Wendyhouse Soft Play Den
Reviewed by Sarah Banbury
The Wendyhouse Soft Play Den in West Byfleet is very easy to find, situated on the one way part of Station Approach right in front of the station. There is no allocated parking, but pay at meter spaces directly opposite at only £1.20 for two hours and the large station pay and display a few metres past the playden. I checked the website before going for directions and realised we had picked the only day that the large soft play in the sports hall was not open until 11.30am. Thanks to a kiddicare delivery we were expecting that morning, this worked out fine and it took us thirty minutes from our house to the play den arriving at 11.20am.
When we got there, the playden, in the front of the building alongside the shop, was very busy with toddlers and babies. There were ball pools, lots of tumble mats and a trampoline on a raised platform. Along the front window were tables and chairs for mums to sit at and at one end the party shop part of the building. The play den can only hold 12 and we were offered to go into the sports hall. Knowing that the twins love a bouncy castle we went straight in there early. The lady behind the counter explained they have a Diddy Dance class use the hall on a Tuesday. The hall had a large bouncy castle with a slide at one end, an inflatable ball pit on one side, a wooden climbing frame and slide on the other and ride on trikes and electric bikes at the near end. The staff were also just setting up a table of jigsaws, fuzzy felt and dressing up costumes. There were two other boy toddlers there and so they had the complete run of the place.
The electric bikes were a big hit as was the bouncy castle. I must have helped them in and out of the ball pool several times as they chased around playing with the other kids. One of the boys and his mum introduced twin two to Duplo so we spent a while making trains and cars with a mummy driving and twins in the back! Twin one was fascinated with the mini gym equipment there; a treadmill, skiwalker, row machine and weights bench. They were too light for the treadmill and row machine but found the ski machine hilarious as their legs swung out from under them and arms flew in all directions.
After about forty minutes we had a snack as I’d planned a late lunch in the car afterwards. Pom bears were 50p a bag and the coffee mocha £1.50, it was only from a machine but strong and punchy; I refused the offer of extra milk! There were also mini Cheddars, Hula Hoops and a fridge with fruit shoots but no other food available unless a party is pre-booked. This is perhaps a missed opportunity, although understandable given all the safety issues that then become involved. A few prepacked muffins or flapjacks to keep us multiple mummies going would be great though.
We sat at the table and did some jigsaws, a current favourite in our house and twin one discovered fuzzy felt putting Dora and Boots and all of In The Night Garden in all sorts of interesting tableaux. Much to my disappointment, no one wanted to dress up as a dinosaur like their hero George Pig, but we did manage a fireman (briefly!) and most of a soldier. We also spent a good while looking out of the windows as we could see all the trains that stopped in the station and some fast trains that went straight through. To a nearly three year old boy this was magic! There was also the option to purchase craft activities to do together.
The other parents left around this time presumably to go home for lunch so we had the place to ourselves for quite a while until another family of older children arrived. After being dragged onto the bouncy castle one too many times I decided we should check out the toilets before leaving. The cubicle was large and a trainer seat was provided plus antibac wipes to clean up any little accidents. They were clean and had the lock high up so that no little hands could open it while I used it, always a big advantage! The play den had separate toilets too so there were plenty.
We loved our morning at the Wendyhouse, but unfortunately getting twins to leave somewhere like this is not easy. Being near a station, traffic wardens are on more or less permanent prowl, so be warned, don’t overstay your car parking ticket like we did L. In terms of value for money, our two hours would have cost £6.95 for twin one and £5.50 for his brother. Personally I think this is far too steep, but I am not a resident of what appears to be a very affluent part of Surrey. For a similar cost we could have visited a large scale playframe soft play or a similar small set up near our house for a third of the cost, both with free parking and hot food available. The drinks and snacks here were however very reasonably priced. This is a shame as it was within a comfortable half hour drive and the fact it was so quiet and we could watch trains was lovely. We probably won’t return as we don’t have any friends out this way to meet up with that would justify this cost but would recommend it to local residents, especially those within walking distance.
Rating: 4/5
For more information, opening times and prices click here.
