Soft play near Richmond: council toddler sessions from £5, Cheeky Chops in Twickenham, Snakes and Ladders at Syon Park, plus pools and museums, checked 28 Oct.

For soft play near Richmond, most families land on Cheeky Chops, the play cafe for under-5s on York Street in Twickenham; Snakes and Ladders in Syon Park, the big one for children up to 12; and the council’s £5 toddler sessions at Whitton and Teddington. Hobbledown Heath in Hounslow adds an indoor play barn to a farm park. Every entry was checked against the venue’s own site on 28 October 2026.

We have not visited these places and nothing here is a rating. Each entry sets out what the venue publishes: what is there, the prices where they are listed, the session times and booking rules, and the Food Standards Agency hygiene rating where the venue serves food. Where a venue does not say, we have not guessed. None of the soft play centres is in Richmond town centre itself, so the list runs out to Twickenham, Whitton, Teddington and the Hounslow side of the river. October half term runs to Friday 30 October, and some venues are on holiday timetables until then.

Soft play centres

Cheeky Chops Play Cafe, Twickenham

A family-run play cafe on the high street, for children aged 0 to 5, which describes itself as offering “modern, stimulating and challenging play” for under-5s with “a clean and comfortable café area for adults”. It runs three sessions a day: mornings 9.30am to 11am, a midday open session from 11.30am to 3pm where you arrive any time and stay 90 minutes, and afternoons 3.30pm to 5pm. Walk-ins are welcome, but it “strongly” recommends booking the morning and afternoon sessions, as spaces are limited. A 10-visit play pass costs £81 for children aged 1 and over and £49.50 for 7 to 11 months, ten visits for the price of nine. The cafe serves breakfast and lunch for adults and children and is nut-free. Food hygiene rating 5, inspected 27 July 2026. 37-39 York Street, Twickenham, TW1 3LP, about five minutes’ walk from Twickenham station. 07448 224289. cheekychopsplaycafe.co.uk · Our directory listing

Snakes and Ladders, Syon Park

A three-level soft play centre across the river from Kew in the grounds of Syon Park. Its Brentford page lists a “huge playframe with three tiers”, an under-5s zone, a role play village for 3 to 6 year olds, a sensory zone, a climbing wall and electric motorbikes at £1.30 extra, plus an outdoor area with a jumping pillow and a zip line. It takes children aged 12 and under, and asks for one adult to every five children. Prices off peak / peak: 1 year £10.75 / £13.45, 2 to 4 years £12.15 / £15.25, 5 and over £13.50 / £16.95, adults £5.35 / £6.60. Peak means weekends, school holidays, bank holidays and inset days. Booking online is recommended; walk-ins at peak times pay £1.30 a person more. At peak times there are four two-hour sessions from 9.30am, the last 4.15pm to 6.15pm. Socks are required. There is a cafe and free parking on site. It runs an SEN session on Wednesdays from 4.15pm in term time. Food hygiene rating 5, inspected 2 July 2026. Syon Park, Brentford, TW8 8JF; Syon Lane station is about a mile away.

Hobbledown Heath, Hounslow

A farm and adventure park whose Great Barn it calls “West London’s biggest indoor playbarn”; the barn has a separate gated soft play section for under-3s. Most of the park is outdoors, with animals and play villages, so this is a part-rainy-day option. General admission is £19 a person on the day or from £16.50 online, plus a £2.75 booking fee per order, and covers the barn. Weekday toddler tickets for one adult and one child under 5 start at £13.50 on selected days. The park opens 10am to 6pm through this half term; outdoor areas close at dusk, most animal walkthroughs close at 4pm, and it shuts on selected Tuesdays. Parking costs £1 an hour or £3.50 for the day. Its pumpkin patch runs until 1 November. Food hygiene rating 5, inspected 26 July 2022. Staines Road, Hounslow, TW4 5DS.

Brentford Fountain Leisure Centre

Lampton Leisure’s centre at the Chiswick end of Brentford, a short hop over Kew Bridge. Its centre page describes a soft play area “designed for children under 12” with an obstacle course, and a leisure pool with beach-style entry, a wave machine and “the only working waterslide in the borough”, next to a 25-metre teaching pool. It does not publish soft play prices on that page, so phone 020 8583 2900 before going. The centre opens 6.30am to 10pm on weekdays and 8am to 6pm at weekends. It lists a wheelchair-accessible beach entry to the pool, lifts and ramps. Paid parking on site; buses 237, 267 and 391 stop there. The centre posted a notice on 7 September that shower pressure is lower than usual while it fixes a fault. 658 Chiswick High Road, Brentford, TW8 0HJ.

