2024 Update - Gigglewicks has now sadly closed.
Gigglewicks Village is a new role play centre for children aged 0-6 years in Cramlington, Northumberland. You'll find them in Nelson Industrial Estate (full address: Unit 2, Network Centre, Colburn Avenue, Cramlington. NE23 1WD.
There is ample free parking outside. I popped along with a 2 year old, 6 year old and 8 year old (I messaged their page to check it's ok to take older children along beforehand and it's fine) today and we were all really impressed.
Gigglewicks Village - Booking, Prices & Opening Times
Sessions should be pre-booked by messaging the
Gigglewicks Village Facebook Page or calling 01670 738990. There is a flat fee of £6.50 per child which can be paid by cash or card on arrival. At the moment, sessions take place across the following times:
Mon - Fri
11am - 12:30pm
1pm - 2:30pm
3:45pm - 5:15pm
Saturday & Sunday
9am - 10:30am
11am - 12:30pm
1pm - 2:30pm
3pm - 4:30pm
Sessions last 90 minutes, every child who plays will need to pay and you can turn up to your booked session at any time however all sessions will end at the stated time. There is no charge for grown-ups.
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| Photo credit | Gigglewicks Village |
Gigglewicks Village - Cafe Prices & Menu
There is a small hatch serving basic food, drinks and snacks at very reasonable prices. They cut the crusts off the sandwiches for the kids which is a cute touch. We ordered a couple of sandwiches, a yoghurt and a few drinks for less than £6. It's not haute cuisine but it's all freshly prepared, speedy and toddler-friendly. There are healthier options such as vegetable sticks too which is nice to see (although they'd ran out on this occasion). There are also some delicious looking cakes for sale at the counter but we managed to resist.
Gigglewicks Village - What is there to do?
Gigglewicks Village - Party Packages
You can privately hire Gigglewicks Village for £200 on weekends and school holidays and £180 on weekday. This includes entry for up to 24 children plus a meal box for all. If booked on a weekday and used to capacity, this works out at just £7.50 per child which is only £1 more than regular admission and a bargain I think.
Gigglewicks Village FAQs & Policies
- Gigglewicks Village operates a 24 hour cancellation policy
- All children should be fully supervised by an adult
- Adults and children need to remove their shoes on arrival and socks should be worn
- Gigglewicks Village is aimed at children aged 0-6 years. Older siblings are welcome. If they are aged 7/8 and intend to play (like Heidi did), they will be charged. Siblings older than this that don't play will not be charged.
- Gigglewicks Cramlington are currently in talks with Autism Northumberland to provide Autism-friendly sessions - keep an eye on their Facebook page for further announcements.
Gigglewicks Village - Our Final Thoughts
I only visited Gigglewicks Village as we had a 2-year-old in our party - I wasn't sure Heidi and Jack would enjoy it but they actually ended up loving it. I'm not sure I'd visit with just them but with younger siblings or friends in the party, it's perfect. Jack loved dressing up as a Police Officer and throwing us in jail then disguising himself as a robber and Heidi enjoyed taking her shopping trolley to the supermarket and loading it up with shopping. Gigglewicks really encouraged creatie play and some of the games they were coming up with really made me smile. Everyone definitely had fun. Gigglewicks is fairly small but as numbers are limited you don't feel as if it's as chaotic as a traditional softplay can be. I think it's perfectly suited to 1-5 year olds and if my children were in this age group I imagine Gigglewicks would become one of my go-to places.
Gigglewicks is shiny and new and because of this, I think they can get away with charging £6.50 per child. It is expensive compared to other places though - we paid £9.50 to visit TJ's Jungle for three children recently (in school hours) and it was £19.50 for the same three children to visit Gigglewicks so £10 more which is quite a difference. Space to Play up the road also only charges £5 for entry and a cooked meal. Personally, I'd still pay £6.50 to visit as I think it's great and a concept that's new to Northumberland but it would be nice to see a sibling discount, monthly pass, meal deal, special offers or a loyalty card scheme moving forward I think. I'm sure this is probably something they will consider in the future and it's just not needed yet.
What I especially like about Gigglewicks is that you can't easily lose your child like you can in some of the huge softplays we have in our region. I used to be beside myself at places like Round the Twist when the children were small and imagined losing them in a ball pool or them running off and ending up trapped somewhere. I like that Gigglewicks is small and all of the seating is in the centre so your child is always within easy reach.
We give Gigglewicks Village a huge thumbs up and think it's well worth a visit. It's a place that exceeded our expectations. Let me know if you're going to give them a try and please share this post with your friends.
Disclosure | We paid for our own entry and food.
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Is this a concept that’s only recently appeared? Because when I was back home in Norwich my friend was telling me about something very similar in Norfolk and I thought it was such a good idea - great that there’s somewhere similar up here.
ReplyDeleteI would have been obsessed with this as a child, it looks brilliant!