Bumpis is a great place to take the kids during the school holidays or after school…read more I regularly take my 2 boys here if they need to burn of some energy (and I need a break!). The play area itself is brilliant - in my opinion, its one of the best in the area. It is split on 3 levels with lots of different areas to keep the kids entertained for a few hours. They have an air gun at the top which fires out soft balls which the kids just love. There are a couple of slides and all the othe play equipment you would expect. There is a cafe area with lots of seating so unless it's a particularly busy day, you should be able to get a seat. They do lovely lattes/cappucinos etc and cakes, crisps as well as hot food. Parties start from £7.75 and are really great fun. The party have there own party room (there are a few rooms here) so you are away from everyone else while eating party food and playing party games. Although I can't remeber how much I paid to get in last time, the prices here are pretty average and they are a little cheaper after school.

Quasar is an excellent place to hold a childrens birthday party. It is a laser gun activity. The…read moreevents are overseen by friendly staff who assist the players and help with any problems as well as keeping order. The participants are taken downstairs to a cellar like place with pillars and hiding places. The session consists of two teams, red and blue, who are equipped with a jacket each with sensors on and a laser gun. The gun has to be charged from a wall unit, then it is a free for all as everyone tries to shoot someone on the opposing team to collect points. At the end of the session each player is issued with a print out to show how many ponts have been scored and which team has won. There is a refreshment area upstairs where mums and dads can wait while the games are taking place.

I organised a birthday party at Quasar Elite for a 9 year old boy. Overall it was a good…read moreexperience, and the party was enjoyed by the guests. Upon booking I was given an electronic invitation to print and give to each guest, and was explained the £17.95 party package offered for 7-12 year olds. Each child was played 245 minute games, separated with food and drink (choice of burger, hot dog, chicken dippers or vegetarian plus unlimited orange or blackcurrent squash) in between the two. The staff were professional, and treated the kids well whilst supervising the games and explaining the rules. For non players (parents and family), there wasn't much except for a small waiting area with some arcade machines, but this was full during our visit, so we had to wait at the party table. My only real complaint was the lack of carpark facilities the carpark was full, small and cramped and not a realisitic option. The driveway entry was actually the front of a car dealership. A recommended party venue and the kids had a good time, but they would have liked some cooling fans as it can get quite hot running around for 45 minutes!

We took our 2 children (2 and 4) to Rascals for the first time yesterday. Entry fee was about £4.50…read moreper child so as per the earlier comment, if you see yourselves going back then take out a membership. The play area is really compact, as everything is in a self contained cube, covered in strong netting that goes up to 3 levels in height (almost to the ceiling). So whilst its a good use of space, it doesnt leave much room around the edges for parents to sit and have a rest (there was a private party that had most of the tables reserved). At the same time its the only area where children can run from one area to the next so at times it can also get very crowded. When we went we didnt really relax as the only seats were next to a very noisey football game (yes we expected it to be noisey but not to struggle to speak to each other!). There were also trays of food on tables which hadnt been cleared away, so that didn't leave a great first impression either. When you go it might be quieter and cleaner, but at least our children seemed to enjoy it, and its near to where we live so we might go again. But only if we cant find anywhere better!

This is a great soft play centre - real value for money - make sure you become a member if you…read moredecide to come more than once as it's only £4.55 for 2 children (sibling discount). The rig is great - big slides - and there are 2 areas for under 2's. The food is good, I've had 2 birthday parties there and the staff are really wonderful (especially Geri who also painted the murals on the walls). So many places like this are run down and filthy or over-priced. Rascals is the best in the area.

