We were invited to do a review of the Maize Maze at Millets Farm Centre, Oxfordshire and I asked if we could visit Sprouts Playbarn as well. Although it’s always been on my list of soft plays that I wanted to visit, I was a bit put off by the price. There’s no getting away from it, Sprouts Playbarn is one of the more expensive soft play centres in the area. BUT there’s a good reason for that and, now that I’ve bee, I do think it is worth it. I love a good soft play, and I genuinely think this is one of, if not the, best I’ve ever been to. Hubby isn’t a big fan of them, but even he thought it was really good.
First impressions – it’s BIG. Four floors, and they’re all full (aka adult) height. No scrabbling around on your knees here. Well, obviously, there’s some scrabbling around on your knees, but it’s just to get through obstacles rather than to get around. This is actually an incredibly parent friendly soft play centre to get around. It seemed really clean. The only downside – there’s diddly squat visibility once they’re on the frame. All that fantastic wrapping that makes it looks so good, also means you can’t look through it. The frame only has two sides visible as well, limiting visibility even further.
The entire play frame is food and farming themed – and they have taken the theme to the next level. EVERYTHING within this frame is linked to animals, farming and nature. Including some slightly disturbing udders!!!
Under 5’s area
I’ll start off with the smallest ones. The under 5’s area is a really quite decent size and covers both babies and older kids. There’s a little ball pool for the very youngest ones, and various sensory elements for them. Bigger under 5’s have got slides, play shapes, a mini frame and a piano to play with.
For an under 5’s slide, it’s actually a really good sized two-lane bumpy slide. My favourite bit had to be the spinning scarecrow and wobbling farmer! The duck pond with ducks and a frog in the middle also deserves a special mention.
Mini Millets Farmers Market
I’ve seen plenty of soft play centres with a role play area, but this one is different. It’s much more soft-play-y than somewhere like DJ’s Play Park in Hemel. However it also has loads of themed soft play elements and props to make it feel like a proper role play area. Smallest Child’s favourite had to be the stables, complete with horses and a stable boy. She also quite liked the butchers, and at one point presented me with a massive soft-play steak. As you do…
The main playframe
OMG. This place is just amazing. Some of you might know, I don’t have the best track records with bumpy slides, so I didn’t actually have a go on this one, but it looks amazing. By all accounts you can really moo-v down this one! Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. BUT you have to be wearing the right clothes. Biggest Child kept getting stuck as his jeans weren’t particularly slippy. Smallest Child shot off like a rocket because she was in leggings.
There’s loads of really cool features in here, a blackout tunnel, a liquid floor, buoy ziplines, underground bug house, an eagle’s nest and a little maze. In normal times you’ll find a big ball pit in the middle of the play frame as well. But it’s currently all closed off because this review of Sprouts Playbarn at Millets Farm is written during covid restrictions.
In a “normal” soft play all the dangly things would be just “normal” colourful foam tubes hanging from the ceiling. Not here! Here they’re carrots, horses and trees!
When you take your kids to a soft play you expect them to end up sweaty, exhausted and generally a bit gross (or is that just my kids?). You don’t expect them to have also had a nature lesson! If they stop running around like maniacs for long enough there’s actually loads of information panels all over the place tell you about animals, life cycles, nature and farming – which is pretty cool.
Level four
Level four deserves a special mention – because it actually comes with a warning! Up here you’ll find a thunder and lightening tunnel. With genuine rumbles of thunder and flashing lightning – which I haven’t seen anywhere else.
There’s a tube slide up at the top of the play frame, but unusually this one goes down to another level rather than outside the frame.
The other stuff
There’s a football court (on top of the cafe), a reading corner and a decent outdoor play area. Adults have got plenty of seating and it’s all very clean (a regular gripe about soft plays). The building is massive and everything feels light an airy (no stuffy, dark spaces here).
How much does Spouts Playbarn cost?
There’s no getting away from it, Sprouts Playbarn is not cheap. I’ve compared the cost to several local soft plays and, depending on the age of the child, it isn’t always the most expensive, but it is certainly one of them. Charging £3 per adult is, shall we say, irksome. It’s a personal pet peeve but I hate charging adults for soft play, so being charged £3 is particularly annoying. When I compare the cost to something like to Magic Garden at Yarnton Nursery it poops all over it and is much more cost effective.
Don’t forget, once you’ve finished playing there’s the rest of the farm centre to explore to bulk out your day.
Our Sprouts Playbarn at Millets Farm review
I’ve often said (and I genuinely have) that if I ever had enough space I’d build a soft play. And if I were to build a soft play in my theoretical mansion, it would be something like this! This is quite simply the best soft play I’ve been to and it was so much fun. It’s also massive, one of the biggest play frames I know of. To add to all of that it’s really easy for adults to get around. Having been to some parent unfriendly soft play centres recently that’s not something to be overlooked.
We were gifted admission to do this review of Sprouts Playbarn at Millets Farm Centre but if we’d had to pay it would have cost £36.85 for all five of us to visit. They don’t list peak and off peak prices on their website. We visited Sprouts Playbarn in the summer holidays so I suspect these are peak prices. That is an awful lot of money, but it also seems like it’s really good value. I wouldn’t mind spending hours here, and I wouldn’t expect the kids to come out looking grubby at the end. Sweaty as hell, yes, grubby no.
Although we were gifted admission to Sprouts Playbarn at Millets Farm Centre in order to write this review they did not see it prior to publication and had no input in its contents.
Admission cost
Prices vary by age. Adults are £3. For children the price ranges from £6.95 for 1 year old up to £11.95 for 11-15 year olds. I believe these are the peak prices, so they’ll be cheaper outside of weekends and holidays. For the most up to date prices visit their website.
Parking / How to get there
Parking – Plenty of free parking on site
Address – Millets Farm Centre, Kingston Road, Frilford, Nr Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX13 5HB
Toilets
On site, including baby change. Even their toilets are spectacular! Most soft play loos I know leave a lot to be desired. The ones here are unisex, open-plan and very clean!
Food
We didn’t have any food so I cannot comment on the quality. An adult lunch will cost you about £7. A kids lunch is about £4. The drinks were expensive though. £2.25 for a CAN of coke! Ouch
Hi, I’m Vicky. My husband and I live in Aylesbury with our three children; a 14 year old son, an 12 year old son and a 6 year old daughter. I (mostly) love spending time together as a family. We visit all kinds of places and we’re quite happy to drive a fair distance for a decent day out. A few years ago I decided to set up Free Time with the Kids as a way to share our experiences of these family days out.
You’ll find the essential information you need to know before your visit that can be surprisingly hard to find out. Where do I park? How much will it cost me to get in? Are there any discounts available? Are there loos? Can I take a picnic or get food? My aim is to be your go-to guide for all your free and cheap family days out across Bucks, Beds, Oxon, Herts & slightly beyond. I really hope you find the reviews helpful. If there’s anywhere that you’d recommend please get in touch contact@freetimewiththekids.com or get in touch via Facebook
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