One sparkling sunny day in early August we headed to Oldbury Court Estate in Fishponds for an outdoor adventure. Free to visit and open at all times, Oldbury Court offers woodland, grassy areas to picnic and play, riverside paths and an exciting children’s play park.

On the afternoon we chose to visit, it seemed like half of Bristol had had the same idea, and although Oldbury Court has two (free) car parks, both were full and we were forced to park on one of the nearby roads.

When we had parked and arrived at Oldbury Court, we skipped the huge play park as it was packed, despite my kids yearning to have a play.  It’s not surprising it was so busy, it is a huge play park with exciting play equipment for both older and younger children, including a pirate ship!

So we went for a little walk down to the river instead and spent a really fun afternoon so it all worked out well.  My children loved playing in a stream which ran alongside our walk to the river, paddling in the cool water and clambering around in the shade of the trees.

The path eventually led to a huge pool of water, and my children joined several other children playing in it, and spent ages splashing around and having a little swim in the baking hot sun.

It was a really relaxing, fun afternoon of sunshine and water play, I definitely recommend!

If you would like to visit Oldbury Court Estate, you can find it on Oldbury Court Road, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 2JH.