We all know what’s on our doorstep; where our nearest shop is, the local library, our closest church, and probably the nearest park, but have you thought about discovering another area of Swansea, maybe walk that little bit further, jump on your bikes or scooters or even catch a bus?
Swansea is blessed with acres and acres of parks for us to enjoy all year round, not just the summer holidays, we’ve got parks with tennis courts, skateboard ramps, fitness trail equipment, botanical gardens, playgrounds, playing fields and even pedalos and crazy golf!
Check out everything you need to know about our parks here, you can even search by area, facilities, accessibility, green flag awards and plant collections.
Ok….so you’ve found your park for the day, now what to do? The easiest way to find your way around the park is a Scavenger Hunt, you can always make your own, or try this one here courtesy of our mascot Jo Joio. Last one to tick everything on the list buys the ice cream!
After all that foraging surely you’ve worked up an appetite. Get out that blanket and enjoy a well-earned picnic, mmm delicious! What will you pack? Surely some sandwiches, pork pies, fruit, crisps, pasties, cheese, or Jo’s favourite strawberry jam sandwiches and cheesy crisps (not together of course, that wouldn’t be very nice!)
Let’s play…with so much outdoor green space there’s an abundance of space for you and the children to have some serious fun, throw that Frisbee far, have a game of tag, or take a ball and have a mess around, even better if you have a bat, why not play a game of cricket or rounder’s, you can even use bags and jumpers as the markers, great fun will be had all round.
If you’d rather join in with an organised session, our Sport & Health team have the best outdoor ParkLives programme being delivered across Swansea this summer. With programmes for children and adults, there is plenty of choice.
You can check out their full timetable here, all ParkLives sessions are Free, and are a great way to get to know your local area (or a new one) and you and the children can meet like-minded people, all whilst getting active in the great outdoors.
How many animals can you spot? Ever done a bug hunt? Become a nature detective and explore your local park. The perfect way to explore the local environment and learn about the wildlife. Children will love getting their hands grubby and being close to nature, bug hunting can also develop observational skills too, children won’t even realise the educational benefits, win win!
Make sure you stay close to the ground, handle the bugs very gently and return them to where you found them. Not quite sure what you’re looking at? Remember to take plenty of photographs so that once home, you can check with family and friends, apps or online for what you’ve found.
This list could really be 77 things to do, as with our imaginations the list is really endless, and whilst all of the above activities have been FREE, if you’d like to spend a little sum of money on your day at the Park, Singleton Park is a great place to go, with over 250 acres, you can have a full day exploring the unadorned green space. With a children’s play area, lake, botanical gardens and for a small fee enjoy the pedalos and crazy golf.
