A decent size community play area with excellent open space to run about and explore.
Quick View Review
| Overall | ★★★☆☆ | A reasonable size playground with excellent open space. |
| 6-23 months | ★★★☆☆ | Great number of baby swings. Slide / Climbing frame OK. Not a lot else. |
| 2-5 years | ★★☆☆☆ | Small children won’t be able to complete the whole assault course. |
| 6-12 years | ★★★☆☆ | Decent assault course and big slide, plus swings & seating.. thing. |
| 13+ | ★☆☆☆☆ | Not a massive amount for older kids, but space to play football etc. |
| Amenities | ★☆☆☆☆ | No nearby café or shop. Parking variable, especially at school times. |
Review Date: 5th August 2022
Detailed Review
Lindal community play area may not look much at first glance, but it offers more than you might think. It has the usual playground fare of swings and slides, but the large quantity of baby swings is a welcome addition. Many of the playgrounds in the Furness area only offer a single swing for young children, which can be an issue if there is more than one family (or more than one young child in a family!) at the park at the same time. With 4 baby swings available it’s a lovely place to bring a few toddlers at the same time and watch them all having fun together.
The other equipment is good quality but nothing too special, though the slide is on the adventurous side for children who have outgrown the smaller version – something I can imagine would happen fairly quickly as it is rather small.
The assault course is good fun, though made of wood so a bit treacherous when wet. It includes a few panels with climbing wall holds along the bottom, but the way it’s constructed means there is nothing to hold on to except finger holes along the top. This means shorter children will have to give it a miss.
No good children’s playground would be complete without some kind of ride-on bouncy animal! In Lindal’s case, it’s now a carnival style horse, though the eagle eyed will spot the first photo contains a red elephant. It got switched the day after I took the original picture. Alas poor dumbo, we barely knew you.
Lastly, there is some kind of strange raised up partially shaded seating area / climbing frame? I have no idea what it’s meant to be, it doesn’t have enough seats to be seating, nor enough cover to protect from either sun or rain, but then it’s also not really complex enough to be a proper climbing frame. I can imagine older kids hanging about in it chatting.
Really though, the stand out feature of Lindal playground is the open space. It’s located in the corner of a dedicated field, completely fenced in with hedges/walls on all sides, and a small coppice at the top of the hill. As a kid I know I’d have been straight up there ‘exploring’ and making dens, but for younger children it’s the perfect space to come for a picnic and games that involve running around.
For grown ups there aren’t a lot of amenities, one bench and one bin. If you’re having a picnic, bring a blanket or camping chairs. There is a parking bay along the road, but it is shared with the local houses so finding a space could be hit and miss, particularly round school pick up/drop off time as the primary school is just up the road. There should be more parking down the hill towards the village green in a pinch. There are no shops and no cafés without getting back in the car, just a pub ~10 mins walk back over the other side of the A590.
What’s nearby?
There isn’t a lot for visitors in Lindal itself, the village has one pub and a hairdressers. Across the A590 is Wax Lyrical which has a factory shop selling cut priced candles, scents and Portmerion pottery. Close by is the Safari Zoo, but if you’re paying to get in they have a big playground of their own. The nearest café is Charnleys on the way into Dalton, about 3 minutes drive away.
Location
Turn off the A590 into Lindal, drive straight on past the village green and the playground is on the left just up the hill.
Address: Pit Lane, Lindal-in-Furness, Cumbria. Approximate postcode, LA12 0LZ.