A new soft play and climbing centre, Indoor Active, has opened at Cornwall Services near Roche, St Austell.
Soft Play
There’s a large soft play area for 0-11 year olds with ball pool, slides, climbing nets and a maze run on two levels. It’s free for babies under 12 months old and varies from £4-£6 for older children. You don’t need to book in advance – just turn up.
Clip ‘n Climb
This clever idea originated in New Zealand. You clip on to an automatic belay system and start climbing without the need for a partner. There are 12 climbing challenges, suitable for ages 4+ (adults are welcome too) and some soar to 9.6m high.
Climbing sessions last for an hour with a 15 minute briefing at the beginning. You’ll need to wear trainers to be able to climb. Prices range from £8 to £15 depending on age and session, and advance booking is recommended.
I took Wilf and Megan one Saturday morning. It was busy! At the briefing we were shown how to wear our harnesses and clip on to the apparatus. There were a number of ‘Clippers’ – fit youngsters who were in charge of safely clipping you onto the belay rope and installing confidence amongst the fearful!
The aim is to scale your wall (there are different shapes and sizes of foot and handholds) up to the height you feel comfortable, then push yourself off and gently float to the floor supported by the belay rope. Wilf struggled at first to trust the rope but the Clippers soon came to his aid and showed him what to do. There was no stopping him after that and he loved every minute, soon taking on new challenges. Megs did well too – not going as high as her brother but grasping the technique really quickly.
The session flew by and the children both said how tired their arms and legs were, but could they visit again soon please?
Nanny Pat’s verdict:
Indoor Active would be a great place to entertain children of all ages for a while on a wet day or maybe to fill in time if you’ve arrived early and need a bite to eat and for the children to release some energy before your cottage is ready!
Useful information
You can order food and drink in the Soft Play area from Sausage & Roll or the Open Oven Pizza Co, who are both based on site. You can also get cakes and coffee to sustain you while the kids play.
If you’re using the Indoor Active facilities, you get three hours’ free parking.
Getting there
Cornwall Services is just off the A30 and approximately 20 minutes’ drive from Bosinver. Postcode for SatNavs: PL26 8UF
What’s your favourite indoor activity in Cornwall for kids? If you’ve got any suggestions, we’d love to hear them! Why not write a comment below, post on our Facebook page or tweet @bosinver?