Great local centre, under new management since lockdown. We mainly go there for swimming lessons…read moreand for fun with the kid, who give them a strong 4 1/2

outrageous!!! . Shocked to received a phone call told me my daughter's swim lesson next week is…read moredelayed. but my daughter has quit the swimming lesson for two years. found that kept charging us for membership through direct debt for two years. It is not a normal gym membership, it is a class membership. For two years they just pretended not notice that my daughter did not take any of the lessons, while still put my daughter in classes that they knew my daughter will never go. contact them and they refuse to refund. I cancelled the direct debt myself. You know what? they called me again told me there is one month notice to cancel and they want me to setup the direct debt again to charge me one more month. it is part of my fault not to read the small print. just found the age to join the membership is 8. the previous lessons we took was not bonded membership and I did not notice the difference.

This is an under fives play club that is free. It is not a sessioned group so turn up any time and…read morestay and play. There is a designated baby area which is well equipped with many baby toys. The rest of the space has a kitchen area, a reading area and they often have play-doh out for the kids to play with or painting for them to do. It has a healthy eating policy so sells fruit at snack times along with a cuppa for the parents.

This is such a wonderful community resource. They run sessions for preschoolers every day - from…read moreSprouts for the babies to Little Caterpillars and Baby gyms for the older ones. Mandy, the senior staff member who runs all the sessions is amazing - always there for a friendly word or to offer advice. They are starting new sessions all the time - for a new mum it's perfect. There's a wonderful cafe, run by Sue and Gay who work so hard to feed all the kiddies (and are so patient with my wild boys)! The Limelight pre-school there is wonderful - my son is very happy there. They also run classes for the community in literacy and parenting skills, have regular sessions for OAPS and people with special needs - a true COMMUNITY centre - truly wonderful

Roos Academy of Performing Arts is an excellent dancing school. My daughter's progress and…read moreachievements over the last 3 years have been amazing, but more importantly, she absolutely loves her dancing lessons and the friends she has made there. I cannot praise Helen and the other teachers highly enough, they are very enthusiastic and patient with all the children, enabling them to achieve their very best, whilst having fun. There is a wide range of lessons to choose from including Ballet, Tap, Modern, Singing and Drama and lots of opportunities to perform if your child wants to, including festivals, competitions, shows and school fairs, together with a large number of children who have appeared in West End shows. If you are looking for dancing lessons for your child, I would highly recommend Roos Academy of Peforming Arts.

This leisure centre is a gem for the locals - like moi…read more Haven't tried the pool or the health classes but the gym is really cool. Well maintained, clean and opens till late on weekdays. The gym instructors/staff are very helpful for gym virgins - again - like moi. Worth joining for singletons, couples, families and the senior citizens.

This is only the second time we have been to the pool as last time we went, the water in the main…read morepool wasn't clean. If we can find somewhere cleaner we wont be going back. Although the children's/family pool was fine this time (if a little busy) again the water in the main pool (esp in the deep end) was not good - clumps of hair, lots of sand, made me want to close my eyes whilst doing front crawl :-( I rang up the reception before I went but they couldn't even tell me the last time the pool was cleaned. The changing facilities are fine but we were really disappointed with the water quality once again. Advise you to swim somewhere else if you can!

The Youth IT Space is located in the first floor of Downham Library in the Downham Health and…read moreLeisure Centre. It is a fantastic and unique resource that you'd be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. To clarify, I better explain what it does. It is for young people aged between 7 and 18 years. It offers a full range of multimedia facilities including 15 computers linked to the internet, computer games and a wide range of software. These are available for free drop in sessions after school and on Saturdays. Children and young people can book drop in after school and on Saturdays to do homework research, play computer games and browse the Internet. My nephew and nieces attend there and they love it. The Youth Space also run film-making and music making workshop during the school holidays, so I'm going to keep my eyes out for the next one.

This is a friendly local and convenient leisure centre. Colfes is actually a private school…read more However their sports facilities are so good that they hire these out to members of the public. It includes a great swimming pool and gym. They run great fitness classes. I have atteded the yoga classes and it is a great way to de-stress after work! There are different types of membership opportunities to suit different circumstances. They also have a lovely new cricket pavillion and cricket green. All in all a lovely local first class fitness centre!