Council toddler soft play

Both sessions are run by Better for Richmond Council in school sports halls, for under-5s only. They use soft climbing equipment and inflatables, and are not instructor-led, so a parent or carer stays with the child throughout. Adults go free.

Whitton Sports and Fitness Centre

“Toddler Fun Time” costs £5 a child, or £4.60 with a Better pay as you go membership, by the centre’s soft play page. Saturday and Sunday sessions run from 9am to 10.30am all year. On weekdays in school holidays there are two sessions, 9am to noon and 1pm to 4pm, which this half term means up to Friday 30 October. You can book in advance or drop in. Better lists ramp access, a disabled toilet and accessible changing. Twickenham School, Percy Road, Whitton, TW2 6JW; buses H22, 110 and 481, and Whitton station.

Teddington Sports Centre

The same £5 (£4.60 for members) toddler session, with weekend sessions from 9am to noon. On half-term weekdays the soft play page lists sessions from 9am to noon and noon to 4pm, but none on Wednesday 28 October. Book ahead or drop in. Teddington School, Broom Road, Teddington, TW11 9PJ.

Swimming

Pools on the Park, Richmond

The council’s pools in Old Deer Park, run by Better, which opened in 1966 according to the Geograph record of the photograph above. Its price list: a junior swim (4 to 12) costs £3.20, or £3 with a pay as you go membership or Richmond resident card; teens £5.30; adults £6.90; under-4s swim free. Better lists indoor pools and an outdoor pool, a cafe, accessible changing, a disabled toilet and a poolside hoist. The centre opens 6.30am to 10pm on weekdays and 7am to 9pm at weekends, but public swim times change through the week, so check the timetable. Old Deer Park, Twickenham Road, Richmond, TW9 2SF; bus 490, or a walk from Richmond station.

Teddington Pools and Fitness Centre

The same junior, adult and under-4 prices as Pools on the Park, by its price list. It also has a hydrotherapy pool, where a junior public session costs £3.90. The centre opens 6.30am to 10pm Monday to Thursday, 6.30am to 9pm on Fridays and 8am to 8pm at weekends; check the timetable for public swims. Vicarage Road, Teddington, TW11 8EZ.

Museums

Museum of Richmond

Free to enter, on the second floor of the Old Town Hall. Its website gives usual hours of 11am to 5pm Tuesday to Friday and 10am to 4pm on Saturdays; it is closed on Sundays, Mondays and bank holidays. The special exhibition, From The Stores: Forgotten Posters and Found Treasures, runs until spring 2027, and the museum lists family workshops on its online calendar. Old Town Hall, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond, TW9 1TP, a few minutes’ walk from Richmond station.

World Rugby Museum, Twickenham

The rugby museum inside Allianz Stadium. Its visit page prices museum entry at £7.50 for children aged 5 to 15 and £12.50 for adults; under-5s go free, up to three per adult. With a stadium tour it is £21.50 a child and £32 an adult, with a family discount for one adult and two children. It opens 10am to 5pm Tuesday to Saturday and 11am to 5pm on Sundays, and on Mondays only in Richmond school holidays; last entry is an hour before closing, and hours change on match days. The West Car Park is closed from 26 October until early December, so use the North Car Park via Gate 3 on Whitton Dene (TW3 2JS), registering your car at the England Rugby Store for free parking. Whitton Road, Twickenham, TW2 7BA; Twickenham station is a 10-minute walk.

How we chose

We picked the soft play centres people around Richmond search for, plus the indoor places that publish prices and opening times we could check. We read each venue’s own website on 28 October 2026 and took hygiene ratings from the Food Standards Agency. We left out the toddler soft play arena at Rocks Lane in Chiswick, as its page gives no prices for visitors. Prices and session times change with school holidays, so check before you go.

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More in Richmond

Frequently asked questions

Where is the cheapest soft play near Richmond?

The council’s toddler soft play at Whitton Sports and Fitness Centre and Teddington Sports Centre costs £5 a child, or £4.60 with a Better pay as you go membership, and adults go free. It is for under-5s only and runs at weekends all year and on weekdays in school holidays.

Is there soft play for older children near Richmond?

Snakes and Ladders in Syon Park takes children up to 12, with a three-tier play frame and a climbing wall; children aged 5 and over pay £13.50 off peak and £16.95 at peak times. Brentford Fountain Leisure Centre’s soft play is also for under-12s. The council sessions and Cheeky Chops in Twickenham are for under-5s only.

What can children do indoors in Richmond on a rainy day?

The Museum of Richmond in the Old Town Hall is free, open Tuesday to Saturday. Junior swims at Pools on the Park and Teddington Pools cost £3.20 and under-4s swim free. The World Rugby Museum at Twickenham charges £7.50 for children aged 5 to 15.