got a Grow play monkey bar compact set. We liked the tiny footprint. They aren’t cheap, but it gets lots of use and all their friends love it. They tend to do things like fling themselves off the trapeze or recreate Gladiators!